December 23, 2010

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor-Elect Dan Malloy today announced that he has chosen State Representative David McCluskey to join the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The Board of Pardons and Paroles is an autonomous state agency which possesses discretionary authority to grant pardons for criminal convictions and to grant parole to appropriate offenders. Representative McCluskey will complete his current term as a state representative, but will resign his member-elect status and will not be sworn in to a new term in the State House.

"David has been a committed public servant for a long time, and I appreciate his willingness to continue that service as a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles," said Governor-Elect Malloy. "Representative McCluskey will walk a fine line in this new role, ultimately making decisions that will help keep the people of the State of Connecticut safe, while allowing those people who have served their time to become a contributing member of society. I believe keeping people safe is a critical function of government, and I believe in having a second chance society. The two are not mutually exclusive."

"I'd like to thank Governor-Elect Malloy for his confidence in me in this new role," Representative McCluskey said. "It's one in which I believe my experience working with the State Police Union will be helpful, but also my time as a state legislator, considering a number of criminal justice issues and programs. I come to this new position with a sense of responsibility both toward the citizens of Connecticut, as well as those in our society who have served their time and ultimately seek to rejoin society as a contributing member."

Representative McCluskey graduated with Honors from the University of Chicago with a Degree in Political Science. He received a Masters Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. As a longtime member of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Representative McCluskey worked to strengthen Connecticut's ethics, elections and contract laws to restore public confidence in state government. In 2009, he was chosen to be a Deputy Speaker, by Speaker of the House Chris Donovan. Through most of the 1990s, Representative McCluskey was the Director of Public & Political Affairs for the Connecticut State Police Union. In that position, he helped pass significant legislation including the prohibition of ticket quotas and banning the use of hand-held radar - a potential cause of cancer for police officers. Representative McCluskey also organized the opposition to the first-ever layoff of state troopers in 1991.

He was also successful in protecting the Hazardous Duty Workers Compensation benefit of State Troopers despite a dramatic reduction in other Workers Comp benefits in 1993.

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