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Ryan Fazio | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fazio in 2021 | |
| Member of theConnecticut State Senate from the36th district | |
| Assumed office August 26, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Alexandra Kasser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ryan Michael Fazio (1990-03-27)March 27, 1990 (age 35) Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Domestic partner | Amy Orser |
| Education | Northwestern University (BS) |
| Website | Official website |
Ryan Michael Fazio[1] (born March 27, 1990) is an American businessman and politician who is a member of theConnecticut State Senate for the36th district.[2] ARepublican, he won election in 2021 following the resignation ofDemocratic memberAlexandra Kasser, and was re-elected in 2022 and 2024.
He is currently a candidate forConnecticut Governor in2026.
Fazio was born inNorwalk, Connecticut, a son of Michael and Madeline (née Gadaleta).[1] His father, Michael A. Fazio, has been a former long-term partner ofArthur Andersen, LLP and managing director ofHoulihan Lokey.[3] He is ofItalian descent.[citation needed]
Fazio grew up inGreenwich, Connecticut. He graduated fromGreenwich High School in 2008 and subsequently earned aBachelor of Arts degree inEconomics fromNorthwestern University in 2012.[4]
Fazio spent most of his career in thecommodities industry, with a focus on renewable fuels and agriculture. He is currently aninvestment advisor.[citation needed]
Before being elected to the state Senate, Fazio was elected to theGreenwichrepresentative town meeting.[5] On August 17, 2021, Fazio defeated Democratic lawyer Alexis Gevanter ofGreenwich in a special election to fill the36th district seat, whichAlexandra Kasser[6] vacated two months prior.[7] His election ended the Democraticsupermajority in the State Senate.[6] He was re-elected in 2022 against Democrat Trevor Crow and in 2024 against Democrat Nick Simmons, former deputy chief of staff to Governor Ned Lamont. He was the Republican nominee for the same seat in the2020 Connecticut State Senate elections. Connecticut's 36th district coversGreenwich and parts ofStamford andNew Canaan.[8]
As Ranking Senator of the state’s Energy & Technology Committee, Fazio has been a prominent voice on energy issues and critic of current state policies. In 2023, he co-authored parts of SB7, including a section requiring utilities to itemize the cost of dozens of energy and environmental programs run by the state government on residents’ monthly bills.[9] That category, called “Public Benefits,” has become a source of debate. It includes subsidies for solar power, electric vehicle chargers, low-income households, and many other programs.[10]
Fazio has repeatedly proposed legislation to eliminate “Public Benefits” charges from residents’ energy bills, either eliminating programs or funding them in the state budget process.[11] Fazio’s proposal has drawn disagreement from progressive environmental groups and support among Republican legislators. In 2025, Fazio subsequently co-authored SB4, which cut over $100 million per year from “Public Benefits” charges—although it was a compromise and didn’t eliminate the roughly $1 billion of costs as Fazio originally proposed.[12] Gov. Ned Lamont gave Fazio some "credit" for advancing the law.[13]
Fazio has also been a supporter of expanding natural gas pipeline capacity from the Marcellus shale region and better regulatory treatment for nuclear power.[14]
Fazio is a fiscal conservative who has supported tax cuts and opposed large spending increases over his tenure. He earned a career 100% rating from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association for his voting record in support of economic growth.[15]
Fazio introduced a tax plan,SB602, calling for a 1.5 percentage-point income tax cut for middle-income households. It would funding the tax cut by reducing tax expenditures and state bonding. He also introduced a proposal for a property tax cap,SB556, that would cap increases in property taxes to 2 percent or inflation every year, like the law in Massachusetts.
Fazio was a loud proponent of the state’s so-called “fiscal guardrails,” which were passed in 2017 and included a spending cap, “volatility cap”, bonding cap, and revenue cap with the goal of mitigating the state’s tax increases and debt overhang.[16]
Fazio has stated he is in favor of keeping abortion legal in Connecticut.[17] In 2022, Fazio, along with 17 other Senate democrats, voted againstHouse Bill 5414, which allows aspiration abortions to be performed by midwives or nurses without a doctor. He stated that it would lower the standard of care for women.[18]
In 2023, Fazio, along with the majority the Republican Senate conference, voted in favor of House Bill 6820, which increases public access to birth control in Connecticut, and also protects licensed medical providers from having their licenses revoked for providing an abortion.[19]
In 2023, Fazio co-authored a bill to expand contraception access in Connecticut by allowing certain trained pharmacists to prescribe oral contraception. The proposal was included in HB6768 and passed into law.[20]
Fazio wrote and moved legislation to cut occupational licensing fees for workers. Legislation that Fazio introduced with several other legislators would cut all fees for workers like tradesmen, nurses, accountants, and others, to a maximum of $100. The legislation passed the Senate in 2024,SB135, but did not pass into law.[citation needed]
Fazio passed a law in 2025, SB1558, aimed at bringing back hundreds of millions in income tax revenue collected by New York and other neighboring states from Connecticut residents while they work from home for companies based in the other states. The law offers a 60 percent credit to any resident successfully appealing or litigating against another state in this area. It also requires the Attorney General to write a legal strategy to challenge other states taking such tax revenue from Connecticut.[21]
Fazio has been able to author or co-author several new laws as a state senator despite Republicans’ minority-party status in the legislature:
Fazio is a resident of theRiverside section ofGreenwich, Connecticut.[24] Fazio announced his engagement to Amy Orser on August 10, 2025.[25]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Members of theConnecticut State Senate | ||
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