Alan Schlesinger

American politician

Alan Schlesinger (born January 4, 1958) is an American attorney, entrepreneur, and Republican politician. He has previously served as the mayor of Derby, Connecticut from 1994 to 1998 and as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993. He campaigned unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in in 1984, 1990, and 1998. Schlesinger was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 2006, finishing third behind third party winner Joe Lieberman and Democrat Ned Lamont. After his defeat, Schlesinger moved to Florida and considered running for Congress from there in 2008 and 2010. In 2013, he announced that he was running in , in the 2014 elections. In the year 2014, he finished in second place for the Republican nomination behind Carl J. Domino.

After graduating from Amity Regional High School (which serves Orange, Woodbridge, and Bethany), Schlesinger earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania in Economics, and later a J. D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He then entered private law practice, starting the law firm of Schlesinger and Barbara in Shelton. From 1979 1981, he was a member of the Board of Selectmen of Orange before his election as a State Representative. He would serve six terms in the Connecticut General Assembly, he chose not to run for re election in 1992 and was succeeded by Democrat Ellen Scalettar. He was then elected as Mayor of Derby in 1993, defeating incumbent Mayor Gino S. DiMauro Jr. He served in that capacity from 1994 until 1998. He chose not to run for re election in 1997 and was succeeded by Democrat Marc J. Garofalo. Schlesinger ran against Garofalo in 1999, but was defeated. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Congressional nomination from the Fifth District three times: in 1984 (defeated by then State Rep. John G. Rowland),

Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman won the election, running as an Independent after losing the Democratic Party's nomination in an August primary. Upon his victory, Lieberman announced he would caucus with the Democratic majority in the Senate in the 110th United States Congress.

After his defeat, Schlesinger became involved in Florida politics. He previously lived there part time in Palm Beach County and moved there full time. He considered running for against Democratic incumbent Ron Klein in 2008 and for in the 2010 special election to replace Democrat Robert Wexler, who had resigned, but ultimately did not run in either race. In 2013, Schlesinger announced his candidacy for Congress in , centered around Palm Beach. The incumbent was Democrat Patrick Murphy. In an article published on August 4, 2014 by George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post, Schlesinger claimed an internal poll conducted by Cherry Communications showed that 53% of potential voters in the Republican Primary were undecided at the time, so he decided to contribute $100,000 more to his campaign efforts. Schlesinger also said that the same poll showed Carl J. Domino remains the front runner of the race but that he was in second place and the "only one that's within striking distance". The Republican Primary for the currently featured four other candidates besides Domino and Schlesinger: Beverly Hires, Brian Lara, Calvin Turnquest and Nick Wukoson. Schlesinger finished in second place in the August 26 primary with 24% of the vote, while Domino won with 38%.