Preceded by Christopher Scalzo Name John Frey Website repfrey.com | Religion Roman Catholic Political party Republican | |
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Born February 8, 1963 (age 61)
Greenwich, Connecticut ( 1963-02-08 ) Residence Ridgefield, Connecticut Profession owner, Century 21 Landmark Properties; Public Official | ||
John H. Frey (born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on February 8, 1963) is an American Real Estate Broker, businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he is the State Representative from the 111th District (Ridgefield, Connecticut), first elected in 1998. In the 2004 election, Frey won with 68.7% of the vote and was the highest vote-getter in the 151-member Connecticut House of Representatives. In 2008, he received nearly 3,000 more votes than his opponent and garnered the most votes of any contested House candidates. In 2014, he was elected to his ninth term in an election where he garnered 74.70% of the vote against his Democratic challenger.
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Serving in his ninth term as Ridgefield’s chief advocate in Hartford, Frey was appointed by the House Minority Leader Themis Klarides to serve as Senior Republican Whip. He serves on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee; the Bank Committee and the Housing Committeer. He also serves on the state Aging Commission.
Frey has supported measures to improve education for students at all grade levels, to protect benefits of seniors and Veterans residing in Connecticut, to preserve consumers’ rights, to reform state government, and to secure pristine areas of open space.
Frey has also been instrumental in securing state aid for local projects in Ridgefield, including the Ridgefield Playhouse, school construction and improvements, the Ridgefield Veterans Community Center, the Aldrich Museum, Tiger Hollow and the Ridgefield Boys & Girls Club. He is largely credited for gaining funding for the 400-acre (1.6 km2) Bennetts Pond State Park.
In February 2008, the State Bond Commission approved $3.25 million to fund 12 unit expansion of Ballard Green senior housing and rehabilitation of 120 units of affordable and senior housing in Ridgefield. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell thanks Rep. John Frey for his perseverance in advocating for funding for the project. In October 2008, he secured an additional $640,000 to cover unanticipated funding shortfalls.
Before winning election to the state House of Representatives, former Governor John G. Rowland appointed Frey Chairman of the Connecticut Real Estate Commission in 1995, holding the distinct honor as the commission’s youngest Chairman in state history. Representative Frey was also appointed ‘government representative’ for the University of Connecticut Business School Center for Real Estate and Economic Studies, a position he still holds.
In June 2008, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Commission on White House Fellows.
Republican Politics
Frey served as a member of the Ridgefield Republican Town Committee from 1981 to 1998 and the Republican State Central Committee from 1989 to 2000.
In February 2007 Frey was elected as the Connecticut National Committeeman to the Republican National Committee. He was re-elected to a four-year term in June 2008 and to a second full term in May 2012. Mr. Frey was appointed by RNC Chairman Michael Steele to the RNC Redistricting Committee, which is charged with planning for federal redistricting that begins after 2010. In July 2009, he was elected to the RNC Site Selection Committee. The eight member committee was charged with determining the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention (their recommendation of Tampa, Florida, was ratified by the Republican National Committee). Mr. Frey was appointed to the Committee on Arrangements, charged with the planning and oversight of the 2012 Republican National Convention. He has served on the RNC Rules Committee since 2007.
In 1996, Frey was the 5th District coordinator for the Bob Dole Presidential Campaign and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California, where he represented the state as a member of the Platform Committee. In 2004, for the third time he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention and again represented Connecticut on the Platform Committee, where he gained approval for language calling for a more transparent Indian tribe recognition process. He was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention and served on the Rules Committee.
Other
Frey was also a member of the Connecticut Institute of Municipal Studies Property Revaluation Task Force, Chairman of Ridgefield’s Parking Authority, and is a ‘Justice of the Peace’.
Frey is the Principal of Century 21 Landmark Properties.
In October 2009, Frey was named Realtor Of The Year by the Ridgefield Board of Realtors.
In July 2009, Frey was elected a corporator of Fairfield County Bank.
In October 2010 Frey was recognized by the Ridgefield Housing Authority for his 'tireless efforts in securing the necessary funding for the expansion/modernization of 120 housing units.' The project was over $20 million.
Frey holds a long list of memberships to various professional organizations, including: Advisory Board member of America On-Line’s Real Estate Desk; Century 21 National Broker’s Conference; Employee Relocation Council; Ridgefield Board of Realtors; Connecticut Association of Realtors; and the National Association of Realtors.
In addition to his extensive business and governmental background, Frey remains active in the Ridgefield community. He is a member of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce, advisory member of Meals-on-Wheels, a trustee of the Ridgefield Historical Society, an incorporator and former board member of the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association, the Ridgefield Community Center (past President), the Ridgefield Family Fourth Committee, and the Ridgefield Arts Council. Representative Frey is a former president of the Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts and fund raiser for the Easter Seals of Connecticut.
Personal
Frey has lived in Ridgefield since 1966. A graduate of Ridgefield High School, he attended Western Connecticut State University.