Toni Boucher

Biography

Boucher was born in Italy and when she was five, she and her family immigrated to Naugatuck. She is a Roman Catholic.

Political Work

Boucher has served as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she was chair of the state’s policy and long-range planning committees after being nominated in 1995.

In the 2002 election, Boucher lost approximately 200 uncounted votes when a mechanical voting machine broke down.

In 2003, Boucher supported mass transit improvements. Boucher has continued to work on transportation-related issues, supporting the need to replenish the Highway Trust Fund.

Boucher won against Democrat, Paul Burnham, in the 2004 election, taking 61% of the votes.

In the 2008 election, Boucher won the senatorial 26th district seat following her six terms in Connecticut House of Representatives.

In 2010, Boucher promoted a new law in Connecticut which would allow pet owners to leave a trust to their pet in order to care for the animals in case of their owner's death.

In 2013, Boucher addressed the United Nations regarding Senate resolutions on Tibet.

Boucher won in the 2014 election over Democrat, Phil Sharlach.

Currently in the Connecticut Senate, Boucher serves as a Deputy Minority Leader. Boucher is a ranking member of the state Legislature's Education Committee and Higher Education Committee. She has been critical of the state's education record and recommended removing state education mandates and rewarding advanced students with scholarships. She has also been critical of Governor Malloy's vetos of education-related bills, one of which would have required applicants for state commissioner of education to have education-related experience and higher-learning degrees.

She also serves as a member of the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, where she is ranking member of the sub committee for Transportation Bonding.

Prior to her election to the Connecticut state senate, Boucher served six terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives. She was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in November 1996 from the 143rd District, which included the eastern portion of Norwalk and most of Wilton. The district also previously included New Canaan.

On June 1, 2017 Senator Boucher announced that she was exploring a run for Governor.

Public service experience prior to the General Assembly

Prior to her first term as a State Representative, Boucher served on the Wilton Board of Selectmen and the town of Wilton’s Council on Public Facilities and Insurance Committees. She was also active in the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. In the past, she has served as an advisory board member of the New Canaan Nature Center and as a member of the Our Lady of Fatima Fundraising Steering Committee, Greystone Estates Association Board of Directors, Advisory Board of New Canaan Cares, Wilton League of Women Voters, Wilton Historical Society, Board of Directors of the Wilton Chapter of the AFS, and Friends of the Wilton Library.

From 1986 to 1994, she also served on the Wilton Board of Education, during which time she served as both the board’s chair and secretary. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Wilton Education Foundation and five school/community based planning teams; the Quality and Integrated Education Local Planning Committee and the Foreign Language Task Force (1978–92). She was active in the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the National Association of State Boards of Education; Wilton YMCA Expansion Fund; Board of the Wilton Youth Council's Project 94, 96 and 2000; Technology Task Force (1993–present); Gifted Task Force (1988–90); and the Wilton Parent-Teacher Associations. Early in her career, she worked as a translator and secondary education language teacher.

Awards