Bob Stefanowski

Robert Vincent Stefanowski (born May 21, 1962) is an American business executive who was the Republican Party nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 2018 with the cross-endorsement of the Independent Party. He was on a ticket with Joe Markley, who had won a Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor. Their ticket lost to the ticket of Democratic Party candidate Ned Lamont and running mate Susan Bysiewicz, cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party, on November 7, 2018.[1]

Bob Stefanowski
Personal details
Born	Robert Vincent Stefanowski (1962-05-21) May 21, 1962 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Amy
Children	3
Education	Fairfield University (BS) Cornell University (MBA)
Website	Campaign website

Born and raised in North Haven, Connecticut, he is a former business executive of General Electric, 3i Group plc, UBS, and Dollar Financial Group. On August 14, 2018, Stefanowski won the Republican primary in the 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election.[2][3][4] On August 15, 2018, President Donald Trump endorsed Stefanowski's campaign.[5]

Stefanowski resides in Madison, Connecticut.

Early life

Stefanowski's father, Bob Stefanowski, was the scoreboard assistant for the Yale Bowl.[6] Stefanowski graduated from North Haven High School in 1980. He earned a B.S. in accounting from Fairfield University in 1984 and an MBA from Cornell University in 1992.

Stefanowski began as an auditor in Hartford, Connecticut for PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating from Fairfield University.

Professional

Stefanowski's tenure at General Electric began in 1994 where he held multiple senior roles through 2007.[7][8] In 2003, Stefanowski became president and CEO of GE Commercial & Industrial Finance and then proceeded in 2004-2005 to serve as president and CEO of GE Telecom, Media & Technology Finance. Stefanowski worked at the GE Capital headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut.

From 2008 to 2011, Stefanowski was chairman and managing partner of 3i Group plc in London, England. He then served as chief financial officer of UBS, where he restructured the Investment Bank to meet Basel III regulatory requirements.[9][10]

From 2014 to 2017 he served as CEO of Dollar Financial Group in London and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[7]

Political career

On September 16, 2017, Stefanowski announced that he would run for governor for the August 14, 2018 Republican primary.[7] He campaigned on phasing out the state income tax, corporate income tax, reducing business entity taxes, and eliminating the gift tax and the estate tax, in addition to using zero-based budgeting and creating a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.[11][12]

Stefanowski's campaign's first television commercials aired on January 24, 2018, in the Hartford-New Haven and New York markets criticizing Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy and promoting Stefanowski's economic plan co-authored with Reagan Economic Policy Advisory Board member Arthur Laffer.[13] Stefanowski further criticized outgoing Governor Dan Malloy for spending over $15 million of taxpayer money on political campaigns and has refused to accept taxpayer money for his campaign.[14] The Wall Street Journal reported that Stefanowski funded his campaign with a combination of fundraising and his own money, but that he had declined to state how much of his own money he would spend.[15]

Stefanowski received support for his economic plan from Laffer and Larry Kudlow.[16] Additionally, he received endorsements from former Republican competitor Peter Lumaj, state representative Noreen Kokoruda, state senator Len Suzio, and former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker, Middletown Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tyrell Brown, Middletown Board of Education member Edward Ford, Jr., and Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti.[17][18][19][20][21][22] Following his nomination, on August 15, 2018, Trump endorsed the campaign.[5]

On April 3, 2018, Stefanowski wrote a letter to state Republican Chairman J.R. Romano that he would petition his way onto the August primary ballot by collecting signatures of 2 percent of registered Republicans statewide, or 9,081 signatures.[11] Stefanowski was present to collect signatures at the state Republican Party convention on May 11–12 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut where the party endorsed Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, but his name was not placed into formal nomination.[23]

On June 5, 2018, prior to the June 12 petitioning deadline, Stefanowski submitted over 12,000 signatures to Connecticut city and town registrars.[24] On June 18, 2018, he became the second individual to petition to get onto the ballot in the state of Connecticut, and the first to do so in a gubernatorial election, following approval of 10,951 signatures from the Secretary of the State’s Office.[25][26][27][28][29] Republican Peter Schiff was the first to petition onto a primary ballot in Connecticut during the U.S. Senate election in Connecticut in 2010.

Stefanowski received an AQ rating from the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund, or NRA-PVF, on July 30, 2018.[30] The New York Times reported that Stefanowski “promised to fight further restrictions on guns” in Connecticut.[31]

Gubernatorial election

On August 14, 2018, Stefanowski won the Republican nomination for Governor of Connecticut. He faced Democrat Ned Lamont and petitioning candidate Oz Griebel in the general election on November 6, 2018.[2][3][4] Stefanowski lost the race and conceded on November 7, 2018.[32][33]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Boughton	Mike Handler	Tim Herbst	Mark Lauretti	Peter Lumaj	Steve Obsitnik	Prasad Srinivasan	Bob Stefanowski	David Stemerman	Erin Stewart	Dave Walker	Undecided
McLaughlin & Associates (R-Stefanowski)	May 4–6, 2018	400	± 4.9%	7%	2%	3%	4%	2%	2%	3%	33%	2%	11%	3%	30%

Results

Connecticut Gubernatorial Republican Primary Results 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Stefanowski	42,119	29.4
	Republican	Mark D. Boughton	30,505	21.3
	Republican	David Stemerman	26,276	18.3
	Republican	Tim Herbst	25,144	17.6
	Republican	Steve Obsitnik	19,151	13.4
Total votes			143,195	100.0

Connecticut's gubernatorial election, 2018[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ned Lamont	694,694	49.38
	Republican	Bob Stefanowski	650,113	46.21
	Independent	Oz Griebel	54,705	3.89
	Libertarian	Rod Hanscomb	6,079	0.43
Total votes			1,356,096	65.81
	Democratic hold

Personal life

Stefanowski lives in Madison with his wife, Amy, and his three daughters.[34]

His first book Making M&A Deals Happen was published by McGraw Hill Publishing in February 2007. He is a Wharton Fellow, and has served as adjunct faculty to NYU Stern, London Business School, Cambridge University, and as a visiting professor of management practice at Oxford University.[35]

Stefanowski is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).[36]

See also

• United States gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Connecticut gubernatorial election, 2018

References

1. Foderaro, Lisa (July 22, 2018). "Candidates for Connecticut Governor Agree It's the Economy, Stupid". The New York Times.
2. Vigdor, Neil (August 14, 2018). "Bob Stefanowski wins Republican Nomination for Governor". Hartford Courant.
3. "In upset, Bob Stefanowski wins GOP nod for Connecticut governor". August 14, 2018.
4. "Connecticut Primary Election Results". August 14, 2018.
5. Donald Trump. "It is about time that Connecticut had a real and talented Governor. Bob Stefanowski is the person needed to do the job. Tough on crime, Bob is also a big cutter of Taxes. He will win in November and make a Great Governor, a major difference maker. Bob has my total Endorsement!". Twitter.
6. Cavanaugh, Jack (November 17, 1991). "Football Record Holder Never Wore a Uniform". The New York Times.
7. Blair, Russell (September 22, 2017). "Madison Financial Executive Seeks GOP Nomination For Governor". Hartford Courant.
8. "Executive Profile Robert V. Stefanowski". Bloomberg L.P. 2018.
9. Altimari, Daniela (November 15, 2017). "Outsiders From the Business World Drawn to Connecticut Governor'sl race". Hartford Courant.
10. Breen, Thomas (November 15, 2017). "Some Of His Best Friends". New Haven Independent.
11. Vigdor, Neil (April 4, 2018). "Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Stefanowski Will Bypass GOP Convention". Hartford Courant.
12. Keating, Christopher (December 5, 2017). "Laffer, GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Push To Eliminate CT Income Tax". Hartford Courant.
13. Altimari, Daniela (January 24, 2018). "Stefanowski Begins Running Ads on Cable and Broadcast TV". Hartford Courant.
14. Blair, Russell (September 22, 2017). "Madison Financial Executive Seeks GOP Nomination For Governor". Hartford Courant.
15. De Avila, Joseph (July 8, 2018). "Connecticut Republicans Confronted with Choices". Wall Street Journal.
16. "Laffer, GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Push To Eliminate CT Income Tax". Hartford Courant. December 5, 2017.
17. "Peter Lumaj Backs Bob Stefanowski In Governor's Race". Hartford Courant. June 11, 2018.
18. "State Senator Len Suzio (R-13) Endorses Bob Stefanowski". Hartford Courant. June 12, 2018.
19. "David Walker Backs Bob Stefanowski For Governor". Hartford Courant. June 13, 2018.
20. "Madison Lawmaker Endorses GOP Gubernatorial Candidate". Madison Patch. June 16, 2018.
21. "20-Year-Olds Make History As Black Republicans While Middletown Grows More Diverse". Hartford Courant. December 18, 2017.
22. "Mark Lauretti Backs Bob Stefanowski In GOP Primary For Governor, Won't Rule Out Independent Run". Hartford Courant. July 23, 2018.
23. Altimari, Daniela (May 12, 2018). "Mark Boughton Wins Republican Endorsement For Governor, But Primary Battle Looms". Hartford Courant.
24. Vigdor, Neil (June 4, 2018). "Bob Stefanowski To Submit 12,000 GOP Signatures To Get Into Primary For Governor". Hartford Courant.
25. Pazniokas, Mark (June 18, 2018). "Bob Stefanowski qualifies for GOP primary". Connecticut Mirror.
26. Dixon, Ken (June 18, 2018). "Stefanowski makes GOP primary". Stamford Advocate.
27. The Associated Press (June 18, 2018). "Stefanowski secures spot on GOP governor primary ballot".
28. The Associated Press (June 18, 2018). "Stefanowski Secures Spot on GOP Governor Primary Ballot".
29. Stuart, Christine (June 18, 2018). "Stefanowski Makes History in Qualifying for Primary Ballot". CT News Junkie.
30. Vigdor, Neil (July 31, 2018). "GOP Candidates Pursue Gun Owners Ahead Of Pivotal Statewide Primaries". Hartford Courant.
31. The Associated Press (July 31, 2018). "GOP Sees Chance to Beef Up Its Power in Blue Connecticut". The New York Times.
32. "November 2018 State Election". Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
33. "Stefanowski Concedes To Lamont In Connecticut Governor's Race". November 7, 2018.
34. Dixon, Ken (September 30, 2018). "How Rich are Bob Stefanowski and Ned Lamont". CT Post.
35. "Robert Stefanowski Biography". University of Cambridge. 2019.
36. Haar, Dan (April 11, 2019). "Bob Stefanowski vows 'I'm not going to go away'". CT Post.

External links

• Bob Stefanowski's campaign website

Party political offices
Preceded by Tom Foley	Republican nominee for Governor of Connecticut 2018	Most recent