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Lowell Weicker
Lowell Weicker
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Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (/waɪkər/; May 16, 1931 – June 28, 2023) was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the 85th governor of Connecticut.

Key Information

Weicker unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. One of the first Republican members of Congress to express concerns about President Richard Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal, Weicker developed a reputation as a "Rockefeller Republican", eventually leading conservative activists to endorse his opponent Joe Lieberman, a New Democrat, in the 1988 Senate election which he subsequently lost. Weicker later left the Republican Party, and became one of the few third-party candidates to be elected to a state governorship in the United States at the time, doing so on the ticket of A Connecticut Party.

Early life

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Weicker was born in Paris, the son of American parents Mary Hastings (née Bickford) and Lowell Palmer Weicker.[1] His grandfather Theodore Weicker was a German immigrant who co-founded the E. R. Squibb corporation.[2][3] Weicker graduated from the Lawrenceville School (class of 1949), Yale University (1953), and the University of Virginia School of Law (1958).[4] He began his political career after serving in the United States Army between 1953 and 1955, reaching the rank of first lieutenant.[5]

Career in Congress

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Weicker served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1963 to 1969 and as First Selectman of Greenwich, Connecticut, before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1968 as a Republican. Weicker only served one term in the House before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1970.[6][7] Weicker benefited from a split in the Democratic Party in that election: two-term incumbent Thomas Dodd ran as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination to Joseph Duffey.[8] Ultimately, Weicker won with 41.7 percent of the vote. Dodd finished third, with 266,500 votes—far exceeding Weicker's 86,600-vote margin over Duffey.[9][10]

Weicker served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1971 to 1989. He gained national attention for his service on the Senate Watergate Committee, where he became the first Republican senator to call for Richard Nixon's resignation.[11] He recalled: "People in Connecticut were very much behind President Nixon, like the rest of the country. They thought he could do no wrong, and when I was in Connecticut, I would get flipped the bird all the time, whether it was on the streets or in the car, for the role that I was playing. After Watergate was over, then the needle goes all the way the other way, and I've got huge favorability ratings."[12] Proving this, Weicker was convincingly reelected in 1976.[13]

In 1980, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for president.[14]

Weicker was a liberal voice in an increasingly conservative Republican Party. For instance Americans for Democratic Action consistently rated Weicker as having a liberal quotient of 60 to 90% throughout his Senate career, and in 1987 and in 1988 gave him a higher rating than Connecticut's other senator, Democrat Chris Dodd.[15] He was critical of the increasing influence of the Christian right on the party; he described the separation of church and state as "this country's greatest contribution to world civilization",[16] and the party in 2012 as "swung off so far to the right that no moderate could've survived a primary."[12] Weicker voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override President Reagan's veto).[17][18][19] Weicker voted against the nomination of William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States,[20] as well as the nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court.[21]

Weicker was a strong advocate for the rights of the disabled during his tenure in Congress, although he ultimately lost his seat before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 passed.[22] In later interviews, Weicker identified his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act, funding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, increasing the funding for the National Institutes of Health, and funding research into AZT as his proudest achievements in the Senate.[23][12]

Weicker's rocky relations with establishment Republicans may have roots in receiving strong support from Nixon in his 1970 Senate bid, support repaid in the eyes of his critics by a vehement attack on the White House while serving on the Watergate Committee.[24] Later, his relations with the Bush family also soured, and Prescott Bush Jr. (the brother of the then Vice President) made a short-lived bid against Weicker to gain the 1982 Republican Senate nomination.[25] Weicker's well-known Democratic sympathies increasingly alienated mainstream Republicans, particularly after Weicker’s effort to prevent the nomination of conservatives to state office, which resulted in a poor showing during the 1986 local elections, and he was defeated in the 1988 Senate election by Joe Lieberman.[11][16] Lieberman benefited from the support of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., and his brother, former New York Senator James Buckley; William F. Buckley ran columns in support of Lieberman and circulated bumper stickers with the slogan, "Does Lowell Weicker Make You Sick?"[16]

Governor of Connecticut

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Weicker's political career appeared to be over after his 1988 defeat, and he became a professor at the George Washington University Law School. However, he entered the 1990 gubernatorial election as the candidate of A Connecticut Party, running as a good government candidate[26] and drew upon his coalition of liberal Republicans, moderate Democrats, and independent voters.[16] The early 1990s recession had hit Connecticut hard, worsened by the fall in revenues from traditional sources such as sales tax and corporation tax.[27] Connecticut politics had a tradition at the time of opposition to a state income tax—one had been implemented in 1971 but rescinded after six weeks under public pressure.[28][16] Weicker initially campaigned on a platform of solving Connecticut's fiscal crisis without implementing an income tax. He won in a three-way race with Republican John G. Rowland and Democrat Bruce Morrison, taking 40% of the vote against Rowland's 37% and Morrison's 21%. Weicker lost Fairfield and New Haven County counties to Rowland, but won eastern Connecticut, drawing especially strong support from the Hartford metro area, where he had been strongly endorsed by the Hartford Courant and by many state employee labor unions. The Los Angeles Times wrote that support from Democrats was credited for Weicker's victory, reflected in Morrison's third-place finish.[11]

After taking office, with a projected $2.4 billion deficit,[29][27] Weicker reversed himself and pushed for the adoption of an income tax, a move that was very unpopular.[27][16] He stated, "My policy when I came in was no income tax, but that fell apart on the rocks of fiscal fact."[30] Weicker vetoed three budgets that did not contain an income tax, and forced a partial government shutdown, before the General Assembly narrowly passed it in 1991.[28] The 1991 budget set the income tax rate at 6%,[31] lowered the sales tax from 8% to 6% while expanding its base, reduced the corporate tax to 10.5% over two years, and eliminated taxes on capital gains, interest, and dividends.[28][29] It also included $1.2 billion in line-by-line budget cuts,[30] including the elimination of state aid to private and parochial schools, but held the line on social programs.[16] His drastic measures provoked controversy.[27] A huge protest rally in Hartford attracted some 40,000 participants, some of whom cursed at and spat at Governor Weicker.[16][26]

Weicker earned lasting criticism for his implementation of the income tax; the conservative Yankee Institute claimed in August 2006 that after fifteen years the income tax had failed to achieve its stated goals.[32] However, he earned national attention for his leadership on the issue, receiving the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's Profile in Courage Award for taking an unpopular stand, then holding firm.[33] Within two years, the state's budget was in surplus and he was well-regarded among voters.[16] In retirement, he commented, "You've had 19 years to repeal it, and all you've done is spend it."[23][12]

Despite his increasing popularity, he did not seek re-election as governor in 1994, citing wanting to spend time with his children as the reason. His last year in office was marked by a controversy over the firing of the state commissioner of motor vehicles, Louis Goldberg.[26] In 2000, he endorsed Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) for President. In 2004, Weicker supported former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's (D-VT) presidential bid. He expressed sympathy for the budget struggles of Governor Dannel Malloy, drawing a parallel with his own efforts to remedy a fiscal crisis.[23][12]

In his book Independent Nation (2004), political analyst John Avlon describes Weicker as a radical centrist governor and thinker.[34]

Later career

[edit]
Weicker at a 2006 event for Ned Lamont in Greenwich, Connecticut

Weicker published a memoir entitled Maverick in 1995, co-written with Barry Sussman.[24][6] The following year, he joined the board of directors for Compuware.[35] In 1999, he became a member of the board of directors for the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE), and held this position until 2011.[36] Despite the long professional relationship, Weicker did not support former WWE CEO Linda McMahon in either of her unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in 2010 or 2012.[37]

Weicker served from 2001 to 2011 as president of the board of directors of Trust for America's Health, a Washington, DC–based non-profit, non-partisan health policy research organization and was formerly a member of the board of directors of United States Tobacco. From 2003 on Weicker served on the board of Medallion Financial Corp., a lender to purchasers of taxi medallions in leading cities across the U.S. He was named to the board through his personal and business relationship with Andrew M. Murstein, president of Medallion.[38]

Weicker considered a rematch against Senator Joe Lieberman in 2006. He objected to Lieberman's support for the Iraq War and told The New York Times in 2005, "If he's out there scot-free and nobody will do it [run against Senator Lieberman], I'd have to give serious thought to doing it myself, and I don't want to do it."[39] Weicker ultimately did not run, but he endorsed Ned Lamont, who defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary, causing Lieberman to run as an independent.[24] The Lieberman campaign released an ad that borrowed from one aired during the 1988 Senate race, which depicted Weicker as a hibernating bear ignoring his Senate duties except at election time. In the 2006 ad, Weicker reappeared as a wounded bear while Lieberman's Democratic challenger, Lamont, was depicted as a bear cub sent and directed by Weicker. Lieberman ultimately defeated Lamont in November.[40]

In 2015, despite criticizing Cuba for its lack of "human rights and democratic elections", Weicker described the country's free healthcare system as one of its most positive aspects.[41]

During the 2016 Republican primaries, Weicker wrote an editorial in the Hartford Courant in which he criticized the repudiation of Rockefeller Republicans, the party's alienation of various population groups, and its obstructionist stance in Congress. He stated that the selection of Donald Trump as their presidential candidate "will complete their slow and steady descent into irrelevance."[42]

In 2020, he filed an amicus brief on the side of Pennsylvania in the notable election case Texas v. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania won the case and Biden was sworn in shortly after. Weicker had served with Biden in the U.S. Senate for 16 years.[43]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Weicker lived in Old Lyme, Connecticut, in his later years.[6] He was married three times and had five sons.[6] His first marriage, to Marie Louise Godfrey, lasted from 1953 to their divorce in 1977.[24] He then married Camille Butler, his secretary. Their six-year marriage was described by The Connecticut Mirror as "tumultuous", and it ended in divorce.[24] His third marriage, to Claudia Testa Ingram, lasted from 1984 until Weicker's death, at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut, on June 28, 2023, at age 92.[24][44] Weicker is interred at the Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut.[45] By the time of his death, he was the last living former member of the Senate Watergate Committee.

See also

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References

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Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Lowell Weicker

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Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (May 16, 1931 – June 28, 2023) was an American politician who represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1971 and in the Senate from 1971 to 1989 before serving as the state's 85th governor from 1991 to 1995 as an independent. Born in Paris, France, to American parents, Weicker graduated from Yale University in 1953 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1958, later entering politics after service in the Connecticut General Assembly and as first selectman of Greenwich. During his Senate tenure as a Republican, Weicker gained national prominence as a member of the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, where he was the first senator from his party to publicly call for President Richard Nixon's resignation amid the revelations. Known for his maverick stance, he frequently diverged from conservative orthodoxy, including opposition to some Reagan administration policies, and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. After losing his 1988 Senate re-election bid to Democrat , Weicker campaigned successfully for governor under the banner of , marking the first independent gubernatorial victory in the state since the Civil War era. As governor, Weicker addressed a severe budget shortfall by enacting Connecticut's first broad-based in 1991, initially set at a flat rate of 4.5 percent, which replaced temporary surcharges and hikes but drew widespread opposition for expanding the burden despite campaign ambiguities on the issue. This fiscal overhaul balanced the state yet alienated voters and members of both major parties, contributing to his unpopularity and decision against seeking re-election in 1994.

Early Life and Education

Upbringing and Family Background

Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. was born on May 16, 1931, in , France, to American parents Mary Hastings Bickford Weicker and Lowell Palmer Weicker Sr. His father, a lifelong Republican, rose to become president of the pharmaceutical firm & Sons and later of Bigelow-Sanford, leveraging family ties to the company's co-founding by Weicker's grandfather Theodore Weicker to secure substantial wealth that enabled an upper-class lifestyle. The family, marked by political divergence with Weicker's mother identifying as a Democrat, relocated from and settled into privilege across New York City's Park Avenue, Long Island's Oyster Bay, and , where local Republican traditions and civic expectations influenced early discussions of governance and duty. This environment of financial security and familial emphasis on achievement fostered a disciplined ethos, evident in Weicker's formative exposure to competitive endeavors that honed traits of persistence amid elite social circles. Socioeconomic advantages from the pharmaceutical lineage provided stability without apparent hardship, shaping a worldview rooted in institutional trust and self-reliance rather than egalitarian ideals, though tempered by his parents' cross-party perspectives on public roles.

Academic Achievements and Early Professional Experience

Weicker earned a degree in from in 1953. Following graduation, he commissioned as a in the United States , serving active duty from 1953 to 1955 during the era, which provided foundational experience in discipline and command structures. He continued in the Army Reserve until 1964. After his active military service, Weicker enrolled at the School of Law, obtaining his in 1958. This legal training equipped him with analytical skills essential for policy and governance, emphasizing constitutional principles and evidentiary reasoning. Upon completing law school, Weicker relocated to , where he entered private legal practice, contributing to the establishment of a local . This period honed his practical application of in a setting, fostering early exposure to civic responsibilities prior to his formal entry into elected office.

Initial Political Career

State Legislature and Local Governance

Lowell Weicker was elected to the in November 1962 as a Republican representing Greenwich in the 152nd Assembly . He was reelected in 1964 and 1966, serving three terms through early 1968. In the General Assembly, Weicker engaged in legislative work on state matters affecting suburban communities, building a foundation in Republican politics during a period when Connecticut's GOP emphasized fiscal discipline amid post-war economic growth. Concurrently, Weicker held the position of First Selectman of Greenwich, with service documented from 1963 and 1965, extending through 1968 in overlapping capacities. As the town's chief executive, he managed local administration, including municipal budgeting, , and maintenance for Greenwich's affluent, low-density of approximately 50,000 residents at the time. This role involved overseeing efficient resource allocation in a community reliant on property taxes and resisting expansive spending, consistent with traditional Republican priorities of restrained to support property values and . Weicker's early local experience demonstrated a practical approach to governance, prioritizing operational effectiveness over ideological experimentation, which positioned him for higher office by establishing credibility on core issues like budgetary oversight and anti-waste measures in a politically competitive suburban setting. These positions honed his administrative skills without entanglement in broader state fiscal debates, focusing instead on Greenwich-specific concerns such as , public safety, and upkeep.

U.S. House of Representatives Tenure (1969–1971)

Lowell Weicker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 5, 1968, representing Connecticut's 4th congressional district, where he defeated the Democratic incumbent with 51.4% of the vote. Sworn in as a Republican on January 3, 1969, he served in the 91st Congress (1969–1971), succeeding Democrat Lowndes P. Jordan in a district encompassing parts of Fairfield and New Haven counties. His entry into Congress followed prior service in the Connecticut General Assembly and as Greenwich First Selectman, positioning him as a rising figure in state Republican politics. As a freshman representative, Weicker's legislative record during this single term emphasized district-specific concerns, including urban development and infrastructure in suburban Connecticut communities. Congressional histories note no major bills sponsored or committee leadership roles, consistent with his junior status and brief service amid the distractions of national debates on the Vietnam War and domestic spending. He aligned generally with Republican priorities on fiscal restraint and national defense, voting in support of appropriations measures that sustained military commitments while advocating scrutiny of executive branch efficiencies, though specific floor interventions from this period remain sparsely documented in available records. Weicker declined to seek reelection to the in 1970, opting instead to campaign successfully for the U.S. seat held by Democrat , whose vulnerabilities from ethics inquiries created an opening. His House term concluded on January 3, 1971, coinciding with his swearing-in to the Senate, reflecting a calculated ascent unmarred by personal scandals and bolstered by networks cultivated in state and local politics. This transition highlighted his appeal as a moderate Republican capable of broadening the party's base in a competitive district.

U.S. Senate Career (1971–1989)

Elections and Reelections

Lowell Weicker secured the Republican nomination and won the open U.S. Senate seat from in the November 3, 1970, general election, defeating Democrat Joseph D. Duffey and independent incumbent in a fragmented three-way contest. Weicker received 454,721 votes, or 41.74% of the total, with Duffey garnering 368,111 votes (33.79%) and Dodd 266,497 votes (24.46%), reflecting voter dissatisfaction with Dodd's scandals that had prompted his Democratic primary loss earlier that year. This plurality victory in a state with a history of competitive races demonstrated Weicker's ability to consolidate Republican and anti-Dodd support amid national Republican gains in the midterm elections. Weicker was reelected to a second term on November 2, 1976, defeating Democrat Gloria Schaffer with a decisive margin in a year of Democratic presidential success under Jimmy Carter. He captured 785,683 votes, equating to 57.70% of the vote, while Schaffer received 561,018 votes (41.20%) and minor candidate Robert Barnabei 14,407 votes (1.06%), expanding his vote share significantly from 1970 and signaling strong personal appeal in Connecticut's evolving suburban electorate. The result underscored Weicker's moderate positioning, which resonated beyond strict party lines in a state increasingly favoring independents and fiscal conservatives. In the November 2, 1982, midterm election, Weicker won a third term against Democrat Toby Moffett amid a national economic recession that favored Democrats, who gained seats in both chambers of . Weicker polled 545,987 votes (50.38% of the total 1,083,508 cast), narrowly ahead of Moffett's 499,146 votes (46.06%), with minor candidates Victor DiFazio (30,212 votes) and James A. Lewis (8,163 votes) splitting the remainder. This closer contest, compared to , highlighted persistent voter support for Weicker's incumbency despite partisan headwinds and intra-party tensions within Connecticut's Republican base, where his independence drew criticism but sustained broad appeal in a diversifying electorate. Weicker sought a fourth term in the November 8, 1988, election but was defeated by Democrat , marking the end of his tenure after 18 years without prior loss. Lieberman's 604,044 votes (49.0%) edged out Weicker's 531,383 (43.3%), with write-ins and others accounting for the balance, in a race influenced by Republican dissatisfaction with Weicker's record and Lieberman's appeal to moderates. The outcome reflected Connecticut's leftward shift in the late , where Weicker's maverick style, once an asset, faced resistance from party activists amid national GOP alignment under , allowing Lieberman to capture the seat as an open contest effectively materialized through Weicker's weakened position.

Major Policy Positions and Legislation

Weicker advocated for stronger environmental protections, co-sponsoring amendments to the Clean Water Act in 1984 to address pollution control and enforcement gaps. He consistently pushed for clean air and water initiatives, reflecting a commitment to of pollution's health impacts over short-term economic costs. In intelligence oversight, as a member of the in 1975–1976, Weicker supported reforms to curb executive overreach, including proposals for a joint congressional watchdog panel to monitor CIA and FBI activities, emphasizing accountability without crippling operational efficacy. On social issues, Weicker diverged from conservative orthodoxy by endorsing the , seeking to reinstate its Republican platform support in amid party shifts toward opposition. He backed abortion rights, voting against restrictive riders in the 1980s, including opposition to funding curbs in 1981 and 1988 expansions for rape/incest cases, prioritizing individual liberty over fetal protection mandates. These stances drew criticism from social conservatives for undermining traditional family structures, though Weicker framed them as consistent with intervention in personal decisions. Fiscally, Weicker supported select Reagan-era defense increases for strategic deterrence but repeatedly opposed unbalanced budgets, voting against packages in and that exacerbated deficits through unchecked spending growth rather than revenue shortfalls alone. He resisted expansive welfare programs, favoring block to consolidate federal aid and reduce bureaucratic inefficiency, as seen in 1981 appropriations debates. On disabilities, he co-sponsored precursors to with Disabilities Act, including 1980s bills extending Section 504 protections and advocating , driven by personal experience with his son's and data on employment barriers. Weicker also backed reforms post-Watergate, sponsoring transparency measures in sponsored legislation tallies from the 93rd to 97th es to enforce verifiable in operations. These positions highlighted tensions with party fiscal hawks, who viewed his selective spending support as enabling deficit causation via persistent outlays exceeding prudent limits.

Involvement in Watergate Investigation

Lowell Weicker was appointed as one of three Republican members to the U.S. Select on Presidential Campaign Activities, established by a unanimous 77-0 vote on February 7, 1973, to investigate the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters and related campaign finance abuses. Serving alongside of and of , Weicker quickly distinguished himself through aggressive questioning during the committee's televised hearings, emphasizing evidence of obstruction and cover-up efforts. In the June 1973 hearings, Weicker conducted intense interrogations of key witnesses, including former III, whose testimony from June 25 to 29 revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system and implicated Nixon in efforts to conceal the . Weicker defended Dean's credibility against administration attacks, charging that the Nixon had systematically undermined potential witnesses, and pressed Dean on details of payments and inducements that bolstered the case for broader . His prior private meetings with Dean helped shape lines of inquiry that highlighted the tapes' evidentiary value, contributing to the committee's subsequent for their release on July 23, 1973. By August 1973, Weicker had publicly urged the immediate release of all Watergate-related tapes and documents, arguing they would clarify Nixon's role beyond doubt, and became the first Republican senator to call for Nixon's , prioritizing institutional over partisan defense. The committee's findings, including 32 volumes of hearings and reports documenting abuses of power, fueled the House Judiciary Committee's adoption of three articles of in July 1974, prompting Nixon's on August 9, 1974, to avoid certain conviction. While Weicker's forthright stance earned praise for principled independence from outlets like , it drew sharp rebukes from conservative Republicans, who accused him of disloyalty that inflicted lasting damage on the party by amplifying the at the expense of GOP unity during a period of electoral vulnerability.

Gubernatorial Bid and Administration (1990–1995)

1990 Campaign and Independent Victory

In early 1990, after declining to seek reelection to the U.S. , Lowell Weicker entered the race for as a Republican but trailed frontrunner John Rowland in early polling. Facing a competitive primary scheduled for , Weicker withdrew from the Republican contest in April and formed to run as an independent, positioning himself as an outsider to the . His campaign platform centered on bipartisan governance reforms, including of party politics, and commitments to fiscal restraint without introducing new broad-based taxes, leveraging his reputation as a independent who prioritized principle over partisanship. The general election on , , featured a fragmented three-way contest against Rowland, the Republican nominee, and Democrat , amid national anti-incumbent sentiment following economic recession and scandals. Weicker's capitalized on voter dissatisfaction with candidates, emphasizing cross-aisle collaboration and spending controls to address state fiscal pressures from prior Democratic administrations under O'Neill. He secured victory with 460,576 votes, or 40.36% of the total, narrowly defeating Rowland's 427,840 votes (37.49%) and Morrison's 252,406 votes (22.15%), marking the first independent gubernatorial win in since 1854. This outcome reflected the race's tight margins and the dilution of Republican support in a multi-candidate field, without reliance on traditional party machinery.

Budget Crisis and Income Tax Enactment

Upon assuming office on January 9, 1991, Weicker inherited a state deficit of $963 million for the ending June 30, 1991, amid a broader projected shortfall exceeding $1 billion for the ensuing biennium in a $6.5 billion . The fiscal impasse stemmed from prior reliance on temporary revenue measures and spending growth outpacing collections during the , necessitating new revenue sources to avert default. Weicker vetoed three legislative budget proposals between May and August 1991—on May 24, June 1, and August 8—deeming them unbalanced for lacking sufficient new revenue, particularly an , and relying instead on expanded , borrowing, and fees. These vetoes, including a partial with 20,000 furloughs after the July 1 fiscal year start without an enacted budget, forced a and prolonged deadlock. On August 22, 1991, the General Assembly approved a $7.3 billion budget incorporating Weicker's proposal for Connecticut's first broad-based personal income tax at a flat 4.5% rate on adjusted gross income, projected to generate substantial annual revenue to close the gap—ultimately yielding over $126 billion cumulatively through 2014 despite initial recessionary pressures. The measure, effective for 1991 income filed in 1992, replaced targeted taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest (previously up to 7%), while cutting the sales tax from 8% to 6% effective October 1, 1991, and reducing the corporate tax from 13.8% to 11.5%. This package stabilized finances short-term by broadening the tax base and shifting burdens, though the income tax endured beyond its initial crisis framing, with rates later graduating to 6.99% by 2018.

Other Governance Initiatives and Challenges

During his tenure, Weicker signed legislation advancing measures, including a 1994 law imposing new restrictions on transfers, permits, and ownership, which required reporting all transfers to state authorities and expanded background checks, building on the federal of 1993. He actively pressured the for these reforms, convening a in June 1994 to secure passage amid resistance from gun rights advocates. Weicker also addressed gambling policy by signing agreements in April 1994 with the Mashantucket Pequot and tribes, recognizing the latter's sovereignty and enabling the development of casino alongside the existing , which had opened in 1992 under federal authorization; these pacts aimed to secure revenue shares for the state without broader expansion of non-tribal gambling, despite his prior veto threats against slots and similar proposals. In education, he enacted measures promoting school desegregation and programs for at-risk youth, integrating health, recreation, and job components to mitigate dropout risks, though these faced criticism for insufficient funding amid fiscal constraints. Administrative challenges included stalled negotiations with state employee unions in 1991, where concessions on wages and benefits proved contentious despite prior alliances during battles, exacerbating tensions over reforms. His administration encountered repeated legislative , notably during 1993 impasses that delayed resolutions and contributed to approval ratings falling below 20 percent by late 1993, reflecting public frustration with perceived overreach and economic stagnation. Weicker opted not to seek reelection in 1994, citing term limits and fatigue from partisan divides, and departed office on January 4, 1995, leaving a legacy of advancements tempered by inefficiencies and polarized public reception.

Post-Governor Activities

Corporate and Advocacy Roles

Following his departure from the governorship in January 1995, Weicker transitioned to private sector roles, joining the board of directors of Corporation, a Detroit-based software firm, in 1997. His service on such boards leveraged his extensive public oversight experience, including investigations into executive misconduct, to inform practices amid growing scrutiny of in the late 1990s. In 1999, Weicker was appointed to the board of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), then known as the World Wrestling Federation, where he chaired the compensation committee until his departure in the early 2000s. This role coincided with federal inquiries into performance-enhancing drug use in during the era's high-profile scandals, during which Weicker's background in regulatory probes contributed to internal compliance efforts. Weicker also engaged in health policy advocacy through non-profit leadership, serving as founding president of the Trust for America's Health, established in 2001 to promote disease prevention and preparedness. In this capacity, he advocated for increased federal investment in and response , drawing on his prior legislative support for clinical trials funding. Additionally, he held the position of at Research!America, a non-profit focused on advancing biomedical research funding and public awareness of its benefits. These roles maintained a deliberate emphasis on substantive policy influence over partisan activities.

Public Writings and Political Commentary

Weicker co-authored the memoir Maverick: A Life in Politics with Barry Sussman, published in 1995 shortly after leaving office, in which he defended his independent political decisions, including his role in the Watergate investigations and his break from Republican orthodoxy, while critiquing the rigid partisanship that he argued stifled principled . The emphasized his commitment to over party loyalty, portraying his career as a defense of constitutional against executive overreach and fiscal irresponsibility. In retirement after , Weicker's public commentary remained sporadic but consistent in challenging both major parties on empirical grounds, often highlighting inconsistencies between rhetoric and fiscal outcomes. In a 2017 interview amid Connecticut's recurring shortfalls, he attributed the state's fiscal woes primarily to unchecked spending growth rather than shortfalls, advocating for spending restraint as the core solution despite his own administration's earlier increases to achieve balance. This stance implicitly critiqued Democratic-led legislatures' post-Weicker expansions, underscoring a preference for of dynamics over ideological spending expansions. Weicker also voiced criticism of Democratic figures when their positions deviated from his Watergate-era emphasis on institutional integrity. In December 2005, he assailed U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman for unwavering support of the , warning that such alignment with executive policy risked eroding and threatening a primary or independent challenge against him in the 2006 election. Though he did not ultimately run, the remarks reflected his ongoing aversion to perceived authoritarian tendencies across party lines. On the Republican side, Weicker's post-2016 commentary drew direct parallels to his Nixon confrontations, lambasting and congressional Republicans for evading accountability. In 2015, he labeled Trump a "bigoted ," and by 2019, he argued that GOP lawmakers' fear of challenging Trump mirrored their earlier capitulation to Nixon, predicting Trump's 2020 electoral defeat as a potential catalyst for party reformation but decrying the empirical failure of loyalty over evidence in sustaining power. These interventions, while resonant with his independent persona, exerted limited influence amid polarized discourse, as Weicker's voice operated outside formal party structures.

Controversies and Criticisms

Perceived Disloyalty to Republican Conservatism

Weicker's aggressive pursuit of the Nixon administration during the 1970s Watergate investigations, as a member of the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, provoked accusations from conservative Republicans of disloyalty that fractured GOP cohesion and empowered Democratic narratives of executive corruption. His public charges against involvement in political espionage were seen by party critics as prioritizing institutional accountability over partisan solidarity, contributing to Nixon's 1974 resignation and subsequent Republican losses in the 1974 midterms, where the party netted a 49-seat deficit in the House. This stance, coupled with his later criticisms of Nixon's policies, cemented perceptions among conservatives that Weicker's independence harmed electoral viability by alienating the Republican base during a period of ideological realignment. Further eroding trust from economic conservatives, Weicker cast the sole Republican vote against President Reagan's first resolution in May 1981, diverging from the party's supply-side agenda that emphasized tax reductions to spur growth. This opposition extended to aspects of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which passed the 67-8 in August, as Weicker resisted measures viewed as essential for curbing inflation and deficits through reduced marginal rates. Conservatives argued such defections signaled unreliable allegiance to Reagan's coalition-building efforts, which had secured unified GOP support in for reversing Carter-era policies, and exemplified how moderate senators like Weicker undermined the fiscal discipline central to the 1980s conservative resurgence. On social issues, Weicker's advocacy for abortion rights, including votes against Reagan administration restrictions and calls for federal funding, alienated pro-life factions within the GOP that prioritized fetal protections as a . Similarly, his support for restrictions, evident in later gubernatorial actions like 's 1991 assault weapons ban prototype, clashed with Second Amendment defenders who saw such policies as infringing on individual rights without empirical reductions in crime rates. These positions fueled resentment among Republicans, who by the late 1970s viewed Weicker's maverick style—marked by clashes with state party leaders—as emblematic of a broader moderate detachment that prioritized personal ideology over unified opposition to liberal expansions. Collectively, conservative analysts attributed to Weicker and akin figures a catalytic in the marginalization of moderate Republicans, as their high-profile deviations provided ammunition for intra-party purges that elevated supply-side purists and social traditionalists by the mid-1980s, evidenced by primary challenges and convention shifts favoring ideological over Northeastern liberalism. This dynamic, per critics, empirically weakened GOP infrastructure in states like , where Weicker's pattern of bucking party lines correlated with diminished moderate influence and accelerated the party's pivot toward .

Fiscal Policy Reversal and Economic Impact

Despite campaigning on a platform opposing new taxes, Weicker signed legislation enacting Connecticut's first on August 22, 1991, at an initial flat rate of 4.5 percent, amid a national that exacerbated the state's budget shortfall. This move, framed as essential to avert fiscal collapse without deep spending cuts, has been criticized for contributing to economic contraction, with the tax hike coinciding with accelerated job losses concentrated in higher-wage sectors and a net driven by reduced in-migration. Empirical analyses indicate the policy deterred inbound migration without stemming outflows, resulting in a sustained net loss of residents and taxable income base during the early downturn. Although proponents, including Weicker, argued the would stabilize finances and enable balanced budgets by addressing structural deficits rather than cyclical ones, subsequent revealed entrenched spending growth outpacing gains, with state expenditures expanding 71 percent adjusted for from 1991 onward while growth lagged national averages. The measure, initially positioned as a response, evolved into a permanent fixture yielding over $126 billion in by 2016, yet correlated with slower economic recovery: recorded the nation's slowest growth from 1989 to 1994 and a rate rise from 5.5 percent pre-1991 to 8.1 percent in the ensuing decade. Critics, drawing on comparative state , attribute this to the tax's disincentive effects on and labor mobility, contrasting 's stagnation with faster-rebounding no-income-tax neighbors like . Long-term fiscal outcomes further underscore critiques of the policy's sustainability, as the top marginal rate climbed to 6.99 percent by the 2010s amid ballooning per-capita debt—placing Connecticut fourth nationally in debt relative to personal income—and debt service consuming 11.4 percent of spending by the mid-2000s, up from 4.9 percent pre-tax. Defenders contend it prevented default and funded essential services, yet revenue growth decelerated post-enactment—from 10 percent annually pre-1991 to 4.1 percent in the 2000s—highlighting causal links to expanded government rather than deficit resolution alone, with no evidence of superior outcomes versus spending restraint alternatives. While recent post-2018 upticks in revenue reflect broader national trends, the 1991 reversal's legacy persists in elevated structural imbalances, underscoring empirical risks of tax hikes during recessions without corresponding expenditure discipline.

Personal Life

Family Dynamics and Relationships

Lowell Weicker married Marie Louise "Bunny" Godfrey in 1953; the union produced three sons—Scott, Gray, and Brian—and ended in divorce in 1977. He wed Camille DiLorenzo Butler, his former appointments secretary, on November 5, 1977, in New York; they had two sons, Sonny and Tre, before divorcing in 1984. Weicker's , to Claudia Testa Ingram on December 21, , endured for nearly 39 years until his ; Ingram brought two stepsons from her prior marriage, Mason and . Weicker's five biological sons pursued varied professional paths, including business and law, while the family generally shielded personal matters from public scrutiny, offering few detailed anecdotes beyond standard biographical records. Family members later portrayed Weicker as a devoted patriarch—the "center of our universe"—whose enthusiasm for relatives persisted amid his demanding public career, evidenced by his sons' roles as pallbearers and readers at his 2023 funeral.

Health Issues and Death

In his later retirement years, primarily spent in Old Lyme, Connecticut, Weicker suffered months of declining health. Weicker died on June 28, 2023, at age 92, at Middlesex Hospital in , after a short illness, as announced by his family. A service was held on July 10, 2023, in , attended by bipartisan political figures including Governor and former Senator .

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