Craig C. Fishbein
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
from the 90th district
Assumed office
November 18, 2016
Preceded byMary G. Fritz
Personal details
Born (1965-07-16) July 16, 1965
Queens, New York, US
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceWallingford, Connecticut
EducationQuinnipiac University (BS, JD)
ProfessionAttorney
Websiterepfishbein.com

Craig Charles Fishbein is a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives representing the 90th State House District. He was born on July 16, 1965. A resident of Wallingford, Connecticut, he was first elected to the Connecticut General Assembly as a state representative in 2016,[1] in a special election (to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Mary G. Fritz) and a regular election, both held on the same date. He represents parts of Wallingford and Cheshire.

Biography

Fishbein was born on July 16, 1965, in Queens, New York. He graduated from Mark T. Sheehan High School in 1983 and Quinnipiac University in 1997 with a degree in Marketing, and from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2001. Since 2002, he has been practicing law with his father, at Fishbein Law Firm, LLC, in Wallingford.[2]

Political career

Fishbein is a member of the Wallingford Town Council, having first been elected to that position in 2009.[3] In addition to his duties as a member of the town council, he was the chairman of its Ordinance Committee,[4][5] from 2012 through 2017.

Fishbein is serving his third term as state representative for Connecticut's 90th District which includes portions of Wallingford, Connecticut, and Middlefield, Connecticut. In his first term, Fishbein served on the Public Safety and Security Committee,[6] Energy & Technology Committee,[7] and the Commerce Committee. In this second term, he served on the Labor and Public Sector Employees Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Public Safety and Security Committee. In his third term he is serving as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, as well as the Government Accountability & Elections Committee, and the Environment Committee.

Fishbein is a founding member of the Connecticut General Assembly Conservative Caucus and is currently its vice-chairman.

Controversies

In 2018, during a House debate, Fishbein used the phrase "monkey see, monkey do" while discussing ethnic minorities seeking recompense for discrimination based on their hairstyle. Fishbein later apologized for the comment.[8] The bill, known as the CROWN Act, passed the state House with a vote of 139–9, with Fishbein voting against it.[9]

In 2018, Fishbein, who is also a family law attorney received widespread criticism for saying, "I can tell you from the divorces that I do, which are many, sometimes domestic violence is arranged, involved, and sometimes it’s appalling," during a House debate over a bill that would reduce arrests of domestic violence victims when they call the police for help.[10] The bill, which would have an effect on domestic violence survivors, a majority of whom are ethnic minority women,[11] passed the Connecticut State Senate unanimously and passed the Connecticut House of Representatives with a vote of 147–1. Fishbein was the only member of the legislature to vote against it.

On May 30, 2020, Fishbein retweeted an image of Joe Biden with the caption, "If you aren't setting fire to buildings...then you ain't black."[12] Fishbein said in an apology that he didn't "know the extent of what was going on" and removed the tweet on Monday, June 1, following criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.[13] On Tuesday, June 2, the Wallingford Town Council voted unanimously to censure Fishbein, with one calling the retweet "backwards and unsophisticated".[14] On June 12, 2020, about 200 people attended a rally outside of town hall calling for his resignation.[15] Fishbein later stated that he did not believe sharing the meme was a "racist act," stating that it was instead an "albeit awkward attempt at trying to point out the racial double standard which exists on the left." While Fishbein admits retweeting the meme with no context or clarification was a mistake, he insists that the purpose of it was not to express racist sentiments.[16]

Electoral history

Connecticut House of Representatives 90th District (Special) Election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican* Craig C. Fishbein 6570 58.02
Democratic Patrick Reynolds 4752 41.98
Connecticut House of Representatives 90th District Regular Election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican* Craig C. Fishbein 7051 59.20
Democratic Patrick Reynolds 4860 40.80
Connecticut House of Representatives 90th District Regular Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican* Craig C. Fishbein 5929 53.52
Democratic Daniel Fontaine 5150 46.49
Connecticut House of Representatives 90th District Regular Election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican* Craig C. Fishbein 7055 50.03
Democratic Jim Jinks 7048 49.97

References

  1. ↑ Blair, Russell (2016-11-25). "Legislative Newcomers See No Quick Fix in Hartford". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  2. ↑ "About Craig Fishbein". Connecticut General Assembly House Republicans. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  3. ↑ Zabierek, Matthew (2016-09-27). "Fishbein, Reynolds plan to finish local terms if elected to 90th District seat". My Record Journal. Archived from the original on 2016-09-28.
  4. ↑ "Wallingford ordinance committee to examine banning newspaper freebies". Record Journal. July 20, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Wallingford considers limiting on street parking in response to resident complaint". Record Journal. January 6, 2017. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Rep. Fishbein Opposes Anti-Police Bill". Patch.com. June 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Representatives Fishbein and Zupkus Host PURA Workshop for Cheshire Residents". April 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ Takores, Lauren (June 11, 2020). "Fallout continues over Fishbein's retweet of racist meme". My Record Journal.
  9. ↑ Keating, Christopher (25 February 2021). "Connecticut House passes CROWN Act, which would ban discrimination based on ethnic hairstyles associated with race". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  10. ↑ Raff, Olivia Lank and Susan. "State lawmaker receives backlash after domestic violence comments". WFSB. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  11. ↑ Stockman, Jamila K.; Hayashi, Hitomi; Campbell, Jacquelyn C. (2015-01-01). "Intimate Partner Violence and Its Health Impact on Disproportionately Affected Populations, Including Minorities and Impoverished Groups". Journal of Women's Health. 24 (1): 62–79. doi:10.1089/jwh.2014.4879. ISSN 1540-9996. PMC 4302952. PMID 25551432.
  12. ↑ "Wallingford Lawmaker Criticized For Racist Retweet, Apologizes". Patch.com. June 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Wallingford Town Council Censures Fishbein For Racist Retweet". Patch.com. June 3, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Wallingford Town Council censures Fishbein for retweeting racist meme". Record-Journal. June 2, 2020.
  15. ↑ Takores, Lauren (June 12, 2020). "Rally calls for state rep's resignation in Wallingford". My Record Journal.
  16. ↑ Melendez (October 15, 2020). "Controversial ReTweet, Experience, And Style The Focus Of 90th District Race". The Cheshire Herald.
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