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Kimberly Fiorello

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Kimberly Fiorello
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
from the 149th district
In office
January 6, 2021 – January 4, 2023
Preceded byLivvy Floren
Succeeded byRachel Khanna
Personal details
Born
Kimberly Song

(1975-10-20) October 20, 1975 (age 49)
Seoul, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJonathan Fiorello
Children4
Residence(s)Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationSouth Lakes High School
Alma materHarvard University
Websitewww.kimberlyfor149.com

Kimberly Song Fiorello (née Song; born October 20, 1975) is an American politician who served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 149th District, which encompasses parts of Greenwich and Stamford, for the Republican Party from January 6, 2021 to January 4, 2023. Earlier in her political career she served on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) in Greenwich, from 2017 to 2020. She was part of Connecticut's Conservative Caucus.

Early life and education

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Fiorello was born Kimberly Song on October 20, 1975, in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Reston, Virginia.[1] Her father worked for the United States Department of Defense, while her mother owned and operated a coffee shop. She is a grandchild of a refugee from North Korea.[2] She initially attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York for one year before transferring to Harvard College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts (AB) in Economics.[3][4]

Career

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She started her career after college in the analyst training program at Salomon Brothers in New York ultimately becoming a reporter for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.[5] Fiorello also engaged as a line chef at Wallace Restaurant in New York and several entrepreneurial activities such as becoming an inventor of a storage bag design (U.S. patent holder) and former state director for a non-profit organization in education. She also served as active community volunteer for the Greenwich Historical Society and Grace Church of Greenwich.[6]

Political career

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Fiorello first entered state politics when she ran for the 149th District seat.[7] In November 2020, she won the election for the seat.[8] Since taking office, Fiorello, like many other politicians in Fairfield County, has been very vocal in regards to local control over zoning, among other issues.[9]

Fiorello spoke on the House floor against legislation designed to make it easier to report instances of sexual misconduct on college campuses. Addressing a section of the bill that allowed amnesty for underaged drinking in cases of sexual assault or rape, which was included to help encourage student-survivors to report their experiences, Fiorello said, “I want to say if you care about your friends, and you see the potential for this kind of violence and harm that can come to your friends, and drinking and doing drugs is related to that, then don’t drink. Don’t do the drugs."[10] Mike Cerulli, former president of the Connecticut Federation of College Democrats, criticized Fiorello, saying her comments “reflect a fairly common narrative" that blames victims — “if they hadn’t been drinking, if they hadn’t dressed a certain way" then they would not have been sexually assaulted. Fiorello ultimately voted in favor of the bill, which was passed 151–0.[10]

In March 2022, Fiorello entered into a dispute with a 20-year-old college student testifying in favor of an affordable housing bill.[11] Alan Cavagnaro, a sophomore at Manchester Community College, testified that many people his age are leaving the state because it was too expensive to live there.[11] Fiorello, opposing the bill, asked Cavagnaro whether he believed housing was a right, to which he stated yes.[11] Fiorello responded that “housing is not a right, because housing is built by other people", and is instead a "want".[11]

When debating on whether to make Juneteenth a state holiday, Fiorello, a member of the state's Conservative Caucus, called the Three-fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved Black people as three-fifths of a person, a "compromise in favor towards freedom".[12] Fiorello's comments drew rebuke from Robyn Porter, a Black Representative from New Haven, who pushed back on Fiorello's comments by responding “the fact that Black people — men, women and children — were not seen as whole human beings for the purposes of taxation and representation, that is what the Three-Fifths Compromise was rooted and grounded in".[12] Fiorello voted in favor of the bill, which was passed 148–1.[12]

In November 2022, Fiorello narrowly lost her re-election bid to Democrat candidate Rachel Khanna.[13][14]

Electoral history

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2020 Connecticut House of Representatives election, District 149[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kimberly Fiorello 7,203 51.40
Democratic Kathleen Stowe 6,809 48.60
Total votes 14,012 100.00
Republican hold
2022 Connecticut House of Representatives election, District 149[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Khanna 5,243 49.97
Independent Party Rachel Khanna 108 1.03
Total Rachel Khanna 5,351 51.00
Republican Kimberly Fiorello 5,141 49.00
Total votes 10,492 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican Swing -2.4

Personal life

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Fiorello is married to Jonathan "Jon" Fiorello (b. 1976), who is a managing director at KKR.[17] They reside in Greenwich and have four children.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Republicans Nominate Kimberly Fiorello to Run for State Rep, 149th District". Greenwich Free Press. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  2. ^ "Reps. Fiorello Urges President Biden, CT Congressional Delegation to Stop Extradition of U.S. Veteran". Greenwich Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  3. ^ "State Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, a rising GOP star, is ready to do battle in the divisive culture wars". 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Kimberly Fiorello". CFG Foundation. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  5. ^ Scofield, R.J. (19 October 2020). "Candidate Profile: Kimberly Fiorello For CT House District 149". patch.com. Greenwich CT Patch. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "CT Patch Candidate Profile: Kimberly Fiorello For 149th House District". Greenwich, CT Patch. 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  7. ^ Borsuk, Ken. "Showdown in the 149th: Fiorello, Stowe debate the issues". lmtonline.com. Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Fiorello claims victory in the 149th House District for Greenwich, Stamford". greenwichtime.com. Greenwich Time. 5 November 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Borsuk, Ken (20 January 2021). "Leaders from across Fairfield County unite over opposing possible affordable housing mandates". ctinsider.com. Greenwich Time. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Bergman, Julia (2021-05-26). "Lawmaker criticized over remarks that sexual assault could be curtailed by less drinking, drug use". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  11. ^ a b c d Bergman, Julia (2022-03-15). "'Is housing a right?': Exchange between lawmaker and college student shows CT affordable housing divide". CT Insider. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  12. ^ a b c Moritz, John (2022-05-04). "CT lawmakers pass Juneteenth holiday, but comments on slavery prompt backlash". CT Insider. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  13. ^ "Election Center: November 2022 State Election". Secretary of the State of Connecticut.
  14. ^ Borsuk, Ken; Marchant, Robert; Gurciullo, Brianna (2022-11-09). "Democrat Rachel Khanna defeats incumbent Republican Kimberly Fiorello to win CT House 149th District race". Greenwich Time. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  15. ^ "Connecticut House of Representatives District 149".
  16. ^ "November 2022 State Election".
  17. ^ "Jon Fiorello". KKR. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  18. ^ Fiorello, Kimberly (2020-07-03). "Opinion: Candidate embraces state's revolutionary history". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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