December 30, 2010
REP. GODFREY RE-APPOINTED DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
State Representative Bob Godfrey (D-Danbury) has been re-appointed to serve in the position of Deputy Speaker of the House during his next two-year term in the Connecticut General Assembly.
The appointment was made by Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden), for whom Godfrey served as Deputy Speaker during the current two-year term. Prior to that, he served in the same role for two terms under former Speaker of the House James Amann (D-Milford).
The Deputy Speaker is responsible for assisting the Speaker of the House in presiding over the House during it debates and for leading the majority party in its agenda. Godfrey has gained a reputation on both sides of the aisle in the state legislature as being the chief lawmaker with knowledge of parliamentary rules and state history.
“Bob Godfrey is the ‘go-to guy’ whenever there’s a technical question about procedures or legislative precedent,” Donovan explained. “In addition to his broad grasp of the issues of the day, he has been a top notch leader, moderating debates in the House in a fair, evenhanded manner. There’s no question that he’s well respected both in his hometown of Danbury and at the State Capitol in Hartford. I thank him for accepting the role again.”
“There’s no question that our state is facing many challenges right now. My number one priorities will be to assist the legislature in passing legislation that will create new jobs in the state, maintain the ones that are currently here, and grow the economy,” Godfrey said. “I’d like to thank the Speaker for asking me to serve in this role and I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner as we meet to tackle these issues.”
In addition to this leadership role, Godfrey has been appointed to serve as a member of the Judiciary, Government Administration & Elections, and Legislative Management committees during his upcoming term.
The entire membership of the General Assembly will be sworn into office on January 5th at the State Capitol in Hartford during the opening day ceremony of the 2011 Session.