Cathy Connolly

A native of Troy, New York, Connolly earned her B.S. from Buffalo State College. She then received three postgraduate degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo: a Master of Arts (1989), a Juris Doctor (1991) and a PhD (1992).{{cite web|url=http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/cconn/|title=University of Wyoming Women's Studies Program: Catherine Connolly, Ph.D., J.D.|access-date=7 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828221841/http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/cconn/|archive-date=28 August 2008}} In 2009, Connolly completed [https://www.hks.harvard.edu/ Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government] program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a [http://www.bohnettfoundation.org/ David Bohnett] [https://victoryinstitute.org/programs/bohnett-leaders-fellowship/ LGBTQ Victory Institute] Leadership Fellow.

She moved to Laramie, Wyoming in 1992 when she accepted a faculty position at the University of Wyoming.{{cite web|url=http://www.connollyforhouse.com/biography.php |title=Cathy Connolly for House District 13: biography|access-date=7 February 2009}} Until 2000, she served as an adjunct professor in the Women's Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2000, she became director of the program, a post she held until 2006. Since 2006, she has been a professor, following six years as an associate professor in the sociology department.

A lesbian, she has a son, Lucas.{{cite news |title=Lawmakers say "I do" to ignoring gay marriage |date=4 February 2009 |url=http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/19local_02-04-09.txt |access-date=7 February 2009 |work=Wyoming Tribune Eagle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918221405/http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/19local_02-04-09.txt |archive-date=18 September 2012 }}{{cite web|title=Columbia University Press blog: "The Change Paragraph"|url=http://www.cupblog.org/?cat=49|access-date=7 February 2009}} She is the first ever openly gay member of the Wyoming State Legislature.{{cite news |title=Out in the Equality State |date=6 March 2009 |url=http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews37_10/page12.cfm |access-date=15 March 2009 |work=Seattle Gay News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073625/http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews37_10/page12.cfm |archive-date=6 June 2011 }} She has authored a number of articles on sexuality including Out in the cowboy state: a look at lesbian and gay lives in Wyoming, published in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services in 2007.{{cite journal |author1=Cathy Connolly |author2=Gail Leedy |year=2007 |title=Out in the cowboy state: a look at lesbian and gay lives in Wyoming |journal=Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=17–34 |doi=10.1300/j041v19n01_02|s2cid=142938246 }} Connolly represents Laramie, the city in which Matthew Shepard was murdered in 1998 in what was believed to be an anti-gay hate crime. She is featured as a character in the play based on those events, The Laramie Project.

The district Connolly represents is the 13th district ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121111105004/http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&client=safari&ie=UTF8&split=0&ei=fuCNSevyJsOi-gbb3OWZCw&msa=0&ll=41.313274,-105.584793&spn=0.078007,0.164795&z=13&msid=108706491288871514502.000462592a6ab23753880 map]), it falls entirely within the city of Laramie and contains a central portion of the city. Connolly was first elected to the legislature in 2008, winning the primary election unopposed. A Republican, Ember Oakley, filed to run against her in the general election but withdrew on August 29. She was therefore elected without opposition. She succeeded Democrat Jane Warren and took office in January 2009. In the 2009 legislature, she was appointed to the House Education Committee, to the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee and to the Select Committee on Legislative Facilities. She faced no opposition in 2010 and ran unopposed for re-election in 2012 and 2014.{{cite web |title=Wyoming Secretary of State: 2010 Primary Election Candidate Roster |url=http://soswy.state.wy.us/Elections/Docs/2010/2010_Primary_Election_Candidate_Roster.pdf}}{{cite news |date=July 28, 2012 |title=Connolly to run for third term in State House |work=Laramie Boomerang |url=http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2012/07/28/news/doc50137b1cf1cce074618626.txt |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127123738/http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2012/07/28/news/doc50137b1cf1cce074618626.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 27, 2013 }}

Prior to becoming the representative from district 13, Connolly volunteered with the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. Connolly also served on the board of directors of Albany County SAFE Project and United Gays and Lesbians of Wyoming (now Wyoming Equality). She spent several years as a grant reviewer for the State Division of Victim Services and currently serves as a member of the State Department of Workforce Services' wage gap policy group. She is also a former chair of the parent board at Laramie's Whiting High School.

{{Election box begin no change|title=2018 Wyoming House of Representatives election, District 13}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Wyoming Democratic Party|candidate=Cathy Connolly|votes=2,252|percentage=59.01}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Wyoming Republican Party|candidate=Joey Correnti IV|votes=1,564|percentage=40.98}}{{Election box total no change|votes=3816|percentage=100%}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Wyoming Democratic Party}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin no change|title=2018 Wyoming House of Representatives election, District 13}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Wyoming Democratic Party|candidate=Cathy Connolly (incumbent)|votes=2,477|percentage=96.2}}

{{Election box write-in with party link no change|votes=99|percentage=3.8}}

{{Election box total no change|votes=2,576|percentage=100%}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Wyoming Democratic Party}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin|title=Wyoming's 13th State House District General Election, 2020}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Wyoming Democratic Party|candidate=Cathy Connolly (incumbent)|votes=3,004|percentage=92.5%|change=–3.7}}

{{Election box write-in with party link|votes=245|percentage=7.5%|change=+3.7}}

{{Election box total|votes=3,249|percentage=100.0%}}

{{Election box hold with party link no swing|winner=Democratic Party (US)}}

{{Election box end}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160107211951/http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LegislatorSummary/LegDetail.aspx?LegID=1258 Legislative homepage]
• [http://www.connollyforhouse.com Campaign website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080828221841/http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/cconn/ Homepage at the University of Wyoming]

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|us-wy-hs}}

{{s-bef|before=Mary Throne}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minority Leader of the Wyoming House of Representatives|years=2017–2023}}

{{s-aft|after=Mike Yin}}

{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Cathy}}

Category:1956 births

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century members of the Wyoming Legislature

Category:Democratic Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives

Category:American lesbian politicians

Category:Lesbian academics

Category:LGBTQ state legislators in Wyoming

Category:Living people

Category:Politicians from Troy, New York

Category:Women state legislators in Wyoming

Category:University at Buffalo alumni