William Petit

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = William Petit

| image = William Petit (2008).webp

| caption = Petit in 2008

| office = Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 22nd district

| term_start = January 4, 2017

| term_end = January 4, 2023

| predecessor = Betty Boukas

| successor = Francis Cooley

| birth_name = William Arthur Petit, Jr.

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|09|24}}

| birth_place = Southington, Connecticut, U.S.

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{Marriage|Jennifer Hawke|1985|2007|end=died}}
{{Marriage|Christine Paluf|2012|2020|end=divorced}}

}}

| children = 3 (2 deceased)

}}

William A. Petit Jr. (born September 24, 1956){{cite web |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/172162/william-petit-jr |title=William Petit, Jr.'s Biography |website=Vote Smart |access-date=July 13, 2022 }} is an American former physician and politician. A Republican, he represented District 22 (Plainville and formerly part of New Britain) in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023. A former physician, he was the sole survivor of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion, in which his wife and two daughters were murdered.

Early life and education

Petit was born in Southington and grew up in Plainville, where his father had a general store and was on the school board and the town council as well as being a member of the Republican state central committee.{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Leukhardt |url=https://www.courant.com/politics/elections/hc-general-assembly-petit-20161103-story.html |title=William Petit Jr. Unseats Longtime Incumbent Betty Boukus |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=November 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707050610/https://www.courant.com/politics/elections/hc-general-assembly-petit-20161103-story.html |archive-date=July 7, 2021 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/nyregion/william-petit-home-invasion-connecticut-legislature.html|title=From Gruesome Tragedy Emerges a New Life in Politics|first=Lisa W.|last=Foderaro|date=March 2, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303030238/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/nyregion/william-petit-home-invasion-connecticut-legislature.html |archive-date=March 3, 2018 }} After graduating from Plainville High School, he earned an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology at the Yale University School of Medicine.{{cite web|url=http://www.cthousegop.com/petit/about/|title=About State Representative William A. Petit Jr.|website=Connecticut House GOP |access-date=July 13, 2022 }}

Practice as a physician and home invasion

In 1989, Petit entered private practice in Plainville. In 1989, he also became medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center at New Britain General Hospital, now a campus of The Hospital of Central Connecticut, and from 1994 to 2008 he served as Director of Public Health for Plainville.

On July 23, 2007, Petit's wife, Jennifer, and two daughters were murdered in a home invasion robbery and arson at their house in Cheshire. Mrs. Petit and one of her daughters were raped before their deaths. Despite serious injuries from a baseball bat, Petit escaped and was the only survivor.{{cite news |first=Daniela |last=Altimari |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-dr-william-petit-htmlstory.html |title=From Years Of Despair, Petit Rebuilds Family, New Life |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=July 21, 2017 }}

Philanthropy and advocacy

In the years following the loss of his family, Petit attended the trials of the two attackers who were later both convicted of murder, and devoted himself to philanthropy. In 2007, he founded the Petit Family Foundation, which supports education, especially of women in science; people affected by chronic illnesses (his wife had multiple sclerosis); and assistance to victims of violence.{{cite news |first=Kayla |last=Murphy |url=http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-New+Britain+News/338648/petit-wins-second-term-in-22nd-house-district |title=Petit wins second term in 22nd House District |newspaper=New Britain Herald |date=November 7, 2018 }} He also advocated for victims' rights and in defense of the death penalty.{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Pazniokas |url=https://ctmirror.org/2014/02/05/doctor-petit-will-not-run-for-congress/ |title=Dr. William Petit will not run for Congress|newspaper=The Connecticut Mirror|date=February 5, 2014 }}

In 2012, the Democratic-controlled state legislature of Connecticut and Governor Dannel Malloy abolished the death penalty for future crimes. 11 men remained on the state's death row until 2015, when the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 4-3, in State v. Santiago, that applying the death penalty only for past cases was unconstitutional, thus ending the death penalty in Connecticut. The two attackers were subsequently re-sentenced to life without parole.[https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/connecticut Death Penalty info by state], deathpenaltyinfo.org. Accessed 21 January 2023.

Political career

In 2014 Petit, a Republican, considered running for Congress in the 5th district against then freshman Democrat Elizabeth Esty, but decided against it. He also declined to run for the seat in 2018.{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Pazniokas |url=https://ctmirror.org/2018/04/25/gop-fails-courtship-bill-petit-congress/ |title=GOP fails in its courtship of Bill Petit for Congress |newspaper=The Connecticut Mirror |date=April 25, 2018 }}

In the 2016 election, he won election to the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 22nd district, defeating 11-term incumbent Democrat Elizabeth "Betty" Boukus. He defeated Democrat Richard Ireland Jr. for his second term in 2018 and ran unopposed for reelection in 2020.{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Corica |url=http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-New+Britain+News/380902/petit-running-unopposed-to-begin-third-term-as-state-rep-for-plainville-new-britain2020 |title=Petit, running unopposed, to begin third term as state rep for Plainville, New Britain |newspaper=New Britain Herald |date=November 3, 2020 }}

Petit declined to run for reelection in 2022.{{cite news |first=Brian M.|last=Johnson |url=http://www.bristolpress.com/BP-Plainville+News/405398/rep-bill-petit-will-not-seek-reelection |title=Rep. Bill Petit will not seek reelection |newspaper=The Bristol Press |date=May 10, 2022}}{{cite news |first=Jesse |last=Buchanan |url=https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/State-Rep-Petit-not-seeking-reelection.html |title=Petit not seeking re-election in House district that now includes Southington |newspaper=Record-Journal |date=May 12, 2022 }}

Personal life

On April 13, 1985, Petit married Jennifer Hawke (1958-2007),{{Cite web |title=Jennifer Hawke-Petit Obituary (2007) - Plainville, CT - Hartford Courant |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hartfordcourant/name/jennifer-hawke-petit-obituary?id=6581788 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Legacy.com}} in Meadville, Pennsylvania with whom he had two daughters:

Hayley Elizabeth Petit (October 15, 1989 - July 23, 2007){{Cite web |title=Hayley Petit Obituary (2007) - Plainville, CT - Hartford Courant |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hartfordcourant/name/hayley-petit-obituary?id=6581803 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Legacy.com}}
Michaela Rose Petit (November 17, 1995 - July 23, 2007){{Cite web |title=Michaela Petit Obituary (2007) - Plainville, CT - Hartford Courant |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hartfordcourant/name/michaela-petit-obituary?id=6581793 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Legacy.com}}

Petit's daughters, Hayley and Michaela, were 17 and 11 when they and his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit were murdered. In 2012, he remarried to Christine Paluf, a photographer whom he met when she volunteered for the Petit Foundation.{{cite magazine |first=Nicole Weisensee |last=Egan |url=http://people.com/celebrity/dr-william-petit-marries-christine-paluf-see-pictures/ |title=Dr. William Petit Remarries Five Years After Family Tragedy |magazine=People |date=August 9, 2012 }} They have a son:

William Arthur Petit III (November 23, 2013)

Petit and his family reside in Farmington, Connecticut.{{Cite web |date=2015-09-06 |title=Dad rebuilds life after family was bound, tortured and murdered |url=https://nypost.com/2015/09/06/dr-william-petit-rebuilds-life-after-losing-family-in-home-invasion/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |language=en-US}}

Electoral history

= 2016 =

{{Election box begin no change|title=Connecticut's 22nd State house district election, 2016{{Cite web|title=Office of the Secretary of State|url=https://electionhistory.ct.gov/eng/contests/view/4862/}}}}

{{Election box candidate no change|party=Total|candidate=William Petit|votes=6,359|percentage=60.1%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=William Petit|votes=5,765|percentage=54.5%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Independent Party of Connecticut|candidate=William Petit|votes=594|percentage=5.6%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Betty Boukas (incumbent)|votes=4,229|percentage=39.9%}}

{{Election box total no change|votes=10,588|percentage=100.00%|change=}}

{{Election box gain with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (United States)|loser=Democratic Party (United States)}}

= 2018 =

{{Election box begin no change|title=Connecticut's 22nd State house district election, 2018{{Cite web|title=Office of the Secretary of State|url=https://electionhistory.ct.gov/eng/contests/view/4041/}}}}

{{Election box candidate no change|party=Total|candidate=William Petit (incumbent)

|votes=5,738|percentage=65.8%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=William Petit (incumbent)|votes=5,297|percentage=60.7%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Independent Party of Connecticut|candidate=William Petit (incumbent)|votes=441|percentage=5.1%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Richard Ireland Jr.|votes=2,989|percentage=34.3%}}

{{Election box total no change|votes=8,727|percentage=100.00%|change=}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (United States)}}

= 2020 =

{{Election box begin no change|title=Connecticut's 22nd State house district election, 2020{{Cite web|title=Office of the Secretary of State|url=https://electionhistory.ct.gov/eng/contests/view/20757/}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=William Petit (incumbent)|votes=7,005|percentage=79.6%}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Independent Party of Connecticut|candidate=William Petit (incumbent)|votes=1,792|percentage=20.4%}}

{{Election box total no change|votes=8,797|percentage=100.00%|change=}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (United States)}}