Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill is appointing Scott Bates of Stonington as her top deputy, effective Jan. 24.
The post had been held by James F. Spallone who left the agency to become general counsel to House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin).
Bates had served as Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth (1993), has extensive experience on Capitol Hill, and has worked with elected leaders and activists alike to build democratic institutions and governance structures in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti and the Persian Gulf.
