Caroline Simmons leads one of Connecticut’s fastest-growing cities that’s home to major corporations and a growing population.
Simmons is the mayor of Stamford and has been an emerging power player in Connecticut’s Democratic Party. She was elected mayor in 2021, defeating former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine in what became a hotly contested and watched race.
Before that, Simmons served as a state representative, where she became known for supporting pro-business legislation as co-chair of the Commerce Committee and bipartisan Manufacturing Caucus.
She also previously worked at a mental health policy lab at the Yale School of Medicine and the Women’s Business Development Council.
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According to her biography, Simmons’ top priorities as mayor include investing in the city’s “infrastructure, advancing economic prosperity, and making government more responsive to enhance quality of life for residents.”
Simmons made headlines recently when she joined other Connecticut mayors and superintendents at the state Capitol in Hartford to lobby for additional state education funding.
At a joint news conference in January, city leaders from New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Stamford said the state’s school districts need $545 million more in the coming year to serve students.
“It’s pretty rare that you get five mayors and five superintendents to agree completely and unanimously on one single issue, but this is truly one of those issues that is so fundamental to the future of our cities and towns and our state,” Simmons said.