General Assembly House Joint Resolution No. 177
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 4227
*04227__________*
Referred to Committee on No Committee
Introduced by:
REP. SHARKEY, 88th Dist. REP. ARESIMOWICZ, 30th Dist. REP. KLARIDES, 114th Dist. REP. GRESKO, 121st Dist. REP. HOYDICK, 120th Dist. REP. MCGORTY, 122nd Dist. SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist. SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist. SEN. FASANO, 34th Dist. SEN. KELLY, 21st Dist. SEN. GOMES, 23rd Dist.
General Assembly
House Joint
Resolution No. 177
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 4227
*04227__________*
Referred to Committee on No Committee
Introduced by:
REP. SHARKEY, 88th Dist.
REP. ARESIMOWICZ, 30th Dist.
REP. KLARIDES, 114th Dist.
REP. GRESKO, 121st Dist.
REP. HOYDICK, 120th Dist.
REP. MCGORTY, 122nd Dist.
SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.
SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist.
SEN. FASANO, 34th Dist.
SEN. KELLY, 21st Dist.
SEN. GOMES, 23rd Dist.
RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SYMPATHY ON THE DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVE TERRY BACKER.
Resolved by this Assembly:
WHEREAS, on Monday, December 14, 2015, the State of Connecticut and the town of Stratford lost a distinguished and beloved State Representative with the passing of Terry Backer, at the age of sixty-one;
WHEREAS, he represented the 121st district with distinction from 1993 to the date of his passing; and
WHEREAS, he was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on August 3, 1954, and attended Norwalk public schools; and
WHEREAS, he later earned a license as a Merchant Marine officer from the United States Coast Guard; and
WHEREAS, he was a third-generation commercial fisherman who worked with his father harvesting shellfish from Long Island Sound; and
WHEREAS, he was an environmentalist who fought for the preservation of Long Island Sound; and
WHEREAS, his efforts and partnership with environmental advocates led to the establishment of the nonprofit Soundkeeper Fund; and
WHEREAS, he was appointed the full-time Long Island Soundkeeper in 1988; and
WHEREAS, his mission as Soundkeeper was to monitor Long Island Sound's biological integrity, pursue polluters and reduce contamination; restore salt marshes; educate the public; and generate popular support; and
WHEREAS, he told the New York Times in 1988, "If we move more citizens to realize the value of Long Island Sound as a natural resource, government will have no choice but to follow their lead."; and
WHEREAS, he was a member of the Long Island Sound Advisory Council and the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality; and
WHEREAS, he was first elected as State Representative in 1992, representing the South End of Stratford, including the Lordship neighborhood where he lived; and
WHEREAS, he served for twelve terms as State Representative, and served as vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee, and member of the Environment Committee, the Labor and Public Employees Committee, and the Legislative Regulation Review Committee; and
WHEREAS, he also served as Assistant Majority Leader and Assistant Majority Whip in the Connecticut House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, he is survived by his mother, Catherine Lagana Backer, and his sons, Luke and Jacob; his brother, James; his sisters, Kathleen Patchen and Cheryl McNeill; and a grandson, Caleb Backer.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly expresses its sincere sympathy and heartfelt condolences on the passing of one of its honorable members, Terry Backer, whose death is a profound loss to the House of Representatives, his family and friends, the residents of Stratford and the entire State of Connecticut; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate cause a copy of this resolution to be sent to the family of Terry Backer, as an expression of the high esteem and affection in which he is held.