Wisialowski Flips 23rd House District

After 24 years of Republican representation, Old Saybrook Democrat Jane Wisialowski has flipped the the 23rd House District. 

Unofficial election results from the Office of the Secretary of the State show Wisialowski swept all four towns in the Nov. 3 contest against Republican Barbara Labriola, also of Old Saybrook. 

Wisialowski took 57.8% of the votes compared to Labriola’s 42.2%. In total, Wisialowski received 7,528 votes; Labriola got 5,499.

In Old Lyme, Wisialowski garnered 2,548 votes to Labriola’s 1,846, and in Lyme, she received 892 votes to Labriola’s 489. In her hometown of Old Saybrook, she won 3,317 to 2,430. Westbrook voters favored Wisialowski 771 to 734.

In a Wednesday morning phone call, she said she’s excited to be the first Democrat to represent this district since it was restructured in 2002. 

Republican Devin Carney, who is retiring, held the seat for 12 years; Republican Marilyn Giuliano held it the 12 previous years. 

Wisialowski credited her victory, at least in part, to the positive race she said she ran.

“I’m just really proud of the campaign my team ran,” she said. “We ran a really positive race and that puts me on a positive track to deal with the constituents.”

Labriola did not respond to messages Wednesday requesting comment for this story. 

Flipping the District

Wisialowski said she started getting confident when results from Old Saybrook started to flow in and noticed she was holding a strong lead. As Old Lyme results trickled in, she felt even better.

Around 9:30, when the rest of the results started to come in, she was at the Hideaway Restaurant in Old Lyme, where she gave a speech recalling campaign discussions about listening, and turning constituents’ priorities into legislative priorities. 

“This is our seat, and I work for you. I work for all of you,” she said in her election night speech. “I got a purple blazer on tonight because I work for all the people of the 23^rd District.” 

The next morning, Wisialowski echoed some of the sentiments, noting how important it is for the legislature to come together and represent everyone despite the “blue wave.”

“It was a great win and I’m certainly a Democrat, a strong Democrat, but I’m representing everybody now,” she said.

She said she wants to hear from constituents about their celebrations, big meetings and struggles. She said folks should call, email or text to keep her in the loop. 

From Campaigning to Celebrating

Wisialowski said she went from polling place to polling place Tuesday, visiting all five in the district. Two were in Old Saybrook, with one each in the other towns. 

That night, she stopped at home for a bit. Then, she went to Democratic headquarters in Westbrook, where she enjoyed some food and gave a speech. Next she crossed the river to hang at The Hideaway with Lyme and Old Lyme Democrats, where she saw Senator Martha Marx, D-New London.

Marx retained her 20^th District seat.

On Wednesday, Wisialowski said  she’s been getting lots of calls, including from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who phoned from Washington DC., Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz.

“I’m just so excited. This is 24 years we’ve worked to flip this seat,” she said. 

Wisialowski noted that being the only candidate in recent years to run for the seat twice may have made a difference in her ability to flip it, as did the fact that the seat was open.

In 2024, she lost a bid for the seat to Carney.

Committee Wish List

Wisialowski said she would be visiting the state Capitol Thursday to get up to speed on some details and let the legislature know what committees she’s interested in joining. 

Her committee interests include Human Services, Aging and Education, she said – but as a “freshman,” she’s open to finding out where her skillset will be most useful. That may include healthcare or working with the probate court.

With a background in the corporate world that started in marketing, Wisialowski eventually launched a new branch of Brady Corporation, a manufacturing company, in Australia. She remained there for several years, running the marketing and customer service departments. 

When she returned to the United States, she moved to Old Saybrook with her husband.

In 2008, she learned her mom had Alzheimer’s disease, which sparked a career change to eldercare services. 

Then she worked for the Agency on Aging, a nonprofit organization that offers services to older adults and individuals with disabilities. 

In 2022, Wisialowski became a conservator, supervising financial affairs for vulnerable individuals and helping them navigate state programs and insurance. She works on cases throughout the state assigned by the probate court. 

“We’ll just have to see,” she said of her committee assignments. “We may just have to see what my background as a conservator can best serve.”

Pressing Issues

Wisialowski said the first issues she wants to address, and which she believes the people in the House need to deliver on, are affordability and keeping people insured.

According to a Sept. 2 article in U.S. News & World Report, about one in every five eligible adults in Medicaid expansion states  – states that have expanded their Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act to provide government-funded health coverage to nearly all low-income adults – could lose their benefits due to new work requirements taking effect in 2027.

“I think we have to look at what the federal situation has done to Medicaid, knocking people off health insurance,” she said. 

“What’s going on to help people afford heat, gasoline, that’s going to be big,” she said. 

She also wants to look at education, special education, and the Education Cost Sharing formula.

Wisialowski is hoping to change the formula for the Education Cost Sharing grant, a state-funded program that allocates funding to schools across the state. She said the grant program is widely criticized for not adequately addressing the rising costs of special education.