Jodi Rell, Connecticut's second female governor, dies at 78
HARTFORD, Conn. -- M. Jodi Rell, who became Connecticut's second female governor when John Rowland resigned amid a corruption scandal, has died. She was 78.
Rell died Wednesday following a brief illness at a Florida hospital, her family said in a statement released Thursday morning. Her husband died of cancer in 2014.
Rell, a Republican, was Connecticut's 87th governor and served from 2004 until 2011. Known for her candor and compassion — she would personally call people whenever they were facing difficult times — Rell took on the state's top job during a challenging period for the state. Her former running mate, Rowland, was under federal investigation and faced impeachment at the time.
Flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff
Gov. Ned Lamont directed flags to fly at half-staff in Rell's honor.
"Governor Rell represented the very best of Connecticut values, expanding healthcare and childcare, and making Connecticut one of the first states in the country to recognize same-sex unions. She became governor almost reluctantly and at a time of great turmoil, and she used her newly acquired authority to bring stability to state government in a way that was very much needed at the time, focusing on strengthening state ethics laws and rebuilding the trust of the residents of our state. Her style of leadership was not fabricated or manipulated in any way," Lamont said in a statement on X.
In an interview with The Associated Press in 2010, when Rell prepared to leave office, she pointed to her early efforts to "restore honor to the state of Connecticut" as one of her major accomplishments.
"Our state had been through so much. And what we really needed to do, what we needed at the time, was to move on, to once again make our residents proud of our state government," Rell said, adding how her administration worked to reform the state's campaign finance laws, impose standards for state contracts, and overhaul the state's ethics commission.
Rell served as lieutenant governor for 10 years and as a member of the state House of Representatives for 10 years, representing Brookfield and Bethel. Rell won the 2006 election after finishing out Rowland's term.