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Simmons, Rob

CANDIDATE DETAILS

Affiliation


<-	2010-01-01

Name

Rob Simmons

Address

Stonington, Connecticut , United States

None

Website

[Link]

Born

February 11, 1943 (81 years)

Contributor

*crickets chirp*

Last Modifed

RBH
Dec 16, 2017 05:51pm

Tags

Caucasian - Married - Episcopalian - Straight -

Info

On November 7th, 2000, Robert R. "Rob" Simmons was elected to the United States House of Representatives to serve the Second District of Connecticut. At age 58, his election to Congress marks a continuation of his 35 years of public service to his country. In January, 2001, Rob was selected to serve on the Armed Services Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Rob also serves on the Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism of the Armed Services Committee. This panel was established to assist the committee in addressing the threat of terrorism to military personnel and civilians both home and abroad. Rob is a member of several congressional organizations and has received numerous awards.

Before his victory in November, Rob represented Stonington and North Stonington in the Connecticut General Assembly since 1991, having been elected and re-elected as a State Representative five times. In 1998, he received 73% of the vote in a district that is 25% Republican.

Rob enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 as a Private, graduated from Infantry Officer Candidate School in 1967, and spent 19 months in Vietnam, where he earned two Bronze Star Medals. In 1969, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, working as an Operations Officer for a decade, including five years on assignment overseas in East Asia.

In 1979, Rob left the CIA to join the staff of Senator John H. Chafee (R-RI). He was subsequently named Staff Director of the Select Committee on Intelligence by Chairman Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) - a position he held from November 1981 to February 1985. On leaving the Committee, Simmons was commended by the 99th Congress with Senate Resolution 57 for "Distinguished Service to the United States of America." He was also cited by CIA Director William Casey for his "distinguished contribution to the intelligence community" and was awarded the CIA Seal Medallion, its highest civilian award.

Rob remained in the U.S. Army Reserve, where retired with the rank of Colonel in 2000. He is the past commander of the 434th Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment (Strategic) in New Haven, CT. In 1996, his unit was recognized with the Reserve Officer's Association's Outstanding USAR Small Unit Award. In 1998, Rob received the Knowlton Award for "Integrity, Moral Character, Professional Competence and Selflessness" for his contributions to the MI Corps.

In Hartford, Rob was Ranking Member of the Transportation Committee and served on the Commerce and Appropriations Committees. Over the years, he has worked to reduce taxes, rebuild the state university system, extend ConnPACE benefits, eliminate the 6% sales tax on newspapers, establish the Connecticut Seafood Council, implement campaign finance reform, and rebuild the State Pier in New London.

Rob believes that his job is to take his constituents' ideas and turn them into laws for the public benefit. Locally, Simmons is past chairman of the Stonington Police Commission (1987-88) and past president of the Stonington Community Center (1986-88). He was Adjutant of American Legion Post #58, Lector at Calvary Episcopal Church and a Member of Asylum Lodge #57 (AF&AM) in Stonington. He was elected and re-elected to the Stonington Republican Town Committee since 1986, and served as chairman from 1988-1992.

Rob Simmons is a 1965 graduate of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where he won six varsity letters and was captain of the cross-country and track teams. He earned a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1979, where he was a Littauer Fellow. He was a Visiting Lecturer at the Political Science Department at Yale University from 1985 to 1995, a Teaching Assistant at the University of Connecticut from 1988 to 1991, and remains an Associate Fellow of Berkeley College at Yale.

In 1974, Rob Simmons married Heidi Paffard, also of Stonington. They are blessed with a daughter, Jane, 25, who is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and works in New York City; and a son, Robert, 19, who attends Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island.

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