John G. Rowland Papers

John G. Rowland was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on May 24, 1957. After Graduating from Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, Rowland attended Villanova University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. Shortly after graduating from college Rowland began his political career as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly from the 73rd district (Waterbury), serving from 1981 until 1985. In 1984 Rowland was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Connecticut's fifth congressional district. He served in the ninety-ninth, one hundreth, and one hundred and first sessions of Congress, from January 3, 1985 until January 3, 1991. In 1990 Rowland did not seek reelection to Congress, entering Connecticut's gubernatorial race instead. A member of the Republican party, Rowland lost to Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Upon his defeat, Rowland worked briefly for the United Technologies Corporation. In 1994 he again sought the office of governor, this time successfully. At 37 Rowland was the youngest governor the state had ever elected, and upon his reelection in 2002 he became the first Governor to be elected to a third consecutive term since the state introduced the four year term in 1948.

During his tenure in office Rowland was instrumental in the further development and advancement of the University of Connecticut, allocating $2 billion dollars to the university through the UCONN 2000 program. Rowland also invested state money in the improvement of the the Connecticut State University system, and the state's community colleges. In addition to funding educational programs, Rowland was instrumental in revitalizing Connecticut's cities. Allocating state money to cultural programs, including Adriaen's Landing, in Hartford, the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, and the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Rowland was influential in bringing Connecticut residents into the cities.

Rowland was also the first and only governor to face impeachment in the state. Beginning in 2003 Rowland and his staff became the center of an investigation by the federal government on alligations of corruption and fraud. The allegations centered on state contractors who had completed work on one of Rowland's homes at no charge. Rowland was subsequently investigated on rumors that he accepted gifts from subordinates and entered into ownership of companies before they were granted charters by the state. Ordered to appear before the Connecticut Supreme Court to testify on behalf of the allegations, Rowland chose instead to resign from office on July 1, 2004. In December of 2004 Rowland pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of depriving the public of honest service, and was sentenced to one year in federal prison. Rowland was released from prison after serving ten months of his year long sentence, but remained under house arrest for an additional four months. After his release from house arrest Rowland began to lecture about his experience, and the dangers of abusing political power. In 2008 Rowland was hired as an economic advisor for the city of Waterbury.

In January 2008, Waterbury Republican Mayor Michael Jarjura announced that he would hire Rowland as an economic development advisor for the city. Rowland began work in February and received an annual salary of $95,000 as the city's economic development coordinator. Rowland's stint as Waterbury's economic development coordinator ended in 2012. From 2010 until 2014, Rowland hosted the afternoon show on Hartford's WTIC (1080). On April 1, 2014, Connecticut governor Dannel P. Malloy called on WTIC to remove Rowland from the air due to Rowland's implication in a corruption scandal involving former Congressional candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley. On April 3, 2014, Rowland announced that he was leaving as WTIC's afternoon talk-show host "to take care of some personal issues," he said just before 6 p.m, at the end of his regular three-hour time slot.

On April 10, 2014, Rowland was indicted on seven counts for his role in an election fraud case where former congressional candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley, Vice Chair of the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and her husband, Brian Foley, pleaded guilty in federal court on March 31, 2014, to illegally paying Rowland $35,000 in campaign consulting fees. He was charged with two counts of falsifying records in a federal investigation, one count of conspiracy, two counts of causing false statements to be made to the FEC, and two counts of causing illegal campaign contributions. He was convicted on all seven counts in September 2014, and was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison on March 18, 2015.