Connecticut Treasurer Russell: Be intentional with inclusion

There were many "trailblazers" at the Muni Pride LGBTQ+ History Month Social Mixer, Connecticut Treasurer Erick Russell said in his speech at the event.

"Even if you aren't a first, say, for your profession, or a first in your organization, the worlds of finance and law and government have not always been the best when it comes to providing representation," Russell said.

Russell gave the keynote address at the event, which celebrated the first day of October, LGBTQ+ History Month. The mixer was organized by Muni Pride, Northeast Women in Public Finance, and Norton Rose Fulbright at the law firm's offices in Manhattan.

"The reality is that we're all standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, and many who shattered barriers themselves, and sometimes risk their own careers and their own success in order to do it," Russell said, and "other folks, again, in the future, will be looking to you as those folks who trailblazed opportunities for them."

When Russell was elected state treasurer in 2022, he became the first openly gay Black person elected to statewide public office in the country. He got there from first working in his parents' convenience store as a six-year-old in New Haven, he said.

Russell was the first person in his family to attend college. Having Mike Lawlor, an openly gay state representative, as a law professor was "life changing" for him.

"This was the first time that I saw someone who was respected and who could have a huge impact and was influential in the community, but could also do all of that work living authentically and being themselves," Russell said.

He became a summer associate at Pullman and Comley and came out to his coworkers.

"I wanted to know that this place that I was going to spend 80 hours a week in was going to be a place that I could be comfortable and I could be myself," Russell said. "And I was also fortunate that I had some folks who blazed those paths for me at the firm, who I knew could be successful and be out and be gay."

Being the first openly LGBTQ Black elected official in the country comes with pressure, Russell said. Not only is there an added layer of scrutiny from the public, there's a responsibility "to make sure you don't screw it up," he said.

Russell is proud of the progress Connecticut has made in its fiscal health, and highlighted the state's Baby Bonds program, which creates savings accounts for children born into poverty. The program, Russell noted, will help children in the community where he grew up.

"And that is the importance of having diverse and inclusive spaces ? it's the perspective and insights and value that we bring," Russell said. "It's not just checking a box."

Organizations must intentionally be inclusive of diverse employees, Russell said. "You can't continue to do everything the way that we have and expect the results to be different."

Alice Cheng, co-president of the Northeast Women in Public Finance, who helped plan the event, said supporting events like this one is especially important as diversity, equity and inclusion have become politicized.

"Northeast Women in Public Finance is very committed to bringing together a world with everybody," Cheng said in her remarks. "But we're not going to stop here, because this is important. This is what we support. This is what we believe."

More than 100 people registered for the event, according to Muni Pride co-founder and BAM Vice President Alexander Vaisman. The California-based networking group has held many events with other industry groups, Vaisman told The Bond Buyer last month. This strategy has garnered more than 100 members for Muni Pride since the group was founded in 2019.

The event's planning committee included Vaisman, BXL Managing Director Alan Bond, Cheng, Norton Rose Fulbright partner Alison Radecki, Stifel associate Aparna Bezawada, Ballard Spahr attorney BK Katzmann, Nixon Peabody associate Gregory Hom and Norton Rose Fulbright senior counsel Helen Pennock.

Connecticut will be in the market next week with a $935 million general obligation bond deal, $200 million of which will be social bonds, and a $135 million refunding.

"Connecticut is a great place to be investing right now," Russell said. "Connecticut has made so much progress. If you look at just over the last several years: balanced budgets, record surpluses, we'll have eight and a half billion dollars of unfunded liabilities paid down at the end of this year."

Moody's Ratings rates the state Aa3, AA-minus from S&P Global Ratings, AA- by Fitch Ratings and a AA-plus from KBRA.

"I think as we stand here in New York, not far from Stonewall, it's important to remember that pride started as a riot. And that the work that has happened across all of our communities to get us to this point, it's not safe, it's not done," Russell said. "There's still a lot more work to do, and I think, as we've seen on a lot of other fronts, any failure or complacency around the work that remains results in us moving backwards."