Greenwich Democrat Jill Oberlander has filed candidate paperwork with the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission to run for State Senate in the 36th district, seat currently held by Republican Ryan Fazio.
Fazio is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Gov. Ned Lamont for Governor in November. He has represented the 36th district since 2021.
The 36th district includes Greenwich and parts of both Stamford and New Canaan.
The seat has been closely followed in Greenwich since 2018 when Democrat Alex Kasser flipped the seat blue for the first time in nearly a century.
That was when she ousted five-term incumbent Republican Scott Frantz, becoming the first Democrat to hold the position since Horace Allen Barton had the job during the Great Depression in 1931-1932.
Kasser won a second term in 2020 by defeating Mr. Fazio, but after she resigned for personal reasons in 2021, Fazio won a special election in August 2021, defeating Democrat Alexis Gevanter and independent petition candidate John Blankley.
Fazio has since been re-elected twice, defeating Trevor Crow in 2022 and Nick Simmons in 2024.
Jill Oberlander in 2019. Photo: Leslie Yager
On Feb 27, Ms Oberlander registered her candidacy with the SEEC.
She is a familiar name in Greenwich as she has held several positions in town government starting with six years as a member of the Representative Town Meeting.
Back in 2014 Oberlander ran for State Rep in the 150th district against Mike Bocchino, but lost by just 244 votes.
She served on the Board of Selectmen from 2019 to 2021. From there, she was elected to the Board of Estimate and Taxation.
She served four years on the BET – from 2015 to 2019. Midway through, the 2017 municipal election marked a historic shift where Democrats gained control of the BET for the first time in nearly a century, and Oberlander became the Democratic chair of that board for two years.
Oberlander, an attorney with experience in the nonprofit sector, moved with her family to Greenwich 20 years ago. She is a graduate of Cornell University and received her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
This week Greenwich Republican Joe Kelly, a new member of the BET, also announced he will seek the State Senate seat. He is CEO Uranium Markets.
Kelly’s experience in local government includes membership on the RTM, a term on the Board of Education where he was unanimously voted chair 8-0 after two party-line tie votes in 2022. He was the GHS rugby team coach prior to joining the BOE. He is a member of the Central Middle School Building Committee and the Julian Curtiss School Building Committee. He was also appointed to the Havemeyer Building Advisory Committee.
In 2020 Mr. Kelly ran for State Rep in the 150th district but lost to Democrat Stephen Meskers.
See also:
Greenwich’s Joe Kelly Announces Run for State Senate in 36th District
March 6, 2026
