Meet Luke

Luke’s Background

Luke Bronin was sworn in as the 67th mayor of the City of Hartford on January 1, 2016. Mayor Bronin is a husband, a father, a veteran, and an attorney, and he is committed to building a stronger Hartford for all of the city’s residents. He has focused on confronting the city’s fiscal crisis directly and honestly, engaging young people in partnership with community organizations, and working to draw investment to the City.

Prior to becoming mayor, Luke had the opportunity to serve in senior positions in both federal and state governments. In 2013, he was appointed by then-Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy to serve as General Counsel. In his position as the governor’s chief lawyer, Bronin partnered with legislators and state agency officials to advance the Governor’s agenda, and he was deeply involved in developing policies to combat veterans’ homelessness, expand economic opportunities, reform our criminal justice system, and protect our environment.

Prior to his role in Governor Malloy’s office, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. In that role, he helped lead the federal government’s efforts to isolate and disrupt international terrorist groups, and advanced U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

Previously, he served as the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, as an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, and as Chief of Staff to the President of Property and Casualty Operations at the Hartford Financial Services Group, one of the capital city’s largest employers.

He also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and was a member of the military’s anti-corruption task force during his deployment to Afghanistan from September 2010 to April 2011.

Mayor Bronin earned his B.A. and J.D. from Yale University and his M.A. from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

He and his wife Sara live in Hartford with their three young kids.

Luke’s First Term

Tackling the Budget

After taking office in 2016, Luke led the city through the biggest fiscal crisis in the city’s history. That meant lots of tough decisions. It also meant building new partnerships: with labor unions, with our biggest companies, and with the State. He did it without raising taxes, and without sacrificing the core services Hartford’s residents deserve.

Attracting Investment & Growth

He also brought investment to Hartford — not just to downtown, but to Hartford’s neighborhoods. His administration pushed forward long-stalled projects, like the $30 million Albany Avenue streetscape project and the $10 million Park Street Branch library. From Bowles Park to Coltsville, and from Five Corners to Parkville, investment is coming into neighborhoods and blighted buildings are coming back to life. And today, Hartford is becoming a hub for innovation once again — from InsurTech to advanced manufacturing.

Focusing on Quality of Life

Luke has also worked hard to improve quality of life — cracking down on ATVs and dirt-bikes, installing speed humps, overhauling traffic signals and streetlights, securing $5 million for sidewalk repair work. His administration has made fighting blight a top priority — creating the Blight Remediation Team, fixing up more than 150 properties so far, and securing $5 million to fund a new Land Bank.

Creating Opportunities

During the 2015 campaign, Luke promised to create a Youth Service Corps, to give young people in Hartford an opportunity to have part-time, year-round work making a difference in their community. He kept that promise, and raised millions of dollars to give hundreds of young people a chance to serve in Hartford’s Youth Service Corps. He also opened the Hartford Reentry Welcome Center, giving people who are returning to our community after incarceration a one-stop shop to access important services and support.