Alan Schlesinger

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Alan Schlesinger (born January 4, 1958) is an American attorney, entrepreneur, and Republican politician. He served as the mayor of Derby, Connecticut from 1994 to 1998 and as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Connecticut’s 5th congressional district several times and was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2006, finishing third behind Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont. After losing that race, he moved to Florida and pursued further political runs there.

Schlesinger grew up in Connecticut and went to Amity Regional High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the University of Connecticut. He started a private law practice, Schlesinger and Barbara, in Shelton. He also served on the Board of Selectmen of Orange from 1979 to 1981 before his time in the Connecticut House of Representatives.

In Connecticut politics, Schlesinger won the Derby mayorship in 1993, defeating incumbent Gino S. DiMauro Jr., and served until 1998. He did not seek re-election in 1997 and was succeeded by Marc J. Garofalo. He later challenged Garofalo in 1999 but was unsuccessful. He campaigned for the Republican nomination for Congress in Connecticut’s 5th District in 1984, 1990, and 1998, but did not win those contests. In 2006 he ran for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut but finished third in a race won by Lieberman as an independent after losing the Republican nomination.

The 2006 campaign was marked by a gambling controversy: Schlesinger had played at Connecticut casinos under the alias “Alan Gold,” which he said was meant to protect his privacy as a public official. He faced lawsuits from New Jersey casinos over gambling debts, which were settled. He supported a platform that included immigration, tax, Social Security, Medicare, and spending reform. He described himself as a moderate conservative, opposing affirmative action and amnesty for illegal immigrants, while stating he was pro-choice but in favor of parental notification for minors’ abortions. He also said he would have supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq but later supported having the Iraqi government take over military operations.

After moving to Florida, Schlesinger considered several congressional runs there, including in 2008, 2010, and 2014. In 2014, he ran in Florida’s 18th congressional district but finished second in the Republican primary to Carl Domino.