Bill Curry (politician)
William Edward Curry Jr. (born December 17, 1951) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who was a two-time Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut and served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House.
Curry grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and attended St. Justin’s School and Northwest Catholic High School. He earned a BA from Georgetown University and a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
He began his political career in the Connecticut State Senate, representing the 9th district from 1979 to 1983. In 1982 he ran for the open U.S. House seat but was defeated by Republican Nancy Johnson. After leaving the Senate, he practiced law, worked in public policy in Washington, D.C., and led Freeze Voter, a nuclear freeze group.
Curry was elected Connecticut State Comptroller in 1991 and served until 1995. He then won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1994. In the general election, he ran against incumbent governor John Rowland, Eunice Groark, and Tom Scott; Rowland won the race by about three points.
From 1995 to 1997, Curry served as Counselor to the President and domestic strategist in the Clinton White House. He left government after the 1996 election and later was a visiting fellow at Yale’s School of Management.
Curry ran again for governor in 2002 against Rowland. Rowland won, but Curry raised concerns about bid-rigging in Rowland’s administration. Rowland later resigned after a corruption scandal.
Beyond politics, Curry has worked as a political columnist for Salon and the Hartford Courant. He endorsed a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2007.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:26 (CET).