Date: Fri 06-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

politics-Lovegrove

Full Text:

State Sen Lovegrove Says He Won't Run Again

BY STEVE BIGHAM

State Sen Fred Lovegrove of Fairfield announced this week that he will not

seek reelection due to an illness. Mr Lovegrove has been the state senator

from District 28, which includes Newtown, for nearly 16 years.

Sen Lovegrove, 58, said he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and

will undergo surgery to remove the malignancy February 16. The Fairfield

resident and realtor said he will finish out his term, his eighth overall

since winning his Hartford seat in 1982. Sen Lovegrove announced his decision

Monday night at a meeting of the Republican Town Committee in Fairfield.

"I decided I wasn't going to run again pretty much on my way home from the

doctor," he told The Bee Thursday. "It will be hard for me next January when

the next Senate is sworn in."

Fortunately, the cancer was discovered quickly after doctors caught it through

a PSA test, according to Mr Lovegrove. He said his brother died at age 34 from

cancer that was believed to have started in the prostate.

Mr Lovegrove's announcement has now opened the door for other candidates,

including Republican John Pavia of Easton, who recently announced his plans to

run for Mr Lovegrove's seat.

Mr Pavia, a 34-year-old attorney, reportedly sent out a release Monday morning

announcing Mr Lovegrove's decision not to run. The announcement was not

supposed to be made until later that night.

"I got a call from Cable Vision Monday morning saying they had received a copy

of Mr Pavia's press release saying I wasn't going to run again," Mr Lovegrove

said.

In response, the Fairfield Republican Town Committee passed a resolution

reprimanding Mr Pavia's actions.

Nevertheless, Mr Pavia believes he has what it takes to become the district's

next senator. The district includes Newtown, Fairfield, Monroe and Easton.

Democrat Tom Ganim, who lost to Mr Lovegrove by some 2,000 votes back in 1996,

is also thinking about another run for the senate.

Mr Pavia, also an adjunct law professor at the Quinnipiac College Law School,

has a wife, Robin, and is the father of two children. He grew up in Monroe.

His platform includes the need to balance economic growth with land

preservation, the need to cut down on the state's education deficit and the

need for a moratorium on some affordable housing. He believes the state's

current density formula for affordable housing is not economically affordable

for some towns, including Newtown.

Mr Pavia is also in favor of shipping some prisoners out of state, believing

many still influence criminal behavior outside the prison when they are

incarcerated in their own backyard. Mr Pavia is a former Brooklyn prosecutor.

RTC chairman Marie Sturdevant said she first met Mr Pavia while both were

involved in the Bob Dole campaign. Mr Pavia, a member of the Easton RTC, is

expected to speak to the Newtown RTC at its next regularly scheduled meeting.