RIP Edith Prague

Former state Senator Edith Prague has died. The veteran Democrat served in the House of Representatives before joining in the Weicker administration in 1991 as commissioner of the Department of Aging. Weicker fired her for refusing to cut the department’s budget.

After leaving that job, Prague was elected to the state Senate. The Columbia Democrat served in the legislature’s upper chamber from 1995 to 2013. She briefly returned to the reconstituted agency on agency after leaving the Senate.

Prague was a defiant advocate for making Connecticut’s roads safe from the drunk drivers. She endured the taunts and insults of powerful legislators in her quest to stiffen the state’s drug driving laws. Her resolution saved many lives.

Chris Keating’s 2014 affectionate profile tells much of the tale.

Published December 16, 2021.