The following is a release sent out today by the Senate Republican office:


On May 9 at the State Capitol, outgoing Republican Sen. Andrew Roraback was honored by state legislators for his 17 years of public service to the people of Litchfield County. 
Roraback’s colleagues in the Senate honored the Republican from Goshen, who will leave the legislature at the end of his term.
Roraback has the distinction of never having missed a roll call vote during his 17 years in the General Assembly. He’s cast 8,468 consecutively and is the only one out of 187 legislators who can claim this record. 
Some Capitol observers have referred to Roraback as “the legislature’s Cal Ripken Jr.” —  the Baltimore Orioles player who holds the record for most consecutive games played and was known as the Iron Man.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney presented Roraback with the American flag that flew over the Capitol that day, as well as a framed portrait of the Senate.  McKinney said Roraback, whose family has deep roots in western Connecticut, is, at heart, “a boy from Goshen” who brings “a Litchfield County sensibility with him to the state Senate.”
McKinney and other speakers recalled Roraback’s commitment to environmental causes, particularly farmland preservation. Colleagues praised him for his ability to work well with members on the other side of the aisle.
Roraback said he was proud to have served in the Senate, which he said is an amazing institution.
Roraback is serving his sixth term in the state Senate representing the 30th District communities of Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Washington and Winchester.  Prior to his election to the State Senate, Roraback served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1994 through 2000.
As the Senate Ranking Member of the Legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, Roraback has been at the forefront of opposition to Governor Malloy’s overreliance on tax increases to balance the state budget. He has consistently fought to eliminate unnecessary government spending and to lower the tax burden, particularly on middle class workers and small businesses. Senator Roraback has also been the voice of fiscal responsibility on the State Bond Commission, consistently voting against borrowing to pay for non-essential “pet projects.”
Born in Torrington, Roraback attended public schools in Torrington and Litchfield. A graduate of the Hotchkiss School, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Yale University in 1983, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School in 1987. He returned to Torrington in 1988 to work with his father, brother and sister at the family law firm of Roraback and Roraback, which was founded in 1883 by his great-grandfather.