Representative Matthew Ritter Contact information

Rep. Matt Ritter, a lifelong Hartford resident, is Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. In January 0f 2021, he was sworn in as CT’s 105th Speaker of the House since the state constitution of 1818. He was re-elected Speaker in 2023.

He was first elected in 2010 to the Connecticut General Assembly where he represents the 1st Assembly District in Hartford.

As Speaker of the House, Matt led passage of a law eliminating the “poverty tax,” state liens on people who have in the past depended on state assistance; and championed a historic investment in children’s mental health.

Matt served four years as House Majority Leader and two years as the Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee where he worked to address the opioid crisis, increase hospital fee transparency, and require that more mental health services be covered by the private insurance market.

Since being elected in 2010, Matt has been named one of the Hartford Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty,” been recognized by the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association for his commitment and leadership at their 25th anniversary celebration, been honored by the North Central Regional Mental Health Board, been named a “Community Champion” by the Connecticut Community Providers Association, received the “Graduate of the Past Decade Impact Award” from the UConn School of Law Alumni Association, been named “Legislator of the Year” by the CT Chapter of the American College of Physicians and been recognized by the Connecticut State Medical Society.

Matt has also been recognized by the Oral Health Society, Voices of Women of Color, HARC, AARP-CT, Connecticut Radiologists, and received the Sen. Chris Murphy Award from the Connecticut Young Democrats.

Because of his commitment to children’s mental health reforms, The Village honored Matt as a Champion for Children. His commitment to open government yielded Matt the Bice Clemow Award from the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), made up of the state’s municipal leaders, honored Matt as a legislative champion for his commitment to cities and towns. For his work to aide the hospitality industry during the pandemic, Matt was recognized by the Connecticut Restaurant Association.

Prior to being elected to the General Assembly, Matt served on the Hartford City Council for three years where he chaired the Planning & Economic Development and Legislative Affairs committees.

Matt graduated from Colby College with a major in Government and received his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law graduating with honors in 2007.

Matt is a practicing attorney in Hartford and resides in Hartford with his wife, Marilyn Katz, their two children Jack and Emma, and their Goldendoodle Finnegan.