Ex-CT Governor Lowell P. Weicker Jr. passes away at 92.

Remembering Lowell P. Weicker Jr.: A Maverick in Politics

HARTFORD, Conn. – A Republican U.S. senator who fearlessly challenged his own party during the Watergate hearings, Lowell P. Weicker Jr., later became an independent and was elected as Connecticut’s governor. On Wednesday, at the age of 92, Weicker passed away after a brief illness.

Weicker’s family confirmed his death at a hospital in Middletown, Connecticut, through a statement released by a spokesperson.

From his first election to the General Assembly in 1962 until his decision not to run for a second term as governor in 1994, Weicker played a prominent role in Connecticut politics.

Nationally, Weicker gained recognition during the 1973 hearings of the Senate’s special committee on Watergate. As one of the three Republicans on the seven-member panel, he fearlessly criticized President Richard Nixon, his own party, and the attempted cover-up.

In his autobiography “Maverick: A Life in Politics,” published in 1995, Weicker revealed that he didn’t join the committee to be an “anti-Nixon man” or a “tough prosecutor.” He acknowledged his political support for Nixon and how Nixon campaigned for him in 1968 and 1970. However, as events unfolded, Weicker became increasingly aware of the corruption within the Nixon White House.

Barry Sussman, a former Washington Post editor who collaborated with Weicker on his autobiography, praised Weicker for taking the Watergate scandal more seriously than his Senate colleagues. Sussman also highlighted Weicker’s investigation into whether Nixon underreported his income, a task that other Republican and Democratic senators showed no interest in pursuing.

Born in Paris in 1931, Weicker came from a distinguished family. His father, Lowell P. Weicker Sr., was a member of the family that founded the pharmaceutical giant E.R. Squibb and Sons. His mother, Mary Bickford, belonged to a prominent British family.

After completing college, law school, and serving in the Army, Weicker began his political career by being elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1962. He later moved on to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968 and then to the U.S. Senate in 1970.

In addition to his involvement in the Watergate committee, Weicker played a crucial role in the passage of the War Powers Act. As the father of a child with developmental disabilities, he championed the Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Act in 1985 and 1988. He also introduced legislation that eventually became the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lowell P. Weicker Jr. will be remembered as a maverick in politics, unafraid to challenge the status quo and fight for what he believed in.