View source for Miles S. Rapoport

{{short description|American politician and nonprofit executive}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Miles S. Rapoport
| image               =
| caption             = Rapoport in 1997
| office              = [[Secretary of the State of Connecticut]]
| governor            = [[John G. Rowland]]
| term_start          = 1995
| term_end            = 1999
| predecessor         = [[Pauline R. Kezer]]
| successor           = [[Susan Bysiewicz]]
| state_house1        = Connecticut
| district1           = [[Connecticut's 18th House of Representatives district|18th]]
| term_start1         = 1984
| term_end1           = 1994
| predecessor1        = [[Joan R. Kemler]]
| successor1          = [[Andy Fleischmann]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1949|10|15}}
| birth_place         = [[Great Neck, New York]], US
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
| residence           = [[West Hartford, Connecticut]]
| alma_mater          = [[New York University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation          = Politician, nonprofit CEO
}}
'''Miles S. Rapoport''' (born October 15, 1949)<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Keating|first=Christopher|date=1994-11-03|title=Opinions Differ on Financing in Secretary of State Race|work=Hartford Courant|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91651836/hartford-courant/|access-date=2022-01-02}}</ref> is an American politician who served as [[Secretary of the State of Connecticut]] from 1995 to 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Secretaries of the State|url=https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Register-Manual/Section-I/Secretaries-of-the-State|access-date=2022-01-01|website=CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website|language=en}}</ref> A progressive [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], he went on to serve as president of [[Demos (U.S. think tank)|Demos]] and [[Common Cause]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Pazniokas|first=Mark|date=2014-01-14|title=Miles Rapoport Named National President of Common Cause|url=https://ctmirror.org/2014/01/14/miles-rapoport-named-national-president-common-cause/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=The CT Mirror|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Early life and education ==
Rapoport was born in [[Great Neck, New York]], to Carl and Florence (Rosenberg) Rapoport. He attended [[Harvard University]] for two years before transferring to [[New York University]], graduating with a BA in economics and political science in 1971.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2017-01-19|title=Harvard Ash Center Appoints Miles Rapoport, Longtime Democracy Advocate, as Senior Fellow|url=https://ash.harvard.edu/news/harvard-ash-center-appoints-miles-rapoport-longtime-democracy-advocate-senior-fellow|access-date=2022-01-02|website=ash.harvard.edu|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=1987-05-04|title=Progressive Activist Rep. Miles Rapoport Is Rebel with a Cause|work=Hartford Courant|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91654526/hartford-courant/|access-date=2022-01-02}}</ref>
A progressive activist, Rapoport participated in protests against [[apartheid]] and the Vietnam War while in college.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Pazniokas|first=Mark|date=1997-11-26|title=Miles Rapoport Announces Run for 1st District House Seat|url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-11-26-9711260260-story.html|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Hartford Courant|language=en}}</ref> After receiving his degree, he worked for Massachusetts Fair Share, a public advocacy group.<ref name=":4"/> In 1979, Rapoport moved to Connecticut to lead the [[Connecticut Citizen Action Group]], a public advocacy group founded by [[Ralph Nader]].<ref name=":1" />
== Political career ==
Rapoport won election to the [[Connecticut House of Representatives]] in 1984, unseating a conservative Democratic incumbent, [[Joan R. Kemler]], in the 18th District of [[West Hartford, Connecticut|West Hartford]]. In the House, he campaigned successfully for a progressive state income tax, campaign finance reform, and improved access to the ballot. He also sponsored laws that banned political contributions by lobbyists during legislative sessions, tightened disclosure rules for lobbyists, and allowed citizens to register to vote when they renewed their driver's licenses.<ref name=":1" /> He served as an assistant majority leader of the House from 1987 to 1992. As of 1994, he served on the boards of the National Association of Jewish Legislators and the [[Jewish Funds for Justice]].<ref name=":0" />
In 1994, Rapoport ran for the office of Connecticut secretary of state, vowing to expand ballot access for Connecticut's citizens. He narrowly defeated former secretary of state [[Julia Tashjian]] in the Democratic primary, winning 53% to 47% after outspending Tashjian 6 to 1 and receiving more than 20 endorsements, including from the state's three largest unions.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Keating|first=Christopher|date=1994-09-14|title=Rapoport Beats Tashjian in Secretary of the State Race|work=Hartford Courant|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91651344/hartford-courant/|access-date=2022-01-02}}</ref> Endorsed by [[A Connecticut Party (1990)|A Connecticut Party]], Rapoport eked out a general election win over [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee Andrea Scott of [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], a clerk in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Rapoport received 493,995 votes to Scott's 491,758—a margin of well under 1%.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1994-12-02|title=Final Statewide Election Results|page=12|work=Hartford Courant|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91649491/hartford-courant/|access-date=2022-01-02}}</ref>
Instead of seeking reelection as secretary of state, Rapoport ran for an open seat in the US Congress being vacated by [[Barbara B. Kennelly]], who was running for governor. Rapoport came second in the Democratic primary for [[Connecticut's 1st congressional district]] in September 1998. Despite support from liberal activists and organized labor, Rapoport's 18,189 votes fell short of the 19,877 votes garnered by moderate Democrat [[John B. Larson]], who went on to win the general election.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1998-09-12|title=Results of Primaries - State Offices & the General Assembly, September 15, 1998|url=https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/Election-Results/CT-Secretary-of-the-State---Main|access-date=2022-01-01|website=CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website|language=en}}</ref> Following his election defeat, Rapoport formed his own nonprofit advocacy group, Democracy Works, to advance democratic participation, campaign finance reform, and poverty reduction.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Seremet|first=Patricia|date=1999-08-02|title=Marilyn, Elvis and Friends Came to Play|url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1999-08-02-9907310070-story.html|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Hartford Courant|language=en}}</ref>
== Nonprofit leadership ==
Rapoport was president of liberal think tank [[Demos (U.S. think tank)|Demos]] (2001–2014) and watchdog group [[Common Cause]] (2014–2017). As president of Demos, he served as publisher of ''[[The American Prospect]]''.<ref name=":1"/> He is currently in his fourth year as the inaugural recipient of the Senior Practice Fellowship in American Democracy at the [[Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation]] at the [[Harvard Kennedy School]].<ref name=":2" />
With [[E. J. Dionne]], Rapoport co-authored ''100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting'', to be published by [[The New Press]] in March 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|title=100% Democracy|url=https://thenewpress.com/books/100-democracy|access-date=2022-01-02|website=The New Press|language=en}}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' praised the book as a "cogent call for rethinking the electoral process."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nonfiction Book Review: 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting by E.J. Dionne Jr. and Miles Rapoport. New Press, $24.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-62097-677-7|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-62097-677-7|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Rapoport is married to Sandra "Sam" Luciano, a professor at [[Capital Community College]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]]. The couple has one son together, Ross Rapoport.<ref name=":3"/><ref name=":1" />
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[https://www.c-span.org/person/?51255/MilesSRapoport Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Julia Tashjian]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Secretary of the State of Connecticut]]|years=[[1994 Connecticut Secretary of the State election|1994]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Susan Bysiewicz]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Pauline R. Kezer]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Secretary of the State of Connecticut]]
| years = 1995–1999
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Susan Bysiewicz]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapoport, Miles S.}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New York University alumni]]
[[Category:People from West Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American people]]
[[Category:Activists from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Secretaries of the state of Connecticut]]
[[Category:American nonprofit chief executives]]
[[Category:Jewish American state legislators in Connecticut]]