Gary Franks

Gary Franks served in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms, from 1991 to 1997. Gary Franks was the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican since 1932; he is also the first and only African-American member of Congress from Connecticut. While in Congress, Gary Franks was the only Republican voting member of the Congressional Black Caucus. He is currently a visiting professor at Georgetown University. Senior Class President and an honors student at Waterbury, Connecticut’s Sacred Heart High School, Gary Franks earned accolades as a star basketball player, twice being selected to the All-State team and first team All-New England as well as receiving high school All-America mention. Gary Franks matriculated to Yale University where, as a freshman on the basketball team, he led all Ivy League freshmen in scoring, averaging 25.0 points per game. Gary Franks graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, also receiving Yale’s Scholar Athlete Award. Gary Franks entered politics in 1986, when he was elected to the Waterbury, Connecticut Board of Aldermen; he served as President pro tempore of the Board in 1990. Gary Franks also acted as Waterbury’s Vice Chairman of Zoning Commission as well as Fire Commissioner. Gary Franks served on various committees and panels during his terms in Congress. As the Chairman of the Defense Conversion Panel, Gary Franks studied the recycling of military technologies into civilian channels. These projects included a $20-million grant to his hometown of Waterbury for the transformation of the site of a defunct industrial site into the Brass Mill Center, one of the largest malls in New England. Though he was Connecticut’s lone representation on the Armed Services Committee where he was Ranking Member of the Readiness Subcommittee, Gary Franks delivered more defense-related contract to the state than had ever been received in state history. While in Congress, Gary Franks also served on the Small Business Committee, the House Select Committee on Aging, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Mr. Franks also helped establish the first and only National Park entirely within his state: Ridgefield, Connecticut’s Weir Farm National Historic Site.