Christine Palm

Christine A. Palm was born on January 12, 1956, and is an American politician from Connecticut. She is a Democrat who represented the 36th General Assembly District, covering the towns of Chester, Deep River, Essex, and Haddam in Middlesex County along the Connecticut River.

Palm has had a diverse professional background before and during her political career. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, high school teacher, marketer for non-profit and cultural institutions, and once owned a bowling alley. She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for essay writing and is the author of the poetry chapbook Preparing the Ground.

Political Experience

Palm was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives on November 6, 2018, winning her first term with 50.82% of the vote. She went on to serve three consecutive terms in the state legislature.

During her tenure, she held several leadership positions, including Vice Chair of the Environment Committee and Assistant Majority Leader. She was also designated as Democratic Whip At Large.

Before her election to the General Assembly, Palm served as a women's policy analyst for the General Assembly's Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors , as communications director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women , and as media director for the Office of the State Treasurer.

Notable Achievements

Palm championed significant environmental legislation, including successfully passing a bill requiring the teaching of climate change as part of the school curriculum, making Connecticut the first U.S. state to mandate this education in all public schools. For this achievement, she received the Walter Cronkite Environmental Education Award.

Additional legislative accomplishments include writing and enacting legislation to create and fund the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species, banning PFAS, restricting trophy hunting, and modernizing Connecticut's Bottle Bill. She has been consistently named a "Legislative Champion" by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.

Beyond environmental work, Palm focused on enhancing women's rights, securing gun safety measures, and increasing economic security for working families and young adult earners.