Rep. Linda Orange Running For Re-Election; Zeke Zalaski Retiring

Word ripped through the state Capitol on Tuesday night that Rep. Zeke Zalaski, the motor-cycle-riding factory worker from Southington, will announce Wednesday that he will be retiring from the legislature.

A lawmaker since January 2003, Zalaski is a former nightclub bouncer who has been riding motorcycles for more than 45 years. As the co-chairman of the labor committee, Zalaski has spent long hours standing on the House floor and defending various pro-labor bills over the past two years.

Zalaski knows the ins and outs of the labor movement, partly from working more than 30 years at a Bristol factory.

At his seat on the House floor Tuesday night, Zalaski said he would be talking about his plans on Wednesday. ”I haven’t made up my mind yet,” he told Capitol Watch on Tuesday night.

Upstairs in the state Senate, Zalaski’s fellow labor committee co-chair, Sen. Edith Prague, said she will not be seeking re-election this fall. She suffered a minor stroke around Christmas, and she said she has been advised to avoid the stress of an election campaign.

Back down in the House, state Rep. Linda Orange of Colchester was repeatedly reassuring her friends that she would be running for re-election. Word had richocheted through the historic Hall of the House that Orange would be leaving, but she said that is not the case.