Sen. Edith Prague Explains Why She’s Not Running For Re-Election

Edith Prague loves her job.

Even at the age of 86, the state senator from Columbia gets up every day and enjoys coming to the state Capitol in Hartford.

But now she has decided that she is not running for reelection after . At the same time, she will not say that she is retiring.

“I don’t even like the sound of the word,” Prague said of retirement.

After suffering a mild stroke around Christmas, Prague has been advised that she should avoid a hectic schedule. After undergoing a stress test, she learned that she has an irregular heartbeat.

“I love my job, but I can’t risk a second stroke,” she told Capitol Watch. ”My doctor said, ‘You’ve made a remarkable recovery. Don’t put yourself in a stressful situation.’ It isn’t the job up here that’s stressful. It’s the campaign. I would stay here if I didn’t have to campaign.”

“I feel very sad about leaving,” Prague said. “I’ve made a lot of friends. I’m not washing my hands clean of this place.”

She said she is concerned about the impending retirement of state Rep. Zeke Zalaski, her fellow co-chair of the labor committee.

“It’s a shock,” Prague said of Zalaski. “Now, I have to worry who is going to take over the labor committee.”