Mike Jarjura

Michael "Mike" Jarjura (D-Waterbury) was elected Mayor of the City of Waterbury in November 2001. He is currently serving in his 3rd term as Mayor, having been re-elected in November 2003 and 2005. Mayor Jarjura is credited with bringing financial stability back to the City of Waterbury, which was on the brink of bankruptcy when he took the Oath of Office. Mayor Jarjura is also credited for bringing honor and trust to the government of the City which had been rocked by political and government scandals and wrongdoing.

Prior to serving as Mayor, he was elected in November 1992 to represent Waterbury's 74th District in the Connecticut House of Representatives. During his time in the House, Representative Jarjura served as House Chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. He also served on the Judiciary and Finance Committee and is the past Chairman of the Program Review and Investigations Committee. During his tenure, Representative Jarjura served as Chairman and member of various Legislative Task Forces and Commissions. Mayor Jarjura served ten years in the State Legislature before being elected to the Office of the Mayor by the citizens of Waterbury.

Currently, Mayor Jarjura devotes all of his time to his mayoral duties. Mayor Jarjura is also an Attorney at Law and Director and Vice President of J. P. Jarjura & Son's Co. — a well-established Waterbury fruit and produce market and Connecticut food distributor. He also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Connecticut from 1987-1993.

Mayor Jarjura was educated in the Waterbury school system, graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1979 and received a Bachelor of Science in Management from Post College, Waterbury in 1983. He was awarded a Juris Doctorate from the University of Bridgeport, School of Law, in 1987. The Mayor graduated magna cum laude, in the top 5% of his class, at both schools.

Michael is a lifelong resident of Waterbury with strong ties to his community. A parishioner of Our Lady of Lebanon Catholic Church, he is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA), the Board of Directors of the East End Community Club, Western CT Area Agency on Aging, Waterbury Crime Stoppers, The Exchange Club of Waterbury, the Waterbury Club and a member of the Post University Alumni Association.

Mayor Jarjura is a member of the Waterbury Bar Association, American Bar Association, and the Connecticut Bar Association.

The image above right (courtesy of the Waterbury Observer) shows Mayor Mike Jarjura in November 2005, moments after he received the news that he had won the historic write-in campaign. More than 8,000 voters had written in Jarjura's name, giving him 39% of the overall vote — 12 full percentage points ahead of the next nearest candidate whose name appeared on the ballot.