Matthew D. Ritter

Councilman Ritter is a lifelong Hartford resident currently living in the West End. He attended Noah Webster and Kingswood-Oxford Schools, and went on to Colby College, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Government. He went on to the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he served as associate editor of the Connecticut Law Review, and graduated from UConn Law with honors in 2007. Matt was admitted to practice law in Connecticut in the fall of 2007, and is currently employed as an associate in the Hartford office of the law firm of Shipman & Goodwin, LLP.

Matt was elected to his first term as Hartford City Councilman in November 2007. As a member of the Court of Common Council, Matt will chair both the Planning and Economic Development and Legislative Committees. He plans to focus on revitalizing Hartford's main thoroughfares, including Main Street and Farmington, Albany, Wethersfield and Franklin Avenues; forming a Commission on Young Professionals that will recommend ideas for retaining and recruiting young professionals; and developing a public arts program that will add one new public art project to the city each year. He is also a member of the Public Works, Parks and Environment Committee.

Matt will explore ways to enhance and expand preschool opportunities in the City. He firmly believes that providing quality preschool to every child will ensure they are ready to learn when they enter kindergarten and will increase their success as students.

Andrea Comer
Executive Assistant to
Councilman Ritter

Andrea Comer is a Hartford resident and a member of the City's Board of Education. Prior to her previous position as a senior philanthropic officer with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Andrea worked as a grants manager, communications officer and executive assistant in the City of Hartford. She has also served as public information officer to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., and spent nearly a decade as a journalist with The Hartford Courant.

Andrea was also the first female President of the Greater Hartford African American Alliance. She considers her proudest accomplishment to be her daughter, Ashlye, a sophomore at the University of New Haven.