District town: Stratford

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Election history: Backer won an open seat in 1992, succeeding Robert F. Frankel, the House majority leader. In 2008, Backer was unopposed.

2008 general election

*unopposed

Background: Backer, who criticized the 2009-2010 budget approved by the Appropriations Committee in April 2009 as too high, was one of nine House Democrats to vote against the final budget in August. He is chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on conservation and development.

Committees: Appropriations, Energy and Technology, Environment

Education: Licensed master, U.S. Coast Guard

Occupation: Executive director, Soundkeeper Inc.

2008 Financial Disclosure: Backer reported that he, his wife, Monika Anton, and a child all received income the non-profit environmental group, Soundkeeper Inc. The group's public tax return says he was paid $108,869. It did not list salaries for his wife and child. He owns a home in Stratford and a property in Robbinston, Maine.

He leased shellfish beds in Long Island Sound from the Department of Agriculture for $250 a year, but he reported no shell-fishing income.

He filed a confidential addendum listing any debts exceeding $10,000. He declined to release the addendum, as is his choice under the law.

A note on financial disclosure: Every spring, officials are required to disclose the ownership of real estate, the source of any income exceeding $1,000 in the previous calendar year and securities worth more than $5,000. They also are required to file an addendum in which they report any debt of more than $10,000; this may by law be kept confidential.