An attorney with more than 20 years' experience, Mary Fortier was born and raised in Bristol, Connecticut. A graduate of St. Paul Catholic High School, she received her bachelor's from Boston College, and as a young mother graduated from Western New England Law School in 1995.

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Mary served on the Bristol City Council for nearly a decade, overseeing a renaissance of Bristol economic development and growth. In 2017, she also served as the first female acting-mayor. Mary is an attorney with the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, and with her husband, David, has raised six children.