At one point, Waterbury native John Michael Farren was considered a hot commodity in the Republican Party. He had started his political career in the mid-1970s as campaign director for U.S. Rep. Ronald Sarasin of Connecticut and was a leader of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce.
After he graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1982, his political connections landed him prominent positions with the U.S. Department of Commerce under former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and later as deputy counsel in the White House under George W. Bush.
