HARTFORD, CT — After relying on Jeffrey Beckham’s judgment for years as the state’s budget chief, Gov. Ned Lamont now aims to apply Beckham’s judgment to the bench as a Superior Court judge.
Lamont on Thursday announced Beckham is stepping down from his current role as secretary of the Office of Policy and Management effective Dec. 5. Lamont plans to nominate him in the coming weeks.
“Over the last several years, Jeff has been a trusted advisor, not just for me but for all of our state agency heads, and his work has helped ensure that our state offices are operating in a coordinated manner and that taxpayer funding is being used wisely and efficiently,” Lamont said. He credited Beckham with turning around the state’s financial fortunes, building fiscal stability and delivering credit rating upgrades.
Taking over in March of 2022, Lamont said Beckham first had to turn his attention to fixed costs.
“Our pension costs were eating our budget alive, crowding out a lot of really important, necessary investments we had, services to really serve our people,” Lamont said. He added that pension costs and bonded debt were now under control, which allowed the state to make investments in services.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, and Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, also thanked Beckham. They pointed out he had taken over the office during a period of turmoil caused by the corruption scandal of former senior state official Konstantinos Diamantis.
“He restored confidence and became a measured, principled voice on fiscal matters within the governor’s administration,” the two wrote. “His leadership and willingness to challenge efforts from the Democratically controlled legislature that seek maximum spending increases and higher taxes will be sorely missed by Connecticut residents.”
Lamont also announced that he is nominating Joshua Wojcik to serve as the next OPM secretary. Wojcik will begin serving in the role in an interim capacity upon Beckham’s departure. Lamont plans to formally submit his nomination to the General Assembly at the start of the 2026 regular session in February.
Beckham called serving as OPM secretary a great privilege.
“Over the past four years, we passed the largest income tax cut in state history, made significant progress in paying down pension debt, and received several credit rating increases,” he said.
Wojcik has worked in the Office of the State Comptroller since 2012 and is currently director of health care policy and benefits, a role that he has held since 2022. He has previously served as an assistant comptroller and policy director and as a policy analyst for the state Democratic Senate caucus.
“Moving forward the challenges and issues may change, but the priorities remain the same, meeting the needs and improving the lives of Connecticut residents with budgets built for long term sustainability,” he said.