Fauliso was an Alderman in Hartford and city and state judge before he was first elected into the Connecticut Senate in 1966. He served as President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate. Early in 1980, he told his close friend, governor Ella T. Grasso, that he had decided not to seek reelection that year, after seven terms in the State Senate. Grasso then asked Fauliso to reconsider, because she needed him in the Senate for the final two years of her second term. He consulted with his family and close friends, and after a week told Grasso he would seek reelection. What he did not anticipate was that Grasso would resign on December 31, 1980, because she was dying from cancer. On that day, Lieutenant Governor William A. O'Neill became the new governor and Fauliso, as the newly reelected leader of the State Senate, automatically became Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. Fauliso then stayed as lieutenant governor throughout the gubernatorial terms of O'Neill. They did not seek reelection in 1990 and served until January 9, 1991. He died in 2014 at the age of 98.Former Lt. Gov. Joseph J. Fauliso dies at 98
