Bridgeport City Attorney to Join CSCU Legal Team

Tyisha Toms will become deputy general counsel of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system in January 2027.

Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in People

Isometric editorial illustration of a stack of cream folders on a slate block beside a window row, in oxblood, teal, and mustard, suggesting a legal office appointment. — Bridgeport City Attorney Tyisha Toms will become deputy general counsel of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system in January 2027. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Bridgeport City Attorney Tyisha Toms is leaving her municipal post in the coming weeks to become deputy general counsel of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, starting in January 2027. Toms confirmed the move in a statement to the Connecticut Post, and CSCU confirmed her appointment.

Why it matters

CSCU is working to rebuild public trust after a series of scandals and leadership upheaval, and this hire adds a senior legal official to its office during that effort. For Connecticut residents, the appointment shows how the state's public university system is filling key legal roles as it reorganizes its leadership.

The deputy general counsel position pays $230,000 a year, according to the CSCU posting cited in the reporting. It is not yet clear who will take over Toms' duties in Bridgeport after she departs.

The players

Tyisha Toms

Toms is a lawyer who has led Bridgeport's municipal law department and previously worked as an assistant corporation counsel in Norwalk.

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

CSCU is the state-run system that oversees Connecticut's public community colleges, state universities and online education programs.

Karen Buffkin

Buffkin is the former general counsel of CSCU, who was placed on paid administrative leave in May while the system later launched an independent review into her conduct.

The details

Toms previously served as assistant corporation counsel in Norwalk from 2022 before Mayor Joe Ganim hired her in early 2024 to lead Bridgeport's municipal law department. She was the first Black person to serve as Bridgeport City Attorney, and she did not support Ganim's 2023 reelection, a race later voided by a court that ordered new primary and general elections.

Early 2024: Toms hired as Bridgeport City Attorney
May: CSCU general counsel Karen Buffkin placed on paid administrative leave
Late May: CSCU board appoints Natalie Braswell interim chancellor
Late August: CSCU announces independent review into Buffkin
January 2027: Toms starts as CSCU deputy general counsel

Legal Context

Toms' departure comes after Ganim's 2023 victories over John Gomes were voided by a court and replaced by 2024 do-overs that Ganim won by larger margins, the same period in which she served as Bridgeport's city attorney. Her move to a state university system legal post places her in a different institution than the city government at the center of that election dispute.

Connecticut residents who use CSCU's community colleges and state universities will be served by a new senior legal official whose work affects institutional policy. Bridgeport residents will see a change in the city attorney's office once Toms departs in the coming weeks.

The takeaway

Leadership changes at public institutions often ripple outward, so tracking who fills legal and administrative roles can show how an organization plans to restore trust. Readers following Connecticut's public university system can watch for further appointments as CSCU reviews its leadership.

What happens next

Toms is scheduled to begin as CSCU deputy general counsel in January 2027, when her new responsibilities and any successor arrangements in Bridgeport are expected to take effect.