State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, has appointed Scott Bates of Stonington to the Connecticut Port Authority Board of Directors. Bates will serve as one of 15 board members.

The authority, which came into existence on July 1, will primarily market and promote economic development around the Connecticut's three deep-water ports: Bridgeport, New Haven and New London, and boost the state's $5 billion maritime industry.

"Connecticut's ports are our gateway to the world. Our mission on the Connecticut Port Authority Board is clear; to strengthen Connecticut's maritime economy, to win markets and create jobs here at home," Bates said in a prepared statement.

Bates served as secretary of state and legislative director for the governor of Virginia. He served as chief of staff for Congressman Nick Lampson, counsel to Congressman Jim Turner, senior adviser to Congressman Maurice Hinchey and research director for Congressman Sidney Yates.

After 9/11, Bates served as the first senior policy adviser to the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. Bates helped lead the team that produced a dozen reports on homeland security issues ranging from border security to bioterrorism.

He is president of the Center for National Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, and is a senior lecturer in American Government at the University of Tokyo.

Bates lives in his hometown of Stonington with his wife Lisa and their 8-year-old son Jacob.