On the issues...

After periods of stagnation or decline over the past two decades, Connecticut’s economy is growing again. We need to build on the success we’ve seen in recent years. Job growth is key and that means incentivizing residents to start new businesses and attracting established companies to the state.

One impediment to job creation is our high cost of living. Many voters are concerned with the high taxes we pay in Connecticut, but it’s not just taxes, it’s the cost of housing, healthcare, childcare, education, electricity, cable, etc. Policies that reduce the high cost of living will not only directly benefit our citizens, but they’ll also make Connecticut more attractive to businesses.

Continued investment in workforce development will help Connecticut businesses to find skilled workers to fill the more than 90,000 job openings we currently have. It will also give people of all backgrounds an opportunity to move up the economic ladder and find good paying work. Businesses will feel confident that they can find the skilled workforce they need to grow.

Fiscal responsibility is also vitally important. It sends a strong signal to the business community that they can count on a stable tax and cost structure going forward. Connecticut Democrats have made enormous progress getting the state’s fiscal house in order. The rainy-day fund is now full at $3.5 billion. Almost $8 billion of extra payments were made towards our unfunded pension liabilities in just the last few years. As a result, our pension funds are now 57% funded versus 36% funded in 2016.

One of the important drivers of the improved health of our rainy-day fund and pension funds is the so-called volatility cap. A significant portion of Connecticut’s income tax revenue comes from volatile sources like capital gains. When the stock market is doing well these revenues increase and when it falls, they decrease. The volatility cap ensures that in a good year, we’re using the excess revenues to pay down debt or save for a rainy day. In a bad year, we can reach into the rainy-day fund to make sure we don’t have to cut essential programs. We must continue to take this approach to spending money from volatile revenue streams.

As a result of paying down this much pension debt, required payments to fund the pension liabilities have decreased by more than $600 million a year. This has enabled the state to make the largest tax cut in history as well as funding critical programs.

There are many reasons why a woman or girl might choose to have an abortion. It’s a personal decision and the state should not be involved. The vast majority of abortions happen very early on in a pregnancy. Tragic situations resulting from complications that affect the life or health of the mother, or the viability of the pregnancy, lead to abortions later in a pregnancy. Medical practitioners who perform or assist with abortions should not have to think twice about providing critical medical care and worry that they might be breaking the law. We’ve seen the harm caused to women in states like Texas where doctors delay or refuse to provide medically necessary abortions. Connecticut’s abortion laws have served its women well for more than 30 years. I support them and will fight to preserve them.

I’ve personally been the victim of violent crime. When I lived in NYC I was mugged walking home over the Brooklyn Bridge. Fortunately, I ended up with only minor bruises and a stolen wallet, but it still was a surreal and traumatic experience.

We should strive to be a state where no one is the victim of violent crime or property crime. While that goal is unrealistic, striving to get there will further reduce the incidence of crime. People who break the law need to be held accountable. They need to be both caught and punished.

Holding law breakers accountable requires a criminal justice system with the resources it needs to do the job. That starts with making sure that our police are fully funded. Connecticut, like the rest of the country, is finding it difficult to recruit enough police officers to fully staff our police departments. Offering competitive salaries and benefits packages, along with providing comprehensive training programs and opportunities for professional development, can help attract more candidates.

Fully funding the police includes allocating sufficient funding for personnel, equipment, training, and infrastructure to ensure the safety and security of the community. Fully funding the police also entails investing in initiatives aimed at improving community relations, enhancing officer training in areas such as de-escalation and crisis intervention, and implementing measures to promote accountability and transparency within the department.

In addition to police funding, proper funding for courts, prosecutors, corrections, crime prevention programs, and victim support services will move us towards a more effective, fair, and equitable system that serves both public safety and justice.