At once urban and suburban, the 20th State Senate district covers a lot of ground. It sprawls from Old Saybrook and East Lyme in the west, north to Salem and Montville, and southeast to Waterford and New London.
Incumbent Democrat Andrea Stillman, the co-owner of J.Solomon, Inc., a stationary store that has been in New London for 106 years, has held the seat for four years and is seeking a third term.
A native of New York, Stillman is a former state representative who now lives in Waterford. She has risen to Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate, chairs the Public Safety and Security Committee, and serves on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding, Public Heath, and Regulations Review committees.
Republican challenger Attorney Thomas Simones works and lives in Waterford, not far from where he was born at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London.
A graduate of New London High School and Connecticut College, Simones is a partner in the firm of Simones and O’Brien, specializing in workers compensation, personal injury claims, and Social Security disability.
Simones is member of the bar in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Federal Courts.
This is his first campaign for public office.
Andrea Stillman
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Age: 60
Factoid: Has a degree in Speech from California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles.
Thomas Simones
Party: Republican
Occupation: Attorney
Age: 44
Factoid: In 1985 was an intern for then New London City Councilor Jay B. Levin.
What is the most important issue that you will address should you be elected?
Stillman: Obviously it’s the economy. What’s happening in this country and around the world certainly affects Connecticut. It is what we are being told by folks, not just when I go door to door, but also the experts.
What can we do to secure the state as we struggle over the next few years to adjust to the economic changes? The first thing we can do is create jobs. Jobs help create a stable economy. We also have to make sure we spend our tax dollars wisely, and do all we can to ensure a safety net for folks in need of government help. The economy is going to have to be the focus and all those issues revolving around the budget.
The budget is a document that lays out our plan for the next two years, to make sure that the Connecticut economy is stable.
Simones: It’s a tie between jobs and energy—both are fixable. In 1996, we deregulated the energy companies. It’s simply re-enacting that legislation that regulated the monopoly. We need to be fair to people. We can’t allow companies to practice predatory practices. I’m talking to you from a cell phone. They are an example of competition that works. [In the past] if I were to call Europe, it would be $4 or $5 a minute. Now, they advertise 15 cents a minute. That’s true competition.
When they broke up the Baby Bells, it didn’t do much for competition. It was more expensive intrastate than interstate.
The bottom line is we need to re-regulate it. They were regulated before, the laws are still there with black lines through them. Get the black lines out and make them law again.
On jobs, we’ve got to work on Pfizer. It’s easier to deal with companies that are taxed instead of ones that are not. The casinos are independent nations; the Congress is empowered to deal with them. It would be incumbent upon me as senator to talk to the folks at Pfizer and say, “How much of a corporate tax do we need to roll back to keep people employed?”
My goal would be to make Connecticut one of the top five destinations for corporations; we’re at the bottom five. The issues I’ve talked to corporate people about are the fact that medical costs are going up 33 percent every two years. It’s a huge impediment to them.
We’re not practically corporate-friendly, and we have a lot to offer. We need to create good paying jobs.
Did you support the Connecticut Supreme Court decision state that same-sex marriage must be allowed under state law?
Stillman: I was not surprised by the ruling in the respect that in Massachusetts and California, their judicial process had come to the same decision. I think that the issue that [the Massachusetts and California courts] rose about equality is probably one that factored in to their decision. Certainly, we’ll have to address it in the upcoming session after the decision goes to the appellate court, then the legislature will act, unless there is a constitutional convention. What we do next has to do with that ballot question.
Simones: I support civil unions between same-sex people. They should have all the same rights under the law. The word “marriage” should be set aside for a heterosexual couple. I was shocked by the decision. I think it falls to the legislature. I’m not belittling the subject. I think people get upset that this institution that has gone on for thousands of years is now being legislated upon by courts. It’s the legislature’s job to change the law. [I favor] a simple designation of civil unions for same-sex people and marriage for people of a heterosexual background.
District 39
The 39th State House district has been a Democratic stronghold for more than two decades, and it would be the shocker of the season if that changed. But, as the saying goes, that’s why they play the game.
Incumbent Ernest Hewett, a former City Councilor and mayor first elected to Hartford in 2004, is seeking his third term in a rematch with Republican former City Councilor Jason Catala.
This is the second time Catala has sought the 39th seat and hopes to fare better than two years ago, when Hewett took 71 percent of the vote.
In 2006, Catala was a fill-in candidate when Allyn de Vars, the initial nominee, dropped out of the race.
The wild card in the race is Green Party candidate Kenric Hanson, a member of the city’s sustainability committee and frequent speaker at City Council meetings.
Hanson will attempt to be the third party’s first elected official in New London. In the previous two municipal elections, the Green candidates narrowly missed getting on the Board of Education.
Ernest Hewett
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Carpenter
Factoid: Member of the New London City Council and mayor
Jason Catala
Party: Republican
Occupation: Teacher
Factoid: Served Three Terms on the New London Board of Education.
Kenric Hanson
Party: Green
Occupation: Property Owner
Factoid: President of the New London Sustainability Committee.
What is the most important issue that you will address should you be elected?
Hewett: Healthcare is the number one thing. It’s one of the hardest things we had to do. We were pretty close with the municipalities this year, where we pooled healthcare together. That was a fair way, but the governor vetoed it. [Also] More money for PILOT [Payment in Lieu of Taxes] in the city of New London because a lot of our property is off the tax rolls due to non-profits, hospitals, and colleges. Those would be the priorities.
Catala: The first issue I will address if elected will be to make sure that unfunded mandates that are passed down to cities and towns [are funded.] I will make sure that education mandates are funded and in turn lower taxes for citizens in New London. I will do this by putting a tax on millionaires, using lottery and casino dollars.
Hanson: It’s hard to pick, being a third party candidate, without a party coalition in place. I want to promote a future focus on sustainability and define and determine our future actions. Having said that, there is one issue I want to pursue—property taxes. I’ve been working with Green New London, a group that started after the [2007 municipal] campaign and we’ve been working for a land value tax. It needs to be enacted on a state level. A lot of the conversations throughout the state, have been about doing something about property tax burdens on residents. Working with Green New London, we’ve started doing outreach to build a coalition throughout the state. We’ve reached out to Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and other cities, and we’re getting positive responses. That is one of my priorities. What I’ve offered to people as a reason for running is that governments—local, state, and federal—lack a long-range view of things and what we should be doing now to lessen our burdens in the future.
If we keep to the status quo, we are going to experience some great failures. The land value tax legislation is going to come up, and it is something I would work strongly on.
Did you support the Connecticut Supreme Court decision stating that same-sex marriage must be allowed under state law?
Hewett: I supported civil unions, but gay marriage is not before us. I don’t know where I am with that. All I know is that if we had to vote on it, I don’t know where I’d be at this point. I’d be in support of civil unions, which gave gays in the state the right to have insurance purposes and legal documents, things like that. The decision has not been out long enough for me absorb what’s going on.
Catala: I support the Supreme Court decision. I believe we need to respect everyone and the choices they make. I am firm believer that this decision will allow people to feel they are respected and will allow for all married individuals to have equal benefits.
Hanson: Yes I do. As a civil rights issue, marriage is ultimately a legal right and economic issue. I find it incredulous that someone else’s marriage has an effect on my marriage. I don’t see that at all. I’ve been married for more than 16 years, and I imagine there have been millions of people who have been married in that time, and I haven’t felt anything from that. I see [marriage] as being a legal and economic benefit that is important to people. Not that relationships are built for those reasons, but those are benefits of the ultimate expression of love under, ultimately, law. If people want to separate what the church does from what the state does, we can have some designation, but what the state does cannot be diminished.
The Shoo-Ins: Four Local Candidates Running Unopposed
It’s one thing to shout at a political rally that “We’re going all the way! We’re going to win in November!”
It’s quite another to know you’re going to win at the polls on Nov.4.
Four local candidates—all incumbents and all Democrats—are running unopposed for the General Assembly, and they know for certain that they will be sent back to Hartford.
State Sen. Edith Prauge, 19th-Columbia; Rep. Betsey Ritter, 38th D-Waterford; Rep. Ted Moukawsher, 40th D-Groton; and Rep.Tom Reynolds, 42nd D-Ledyard, are all assured of two more years in the legislature by virtue of being the only candidate on the ticket.
Prague, whose district includes Montville, was sort of mystified by her lack of an opponent. This year marks the first time in her political career in which she is unopposed.
“How do you like that?” she said. “I can’t believe it myself.”
Ritter said running unopposed for the first time has been “less stressful.”
“My family appreciates that,” she laughed.
“I have been working hard to go around and talk to as many people as I can,” Ritter continued. “I don’t know what else to do around election time.”
Moukawsher took it as a reflection of the job he’s been doing in Hartford.
‘Not having an opponent has allowed me to concentrate on that job instead raising money,” he said. “I didn’t do any of that. I did want to ask people for money if I did not have an opponent.
Ritter said she’s been working for colleagues on their campaigns.
“It has been a good experience,” she said.
Prague said that not having an opponent to debate or compete against for votes is “a double whammy.”
“I’m delighted I’m running unopposed,” she added. “But, by the same token, the campaign is dull and boring.”
Prague said she spends most of her time helping her Democratic colleagues with their races.
She has eschewed going door-to-door, and is instead using radio and cable-access television to get her message out.
“But wherever I go, I allow extra time for people to ask their questions,” Prague said.
Prague and Ritter said the lack of a campaign has allowed them the time to prepare their agendas for the six-month regular session that begins Jan. 7.
Not surprising, given the recent turmoil on the international financial markets, the economy, healthcare, and jobs are on their minds.
“We need to give businesses a tax break if they increase the number of jobs in their business,” Prague. “Jobs are going to be the biggest issue.”
Ritter is also anxious to revisit the healthcare partnership bill Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed.
Moukawsher is planning for a difficult budget fight in the legislature.
“The $300 million deficit,” he said. “I think its going to get worse.”