Submitted by Adele Rota, Glenville
Republicans, moderate Democrats, centrist Independents and Unaffiliated voters, we cannot afford to sit out this midterm election cycle.
It is not an exaggeration to say that our way of life is at stake as is our quiet enjoyment of our homes, our town as well our state due to unfunded mandates from Hartford particularly under 8-30g and the more recent passage of HB8002 (pushed through by Lamont in an emergency session thus avoiding any committee or public hearings). One need only look to New Canaan as a cautionary tale of the irreparable harm done by this legislation with more on the way brought to you by the Democratic super majority.
Despite years of court battles, our neighbors in New Canaan are being forced to accept multi family buildings in single family neighborhoods; don’t take my word for it look it up (Weed Street and Hill Street). Coming soon to a single family neighborhood near you!
A major shift is needed in Hartford and not further to the left… change is needed from the top down.
It is sigificant that a two term sitting Governor was primaried by an extreme leftist who received 32 percent of the vote; this will only serve to push him further left. After eight years, Lamont cannot come up with accomplishments to use in his campaign so he negatively focuses on Ryan Fazio.
Ryan Fazio exposed the Public Benefit Charge – a hidden tax on our monthly electric bills; he championed legislation requiring transparency about these state mandated fees and continues fighting to eliminate them from our electric bill and make these part of the routine budget process.
No one in the State Senate has fought harder than Ryan Fazio to protect home rule from the misguided and irreversible damage being forced on Greenwich and all municipalities across our state by 8-30g and more recently by HB8002, which goes even further.
Joe Kelly is a proven leader and consensus builder both in the elected positions he has held (RTM; Chair BOE, BET) as well as in the businesses he has successfully built and grown. He has a strategy to retain businesses and families who are fleeing our state and to reduce income taxes.
Tina Courpas has delivered exactly what she promised when she was elected in 2024 – “to be a voice of the middle”. She is a champion for education, she is the strongest voice in the State House for home rule and against HB8002; she is a fierce defender of the bipartisan enacted fiscal guardrails which were violated by Representatives Arzeno and Meskers to the tune of $2.8 Billion.
While Arzeno and Meskers pat each other on the back for the money “they have brought back to Greenwich” for schools, we received far less than our fair share particularly in light of the amount of tax dollars we sent to Hartford every year. By comparison, Greenwich received $22 million or 20 percent reimbursement for Central Middle School and Fairfield received 75 percent reimbursement rate or $57 million for an elementary school. Does that seem fair?
Mike Mason has served the Greenwich community for nearly three decades; 18 years on the BET, with 12 years as its Chairman. He has the experience and qualifications to fight for Greenwich in Hartford, uphold the fiscal guardrails, fight to protect home rule, reduce spending.
Jonathan Goldstein brings both a legal background as well as construction expertise which he will use to advocate and protect the interests of his district.
Hector Arzeno surprisingly said in the October 15th LWV debate that “Connecticut is in good financial standing” and Steve Meskers quickly agreed saying “we’re doing just fine”.
However, all of the objective indicators tell a different story how Connecticut compares to the rest of the country, here are just a few:
2nd to 3rd highest residential electricity cost
4th highest income tax in the nation
46th for statewide housing affordability
Another important thing to ponder, which I only learned about recently is the “tax the rich” proposal introduced by state Senate “progressives” SB101, that would establish a state-level supplemental property tax ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent on residential real estate assessed above $3 million, how long will it take to move that to $1 million?
That’s pretty shocking even for Connecticut. Look it up, that’s what I did, don’t take my word for it.
Finally, PLEASE don’t be kept away from the voting booth by polls – whether favorable or unfavorable, they have been way off in recent elections some say deliberately to discourage moderate voters.
If you value your way of life and want to protect Greenwich and allow it to remain the special and desirable place that we all love to live – every vote matters.
PLEASE get out, get your neighbors, friends and family out and vote Row B.
Respectfully,
Adele Rota