At the Round Hill Community House Tuesday night candidates for State Senate in the 36th district, which includes Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan, followed a debate between candidates for State Rep in the 149th district.
The candidates, incumbent Republican Ryan Fazio and Democrat Nick Simmons – both are in their mid-30s who grew up in Greenwich – drew the most stark contrasts when it came to gun safety and reproductive rights.

Candidates for State Senate in the 36th district, Democrat Nick Simmons and incumbent Republican Ryan Fazio. Oct 8, 2024

Candidates for State Senate in the 36th district, Democrat Nick Simmons and incumbent Republican Ryan Fazio. Oct 8, 2024
Senator Fazio studied Economics at Northwestern University and worked in the commodities industry, with a focus on renewable fuels and agriculture.
In his introduction Tuesday night, Fazio, who first won his office in a special election after Democratic incumbent Alex Kasser resigned, said that he had delivered on his re-election promise to bring people together across the aisle.
“I co-authored and passed some of the strongest utilities oversight reforms in the country in order to protect consumers from the utilities including Eversource,” he said. “I co-authored and passed a historic expansion of birth control access for women in the state and support for keeping abortion legal in the state of Connecticut.”
“I co-sponsored and passed a strengthening and expansion of background checks for firearms purchases, and co-authored and passed one of the first victories for planning and zoning in our state, and co-authored and passed returning the rights of decision making back to our town where it belongs.”
Fazio said he worked against “bad legislation,” like 5390, known as “Work Live Ride,” that he said would have taken away millions of dollars of funding from towns and cities if they did not adopt as-of-right zoning in certain neighborhoods.
“I threatened to filibuster in the closing week and killed that bill,” Fazio said. “But all this will be back.”
Fazio warned of the threat of a Democratic super majority passing whatever their leadership wanted, including a statewide property tax and the elimination of local zoning rights.
Simmons, who went to Yale and then earned an MBA and Master of Public Policy at Harvard, taught 7th grade math in Harlem, and then became acting principal of a middle school in Harlem. Most recently he was Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Ned Lamont and then Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education in the US Dept of Education.
Simmons said the Round Hill Association was near and dear to his heart, having attended the Round Hill Nursery School as a boy and learned how to foxtrot at the Barclays dance class in the community house where the debate was held.
“I’m a moderate,” he said. “I’m the first Democrat in this seat to ever get the endorsement of the Independent party, something I’m very proud of. Most importantly, I am a father and a husband.”
Simmons said it was important to cut taxes to make it more affordable to live in Connecticut.
“Taxes have gone up on a percentage basis of income since I was born. In Hartford we can cut the estate tax, the gift tax, and provide property relief, as well as lower our electric bills,” Simmons said. “We need to get more money from Hartford to invest in badly, badly, badly neglected infrastructure. We have schools falling down.”
He said a “return to values” was in order, including standing up for a woman’s right to choose.
“My opponent said he stands for that, but he voted against one of the best pro-choice bills in a generation.”
Also, he said Fazio voted against and took part in a filibuster against one of the most comprehensive guns safety bills, which nevertheless was passed. That bill was An Act Concerning Gun Violence, HB 6667.
Bi-Partisanship
Simmons said he grew up a moderate Republican and people tell him when he knocks on doors that political extremism must stop.
“I never thought MAGA would come to Greenwich,” Simmons said. “I never thought I would see the Republicans across our town, our current State Senator not just firmly stand up against someone like Donald Trump.”
“Republicans have been doing it all across the country – Chris Shays has stood up against Donald Trump. Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mike Pence. I don’t understand why it is so hard to stand up and say that ‘I condemn this kind of extremism that has been taking over our party.'”
He said both he and Fazio had sought the Independent party’s endorsement, but the Independent party voted 13-2 to endorse Simmons over Fazio.
“Reaching across the aisle is exactly what I want to do,” he said, adding that whether there were 13 Republican State Senators or 12 would not make a difference.
“Having a moderate in the majority who is going to be bipartisan – that’s going to make a difference,” Mr. Simmons said.
Fazio said his action, leadership and record differentiated him.
He said he co-authored and passed into law six major new CT laws in the past two years, highly unusual even for a senior senator in the majority.
“I did it as a second and third year senator in the minority,” he said. “Those were to expand birth control access for women, and legislation to return local control to decision making to towns and cities. And to improve regulatory oversight to protect consumers from utilities.”
“I have walked the walk and not just talked the talk,” he said.
State Statute 8-30g
Fazio said as a leading advocate for local control of zoning in the state, he had advanced reforms of the state affordable housing statute 8-30g to make it easier for towns to earn a moratorium.
“I threatened to filibuster in the closing days of the legislative session this year to build as-of-right up to 10 units. I have co-authored and passed two of the only victories for local control of zoning in the past decade in the state.”
Mr. Simmons described 8-30g as a failed law.
“Any law that empowers a developer to unilaterally come in and build wherever they want is a flawed law,” he said.
“When I worked for the Governor, I was proud to be part of the senior team that helped pass a bill that included $800 million to incentivize new housing in the state. That should be the role of the state: to be incentivizing financially, empowering and partnering with towns instead of ramming in a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Energy Bill Public Benefit Charge
Fazio said Connecticut’s electric bills were the third highest in the country, after Hawaii and California.
“State policies bear responsibility for those inflated costs. First and foremost the public benefit charge equates to a hidden tax, funding roughly 40 different government programs adding up to about $500 or $700 million a year that should normally go through the budget process,” Fazio said.
He said he co-authored a six-point energy proposal to cut energy costs across the state, and that his opponent plagiarized sections of his energy proposal.
Simmons pushed back, saying people were shocked when they saw a mailer from Fazio describing himself as the bi-partisan leader in Hartford on gun safety and bi-partisan leader on a women’s right to choose.
“Even though my opponent voted against the most comprehensive and historic gun safety bill in the history of the state, and the bill to defend reproductive rights and defend women from being prosecuted for getting abortions in the state, and who wrote in 2018, ‘Roe v Wade is offensive to the rule of law,'” Simmons said.
“I was trying to run a positive campaign, but not one that doesn’t call out or hold accountable blatant lies,” Simmons said.
On the suggestion of plagiarism, he said, “The ideas you recommended and put forth are very common. The ‘All of the above’ strategy was Barack Obama’s 2012 energy strategy. I don’t think you have a monopoly on these basic ideas.”
Election Integrity and No Excuse Absentee Ballots
Simmons said he supported the amendment to voting laws to allow absentee voting with no excuse required in Connecticut, and that other states had already been doing s0 for decades.
Fazio said more needed to be done to protect election security, and that he had co-introduced with other Republicans proposals, including one to require voter identification and one to require signature verification on absentee ballots.
He said while he did vote for early in-person voting, he had concerns that making absentee ballots no-excuse would encourage the type of malfeasance that took place in Bridgeport.
Environmental Protection
Fazio talked about Greenwich being the tailpipe of the northeast because of its location.
“We need our federal representation to stand up strong to ensure there isn’t excessive air pollution from surrounding states because we’re downstream from that because of the jet stream,” he said.
Mentioning the “all of the above” clean energy strategy, he said it was important to place certain forms of hydropower and all forms of new nuclear production on an equal playing field with wind, solar and other forms of zero carbon energy.
“That will ensure we are able to protect the environment, clean air, but also do so in a way that is reliable and protects the stability of the grid and also ensuring we are able to deliver electricity in a more affordable fashion,” Fazio said.
Mr. Simmons returned to the abortion issue.
“You just heard one of the most egregious cases of mansplaining about a woman’s health issue,” Simmons said.
“The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the NIH and Planned Parenthood said that the procedures in those bills were perfectly healthy and encouraged,” Simmons said. “I don’t think you or me, as males in our 30s should be saying we know more about reproductive health than any of those institutions.”
“On clean air,” Simmons said. “There’s a saying in politics, ‘Follow the hands, not the mouth.’ That sounded really great but the clean air bill that was introduced and passed, my opponent voted against.”
He said tailpipe emissions must be addressed.
“We have the most congested highway in America between Greenwich and Norwalk. More than Washington DC, more than Boston, more than Los Angeles. Those cars run through cities and the cars sit all day long emitting this smog. We have to invest more in transit rail and we have to invest in fixing I-95.”
Mr. Simmons asked why Fazio hadn’t spent his energy seeking funding to address congestion on I95 and the Merritt.
“This has nothing to do with tolls. They’re sending money to Meriden, to Waterbury, to the New London bridge. I can’t believe this hasn’t been a top priority,” Simmons said.
Fazio said the Dept of Transportation fell under the executive branch and as the deputy chief of staff Mr. Simmons “had cognizance over the departments in the executive branch in state government.”
“We should look at elongating and improving on and off ramp flows in the major highway corridors here in southwest Connecticut,” Fazio said. “Yet the leadership of the state government, including my opponent, when they’re in power do not make those primary investments.”
He said it was important to reform some of the state rules that make vital infrastructure investments exorbitant.
Simmons pushed back again.
“What have you done on getting this money? We are suffering here. We are the most congested highway in America. The air is horrible. Parents are sitting on Metro-North not getting where they need to go.”
“You’ve been calling yourself a leader up there,” he said. “What have you done?”
Mr. Simmons credited the three Greenwich Democratic State Reps with bringing back tens of millions of dollars for projects including the Glenville corridor project and a new Central Middle School which he said had needed to be rebuilt 20 years ago.
“There is a reimbursement rate – it’s pretty simple, you just go into the legislature and use every piece of political capital that you have,” he said. “And I hadn’t heard a single thing on Central Middle School until after Hector, Rachel and Steve secured the money. Those are our kids sitting in buildings that are crumbling. When the earthquake happened earlier this year they couldn’t even learn in the building.”
“And you certainly spent some capital trying to kill the gun safety bill,” Simmons added.
Fazio said he had advocated behind closed doors for funding for Central Middle School.
“In order to make these investments in an efficient manner, and maximize the amount of infrastructure we can build – whether its schools or roads and bridges – we’re going to have to reform state rules that make Connecticut have the second or third highest per mile or road building costs in the country,” Fazio said. “That means reforming things like project labor agreements.”
“You reform that, that means you can build three schools in Greenwich for the same cost as building two,” he added.
Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Fazio said it was “suspicious” that Mr. Simmons had failed to mention an abortion related bill from two years earlier when he recently shared the stage with Democratic State Senator Patricia Billie Miller, who had voted against the bill.
“You didn’t because she and 16 other Democrats in the state legislature also voted against it, because like me, they were concerned that expanding scope of practice to the midwives and nurses would undermine health for patients,” Fazio said.
Guns and School Safety
Fazio said he supported the state’s gun safety laws and co-introduced an amendment and a bill to increase the number of School Resource Officers across the state, but it was voted down along party lines.
“This is a common sense approach that should have bi-partisan support,” Fazio said.
“Seventy-five percent of gun charges in our state get dropped or dismissed by the state government. I support proactive policing policies like consent searches which are responsible for taking illegal guns off the street but were eliminated by the 2020 police reform,” Fazio said.
Simmons said Fazio should be held accountable for his record on gun safety.
“All the data and research says that SROs have no role and are completely ineffective in preventing a school shooting,” Simmons said. “Look at the last 15 major school shootings in the US. Every one of those schools had a school resource officer.”
“His touting his record on bi-partisan leadership on gun safety? You have an “F” from CT Against Gun Violence. You were endorsed by the most right wing pro-gun group in Connecticut. You had the opportunity to vote on one of the most comprehensive gun safety bills in America, and you didn’t just vote no, you took part in a filibuster that lasted until 4:00 in the morning.”
Closing Remarks
In his closing remarks, Fazio talked about birth control, local control of zoning and utility prices.
“I’m proud that I co-authored some of the most rigorous, strong utilities oversight legislation in the entire country and passed it into law,” he said. “I’m proud I co-introduced and passed an historic expansion of birth control access in Connecticut, so women’s reproductive care can be more accessible.”
In his closing comments, Mr. Simmons said in light of neglected infrastructure, it was ironic to see signs around town saying, “Preserve Greenwich.”
“If you look at the flood maps for 20 years from now, Tod’s Point is under water,” he said. “We need to invest in that.”
“I want to get back to the common sense middle ground,” Simmons said, adding that growing up as a moderate Republican and interning for Christopher Shays, the town had always prioritized gun safety laws and the right for women to choose.
From there he raised the specter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his “MAGA” effort.
Referring to the moderate Republican leaders like Chris Shays, he said, “I couldn’t even imagine what those folks would say to Donald Trump winning a primary in 1995. It’s unthinkable to me that this has been embraced. And I hope by the end of the campaign my opponent can just simply say, ‘I support him,’ or ‘I don’t support him.’ But we should stand up to this evil force that is taking over our country.”
See also:
State Rep Candidates for 149th District Face Off at Round Hill Association Debate
League of Women Voters Announces State Senate and State Rep Debates on Oct 15