“People are moving here because of the quality of life, because of the modern values, because of the rights, and the protections and services we have instituted and codified in state law – all of which can be reversed.”
State Senator Alex KasserKasser said she passed the first law in Connecticut to address student loan debt.
Fazio disagreed.
“There were no jobs created in the state in the last 20 years before this year’s recession started,” he said. “The writing is on the wall. Everyone knows it. Covid was a good fortune event that brought more people to our state.”
Kasser gave a rebuttal. “What’s bad for our state is this negative narrative we hear from Republicans – how bad the state is and all Democrats’ fault. Well you know what, you had a Republican in this seat for 10 years before I got here.”
Asked about the electricity generation in Connecticut Kasser said the situation with Everource was “out of control.”
“That happened before we got to the legislature,” she said, But, she added, “We passed the ‘Take Back Our Grid Act,’ one step toward having more regulatory oversight over Eversource.”
“We have to adapt and advance wind and solar energy because climate change is real,” she added. “We can’t just put our heads in the sand or do what Ryan Fazio suggests which is more nuclear power plants. That is really bad for the environment and human health.”
Fazio said Connecticut had the highest electricity rates in the lower 48 states mostly due to mandates and regulations placed on the consumer by the state government. He said electricity prices were a regressive tax.
“The reason that France, for instance, has such low carbon emissions and such low electricity is because it has an ‘all of the above’ renewable strategy, which includes nuclear.”
Republican candidate for State Senate Ryan Fazio
Kasser said she had passed a bill in the Senate that would allow more solar energy projects in Connecticut, and supported a law on wind energy.
Fazio said the wind bill, included electricity prices that were higher than the regional price. He said it amounted to a regressive tax on the working poor in the state.
Asked about the policies of outgoing State Rep Livvy Floren, a Republican, Fiorello said she would continue Floren’s advocacy for fiscal responsibility.
“That is a vital role that representatives from Greenwich have played in Hartford,” Fiorello said. “She’s also been a vital voice for democracy, which will be critical when we face threats including regionalization of schools and local zoning control.”
Ms Stowe said she hoped to carry on Floren’s legacy of being a moderate.
“She always found the middle,” Stowe said, adding that Floren had at one point served as GHS PTA president, and was always very supportive of public schools.
Stowe said Floren crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats on the nomination of Andrew McDonald for Chief Justice of CT Supreme Court.
Stowe, who is endorsed by Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety and Planned Parenthood, noted that State Rep Floren was supportive of both gun safety and Planned Parenthood.
Fiorello said that like Floren she cared for the environment.
“I got a patent and invented a plastic bag to reduce reliance on one-time use plastic bags,” she said. “That’s the kind of innovation I would bring to Hartford.”
Meskers and Kelly were asked about civility.
“I’ve crossed not only lines politically, but cultural lines,” Meskers said. “I’m fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.”
Meskers noted he and his opponent maintained a civil dialogue.
“The differences in personality should not be the question,” he said. “Absolutism does not work.”
Mr. Kelly said society and politics remove the ability for people to discuss topics they agree on.
“So often we jump into what we disagree on, and nothing gets solved,” he said. “I’ve been a championship coach, getting kids to work together on a common goal.”
The State Senate candidates were asked what policies they’d support for CT to transition to a net zero carbon economy.
Fazio said he’d spend his career to date in renewable energy.
‘I want an all-the-above energy strategy…I want regulatory fairness for all types of clean energy. I want an open competitive bid process for power generation in the state. I want to eliminate Eversource’s monopoly power in the state. …We can meet the competing interests of both the environment and the economy that won’t break the back of the middle class and working poor.”
Ms Kasser said she’d spent most of her career as an attorney at a large New York law firm, but had pivoted to non-profits to use her advocacy skills for better environmental policies for the future.
“So that we have a sustainable future. So that you have a planet and clean air and water that you inherit,” she said. “There is so much that we should be doing.”
“A couple of things that Ryan Fazio just mentioned, we are already doing,” Kasser said. “We’re already limiting Eversources’ power. We’re already using an open competitive bid processes for our new contracts.”
“We can expand our environmental infrastructure, not nuclear, which is not the right answer,” she said.
See also:
Kasser–Fazio Debate Highlights: Infrastructure, Gun Safety, Early Voting
Oct 10, 2020
Greenwich State Rep Candidates Face Off: Economy, Infrastructure, #BLM, Abortion
Oct 11, 2020