Stratford council member seeks 120th District seat in state House

STRATFORD — Town council member Laura Dancho says the time is right for her to take the next step politically.

Dancho, the District 10 Republican, said she has a “common sense outlook” that can help her work “in a bipartisan way.”

She is in a good place to take the next step up to Hartford, she said.

“It is time to take this approach of developing bipartisan and commonsense solutions to the next level and foster positive change for Connecticut families as we confront an uncertain economy and rising inflation,” she said. “I can bring a common sense of perspective to the House.”

The seat is currently held by Democrat Phil Young, himself a former Stratford town councilman. Young narrowly defeated Bill Cabral in a 2018 special election due to Republican Laura Hoydick vacating the seat after winning election to become mayor of Stratford. Young won re-election in 2018 over Jim Feehan by 13 votes, then beat Feehan in a 2020 rematch by 451 votes.

Dancho said she would be an advocate for local ownership of Sikorsky Memorial Airport and more local control on zoning issues. She called these the “main concerns” specific to Stratford at the moment. She also mentioned a focus on ecological and environmental issues. She is the program coordinator of Fairfield University’s Biology Program.

Lou DeCilio, RTC chair and Republican town registrar, said he thinks Dancho will bring some “fresh ideas” to the seat.

“It’s definitely good to see somebody that’s been involved in Stratford for decades to step up and represent,” DeCilio said. “She did a good job on the town council. Basically, she’ll do a great job in Hartford.”

The RTC will nominate its official candidate in May..

Young said he was proud of what he has been able to do for Stratford in the legislature.

“This year, despite this sort of short session, we have passed major legislation that helps Stratford,” he said. “I’m looking forward to continuing that and looking forward to getting out for the campaign and getting out knocking doors this fall.”

Young pointed out that the legislative session has “major tax cuts coming along,” and the the Assembly has just passed a bill to keep Lockheed-Martin company Sikorsky Aircraft in the state until 2042, and also passed “the best mental health bill in the entire country” in recent days.