Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly seeks 7th term
STRATFORD — Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, announced his bid for reelection to the state Senate in the 21st District Tuesday afternoon, according to a release.
“I am running to bring the voices of all people to the State Capitol and fight for a more affordable, healthier, and safer Connecticut,” Kelly said in the release.
The 21st District includes Stratford, Monroe, Seymour and Shelton. Kelly has held the seat since 2011 and will be running for his seventh term. He ran unopposed in 2020, but won with 56.7 percent of the vote in 2018 against Democrat Monica Tujak Brill.
“I will continue to propose and stand up for policies that show a better way to help all Connecticut residents, like cutting the income tax on low- and middle-income Connecticut residents and driving down out-of-control health care cost growth,” Kelly said.
Kelly currently serves on the aging committee, executive and legislative nominations committee and the regulations review committee in the state legislature.
His legislative portfolio includes support for bills on child mental health care, elder justice and environmental measures, among others.
He also recently presented Stratford’s proposal to the Bridgeport Airport Commission for the purchase of Sikorsky Memorial Airport. The proposal was not chosen by the commission, which voted instead to forward the Connecticut Airport Authority’s proposal to the Bridgeport City Council.
He owns a Stratfordbased elder law private practice, Kevin Kelly & Associates, PC.
Republican Town Committee Chair Lou DeCilio said Kelly had been involved in the community long before he won election to the legislature.
“He represents Stratford, Shelton, Monroe and Seymour well,” DeCilio said.
Kelly will run against Democratic candidate Christopher Green, a career educational professional who announced his run in April.
“I am excited to run a campaign focused on our competing ideas and look forward to presenting the residents of Stratford, Shelton, Monroe and Seymour a clear choice in November,” Green said.
Green said he specifically disagrees with Kelly’s votes “against the minimum wage(increase) and against Connecticut’s paid family leave act.”
He also called the Senator’s abstention from the vote on Reproductive Freedom Defense Act a “missed opportunity to affirm women’s health rights.”