MASTROIANNI SEEKS GOP NOD TO RUN FOR 43RD DISTRICT HOUSE SEAT

Stonington — Republican Shaun Mastroianni, a member of the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission and a borough burgess, is seeking his party’s nomination to run for the 43rd District state representative seat.

The seat is now held by nineterm Democrat incumbent Diana Urban, who announced last month that she is not seeking re-election this fall and will instead be helping former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz run for governor. Stonington Selectwoman Kate Rotella of Mystic and Chris Donahue of Pawcatuck are seeking the Democratic nomination. No other candidates have announced they are seeking the Republican nomination at the party’s May 15 convention. The district comprises Stonington and North Stonington.

Mastroianni, 37, lives in the borough and works for Benchmark Senior Living, where he manages the company’s Crescent Point senior living community in Niantic and oversees another in New Haven.

In addition to being the borough’s commissioner of buildings, he chairs the Stonington Borough Charter Revision Committee, is the town’s blight citation appeals officer and serves on the town’s Beautification Committee.

Mastroianni said he has been planning to run for the past two years and said he has demonstrated he is qualified through his work on various boards and commissions in town.

“I want to make a difference in Hartford, make a change in Hartford,” he said, adding the state has to do things differently than it does now.

If elected, Mastroianni said he would work to help revitalize the state’s economy and bring in new businesses, which in turn, he said, will help balance the state budget.

Mastroianni said he already has raised enough money to qualify for the state’s Citizens’ Election Program, which provides $25,000 in campaign funds to state representative candidates in certain districts who raise $5,100 in small donations.