The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
SHIFTING INTO OVERDRIVE
Middletown-area candidates make final push on platforms
With Election Day looming, upper Middlesex County political candidates for state House have shifted into overdrive, hoping to get the word out on their platforms and talk to constituents during the final days of their bids for state office.
Tuesday, voters will determine the outcome of races in the 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 100th districts.
The 32nd House encompasses Cromwell and Portland. For the 10 past years, it has been represented by state Rep. Christie Carpino, RCromwell, who is being challenged by Portland Democrat Laurel Steinhauser, a political newcomer.
Carpino, a Long Island native, graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in English and earned her law degree from Northeastern University. Married and the mother of two children, Carpino is general counsel to a private corporation where she focuses on all aspects of business law.
as a legislator and in her private life, she has focused on issues affecting children. Carpino is running this year “to keep Connecticut affordable so families can prosper and our communities remain strong. The 32nd District is full of honest, hardworking people that want safe neighborhoods, high-achieving schools and a strong economy with access to good-paying jobs. I understand the struggles of families and will continue being an independent voice for the district in Hartford,” she said.
Steinhauser, a Wesleyan University grad, is a married mother of three who told the college newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus, she was motivated to get involved in politics by the outcome of the 2016 election. “I never, ever saw myself running for office,” she told the Argus in an interview last month.
After earning a degree in dance, Steinhauser became involved in programs affecting children and operated a small business as a perinatal massage therapist and birth doula, and a mentor and counselor to pregnant women and mothers, she said.
She is running “to strengthen Connecticut’s middle class and grow our economy. I will work to bring down property taxes and to stop corporate handouts, redirecting funds to invest instead in infrastructure, education, targeted job training programs, renewable energy and affordable health care,” Steinhauser said.
Republican Irene Haines and East
Haddam Democrat Theresa Govert are eyeing the 34th House seat, which represents residents of East Haddam, East Hampton and Colchester.
Haines is a member of the East Haddam Economic Development Commission, as well as board member and founding member of the East Haddam News. Her top priority in Hartford will be keeping money in the pockets of those she serves and holding government officials accountable, Haines said in a letter to the editor.
“Families are finding it harder and harder to stay here as the costs to stay escalate. … Our state government spends too much money and has made poor financial decisions. I will advocate to create commonsense policies designed to make government more efficient while promoting spending reductions in all departments. I would recommend a line-by-line audit of the state budget to identify waste and root out fraud,” she said.
Haines also hopes to boost the state’s economy by creating policies to retain and attract businesses and keep young people in Connecticut, including reducing the tax and overregulation burdens on small businesses, said the self-described “out-of-the-box thinker and problem solver, [who rises] above party rhetoric to come up with good solutions for all of us.”
Govert is intent on moving the state toward a clean energy future and fostering economic development and growth without losing the rural character and open spaces of the district, she said on her Theresa Govert for State Rep. Facebook page. Her other priorities are advocating for the retirement security program, which “allows people who don’t have access to a workplace retirement program to start saving for their futures,” she said in another post.
Govert is also concerned about family medical leave for workers who want time off to care for elderly loved ones, as well as allowing “small businesses to offer this benefit they otherwise would struggle to offer without the economy of scale.”
She is interested in modernizing state sales tax regulations to collect taxes on internet sales, “so our brickand-mortar stores don’t have to compete with online internet conglomerates, investing in tourism as an economic driver for our region, fighting for affordable health care, which is one of the largest volatile costs facing small businesses, amongst many other common-sense solutions to kick start Connecticut’s economy,” Govert said.
Democratic Middletown Treasurer Quentin Phipps and Republican Middletown School Resource Officer Tony Gennaro are opponents in the 100th House race, a district that comprisBoth es a portion of Middletown.
Phipps was criticized recently by Republicans for not showing up for 99 percent of city meetings in his capacity as treasurer.
During a candidate’s forum sponsored by the Middlesex Coalition for Children at the deKoven House in early October, Phipps, born and raised in Middletown, said he wants young people to have all the opportunities he’s been afforded.
“There are tons of inequities, especially when you look at racial and economic lines. How do we create decisions of change to make sure the color of your skin or how much money your parents have — or don’t have — in their checking account aren’t going to be the deciding factors of whether or not you are successful?” he asked.
Phipps, director of advocacy and policy for Excellence Community Schools in Stamford, also works at the state Capitol as a lobbyist. Much of his professional time is spent as a parent advocate, helping with special education issues, housing and jobs, and as a liaison to lawmakers at the Capitol, he has told The Press.
Gennaro is a lifelong Middletown resident and 18-year police officer who was a registered Democrat up until recently. He doesn’t view the world through the lens of politics, he told The Press. “I’m open to anybody. That’s just how I am, and I hope that I can work with everybody, and come to conclusions that make sense, and that are the the right thing to do for everybody,” he said.
Gennaro grew up on Church Street, graduated from Vinal Technical High School in 1995, and obtained his degree in criminal justice from Tunxis Community College. The father of two boys and a girl also coached his children’s sports teams in the past.
“I think that we can do better. It seems like we’re always trying to tax more to fix the problems instead of trying to take a logistical approach to it, and do things more efficiently and save money,” he has told the Press. Gennaro, whose uncle owns a jewelry and repair shop on Newfield Street, said small businesses are important to him.
Twenty six-year state Rep. Joseph Serra, D-Middletown, is being challenged by former Middletown Board of Education member Linda Szynkowicz, a Republican, in the 33rd House. Thursday, Szynkowicz filed a complaint with the town clerk’s office and the state Elections Enforcement Commission, alleging her investigation turned up more than 400 absentee ballot requests she deemed invalid. She also questioned the integrity of the clerk’s office.
During a recent candidates’ forum in Middletown hosted by the children’s coalition, Serra said the state’s budget woes “didn’t happen overnight. It goes back to (former governors) Ella Grasso, Bill O’Neill, (Lowell) Weicker to (John) Rowland to Jodi (Rell).” He refers to the budget’s bottom line as the “money pie.”
“It’s only so big, and there are various organizations that will compete for that money, so we have to hear from you,” said Serra, a lifelong Middletown resident who has served on the Middletown Democratic Town Committee since 1984 and the Middletown Department of Public Works since 1959. Serra is chair of the Legislature’s Aging Committee and serves on its Judiciary, Transportation and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees.
Szynkowicz said she believes constituents should have more access to their elected officials. “We need a voice. The people of Middletown deserve to have a state rep that’s in touch with their constituents and their needs. Someone that is there for them who returns their phone calls and emails. I am accessible to every Middletown resident.”
Szynkowicz said she’s most concerned about rising taxes and the exodus of people from the state because of the lack of jobs and high cost of living. “We’ve lost over a quarter of a million people in the last 10 years because of the fiscal problems we have. We tax everybody. If you work, we are taxed to death. Taxing isn’t the way to go. We need to look at where the money is being spent right now, where the duplications are, and where are our priorities.”
For a listing of election ballots by voting district, visit portal.ct.gov/SOTS.