The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Spiro to challege Cook for House seat
City woman to seek GOP nomination for 65th District
TORRINGTON — Molly Spino, a city native and member of the Board of Education, said Tuesday she will seek the Republican nomination to represent the 65th District in the state House of Representatives.
Spino made her announcement in the auditorium of Torrington City Hall, in front of an audience of Republican elected officials and well-wishers.
She said decisions made at the state level in Hartford have hurt Torrington and its residents, including tax increases and an inadequate commitment to fund city schools. She put the blame, in part, at the feet of Michelle Cook, the current 65th District representative.
“Our city deserves better. Residents of the 65th District deserve a stronger voice in Torrington — one who speaks up on the state’s challenging fiscal issues,” Spino said. “There’s no question that Connecticut faces major challenges, and those hurdles require fresh perspectives, whose connections are closer to the people that they serve than Hartford insiders and party leaders who are making the state’s problems worse.”
Spino cited her knowledge of the city and support of its citizens — particularly when it comes to small businesses, which she and her husband’s family have run — as well as her experience in the
Marine Corps, as positive aspects to her candidacy.
House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, who accompanied Spino at City Hall, said Spino is the kind of candidate who would allow Republicans to take control of the state government, which is narrowly split.
“I can’t tell you what we need more than a multigenerational Torrington resident who served in the military, who has three lovely children, a husband, who knows small business because they have lived it and worked it for years — somebody like Molly Spino — and a strong woman,” Klarides said. “That’s why we’re here to support and do whatever she needs — and have you guys do whatever you have to do — to make sure she’s standing up there with us next year.”
Klarides said Spino and other candidates would allow state residents to see the party’s vision come to fruition, which is “not the travesty Connecticut has suffered for the past several years under Democrat leadership.”
After the formal remarks, Spino said she had been considering running for the 65th for a few years, after being involved in Todd Schaller’s 2016 run for the seat.
While she considered the idea, she said she spoke and worked with Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted, and Rep. Brian Ohler, R-North Canaan — both in attendance Tuesday — and felt comfortable when visiting the Legislature.
Her stint on the Board of Education, to which she was elected in November, motivated her further, she said.
“Working through the budget — seeing the problems we have in Torrington — a lot of that stems from the issues that we have coming from Hartford, whether it’s education mandates, whether it’s special education, or whether it’s (Education Cost Sharing) funding or alliance grant money,” Spino said. “It’s motivated me more, to get more involved. I know I can do more.”
Spino said she was excited at the chance to represent her hometown at the state level.
“I love Torrington. Torrington’s where I was born and raised. After I got out of the military, I came back here. This is the only place I wanted to raise a family,” Spino said. “It’s a beautiful place to leave. I love our teachers; I love our education system — we have a lot of caring, dedicated, hardworking people in this town, and they need better representation.”
The 65th District is entirely made up of a portion of the city of Torrington.
Cook, the Democrat incumbent, was elected to a fifth term in 2016.