Republican candidate Sullivan is a former prosecutor

NEW FAIRFIELD — A former prosecutor running to represent greater Danbury and the 5th District in congress says the way to prosperity is traditional conservative principles of tax cuts, smaller government and law and order.

David X. Sullivan of New Fairfield, an assistant U.S. attorney for 30 years until his retirement in 2019, sees his campaign to become the first Republican since 2006 to represent northwestern and central Connecticut as a

crusade for capitalism and a war against “socialism.”

“My priorities in congress will be to rebuild Connecticut’s economy … and protect our families’ future,” Sullivan says in a midOctober television ad. “I want to be sure our seniors who have lived here their entire lives can finish their lives here …(and) I want to be sure that when our college students graduate that they can come home and find good-paying jobs.”

Sullivan, a father of five and an adjunct professor who is teaching criminal law this semester at Danbury’s Western Connecticut State University, is fighting an uphill battle against U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a one-term congresswoman from Wolcott, who is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.

“Jahana Hayes has supported Kamala Harris for president and

now she’s supporting Joe Biden,” Sullivan says in an Oct. 13 ad. “We can’t afford either one of them, and we certainly can’t afford two more years of Mrs. Hayes.”

Hayes, the 2016 national Teacher of the Year who was $1 million ahead of Sullivan in fundraising as of mid-October, is favored to win re-election by leading forecasters, in part because of her broad base of donors.

Hayes is not Sullivan’s only opponent. A relocation consultant from Newtown named Bruce Walczak is waging a last-minute, unfunded campaign on the Independent Party line.

As the Nov. 3 election draws near, Sullivan has been laying out his conservative vision in what is considered Connecticut’s most competitive congressional district, where 100,000 registered voters are Republicans, 140,000 registered voters are Democrats, and an additional 180,000 registered voters are not affiliated with any party.

If Sullivan pulls off a November upset, he would not only flip a seat Democrats have had for 14 years, but he will break into what is now an all-Democratic congressional delegation in Connecticut.

“Connecticut has suffered for too long from a lack of diversity in views in Washington, because five plus two equals one,” said Sullivan at a debate last week, referring to Connecticut’s five House members and two Senate members who are Democrats. “So there is really only one voice representing Connecticut, and if that voice is moving at all, it is moving to the left.”

Major issues

The coronavirus crisis has not only affected perennial issues such as the economy and education, but the virus has also become a top campaign issue itself.

Sullivan says federal COVID-19 relief is a priority for Connecticut, but he balks at the $2.2 trillion cost

of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pandemic relief bill, which as of midOctober was stalled in the Senate.

The priority, Sullivan said, is “the safety and welfare of our citizens and reopening the economy along with our schools and bringing us back to a state of normality.”

After COVID-19, the other major story that has stayed in the national headlines is civil unrest and police reform legislation, resulting from the public slaying of a Black man in police custody in Minneapolis.

Sullivan, who describes himself as a law-and-order candidate, supports President Trump’s Executive Order on Safe Policing, which creates a database to track excessive use-of-force complaints, among other reforms. Sullivan also supports a bill by GOP Sen. Tim Scott to end chokeholds, increase body camera use, and give police more money for training.

“People want to feel safe and secure in their communities and in their home,” said Sullivan, whose law enforcement endorsements include the Connecticut Fraternal Order of Police. “We are fortunate in many cases to have good working relationships between local police and our communities.”

Sullivan says his principled leadership is what the 5th District needs at a time when Washington appears to be more divided than usual.

“I am a Reagan Republican – I believe in civility,” Sullivan said in response to a debate question about the divisive partisan rhetoric characteristic of the Trump administration.

“I am running a grassroots campaign – I have had no contact with the Trump administration or Republicans in Washington,” Sullivan said. “I’m a Reagan Republican – I see the good in people.”