Greenwich’s Harry Arora weighs bid to run for state treasurer

GREENWICH — State Rep. Harry Arora, R-151, may be setting his sights on a higher office.

The Greenwich resident who is in his second term in the stage legislature announced he is forming an exploratory committee for a possible run for state treasurer.

“Connecticut needs a fresh and bold financial strategy to reduce our massive debt, to lower taxes and to spur job growth,” Arora said in a statement released Friday. “In the last decade, there has been little income growth and our population is where it was a decade ago. While the surplus arising from the federal dollars is temporarily helping, the long-term situation has worsened because of inflation. In the coming weeks, I plan to meet residents across the state and take their views in making a decision.”

In an interview, Arora said Monday that he believed he would “make a substantial impact” as treasurer by addressing the issues of state debt and pension liabilities. Over the next six weeks, he said he will “meet as many people as possible around the state and seek their input” on whether there was support for his candidacy.

“I’m going to explore, and at the end of those six weeks make my decision,” Arora said. “If I pursue statewide office I will not run for General Assembly. But if I choose not to pursue statewide office, I will continue to serve my constituents. … I know it is a challenging job, but I am honored to serve our district and I hope to continue to do so in one capacity or the other.”

Greenwich Republican Town Committee Chair Dan Quigley said he supports Arora.

“Harry Arora has proven time and again throughout his life that he is up to the challenge and is qualified to lead,” Quigley said. “He has been an outstanding state representative for the 151st District, and I have every confidence that no matter what the next step on his journey is, he will work hard, deliver results and succeed. He is well-suited to be state treasurer and will be a tremendous asset in Hartford.”

Democrat Shawn Wooden, who was elected state treasurer in 2018, has not announced whether he will seek a second term. A call to Wooden’s office was not returned.

State Democratic Party Chair Nancy DiNardo slammed Arora on Monday while praising Wooden.

“Shawn Wooden has been an innovative and extremely effective treasurer for Connecticut,” DiNardo said. “We have no doubt that if Shawn chooses to run for reelection, and we have no reason to think he won’t, that voters will see the difference between his proven leadership and a former Enron executive who to this day supports the extremism of Donald Trump.”

Arora, who worked for Enron from 1995 to 2002, now works at his own hedge fund, AlphaStrat, which operates out of a Greenwich office. The fund “focuses on finding opportunities in energy transition space and investing in them in liquid markets,” he said.

Arora he is not actively seeking investments from others because he is a state representative. If he ran for and was elected state treasurer, Arora said he would “put the whole firm on hold” for his tenure in statewide office.

Democratic Town Committee Chair Joseph Angland said he did not have a comment specifically about Arora’s possible candidacy. But he noted the “difficulty” he said any Republican would face in challenging Gov. Ned Lamont or Wooden, “given their impressive economic achievements,” including the first general upgrade of the state’s bond rating in more than two decades and paying down unfunded pension liabilities from cash on hand.

House races

Arora was elected to the state legislature in January 2020, winning a special election against Democrat Cheryl Moss to succeed Fred Camillo, who stepped down after he was elected first selectman. Arora was reelected to a full term in November 2020, defeating Democrat Hector Arzeno.

Arora is the ranking Republican on the state House’s Labor Committee and also serves on the Energy and Technology and Human Services Committees.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission is investigating Arora’s two 2020 campaigns, according to Josh Foley, staff attorney for the SEEC.

Town resident Lucy von Brachel filed a complaint in March 2021 alleging that Arora and his campaign violated regulations for candidates using the state’s Citizen’s Elections Program by making payments to a family member’s business, reporting a reimbursement to a family member for services they provided, failing to report expenditures relating to use of the candidate’s business office as a campaign office and coordinating expenses with the state Republican Party.

On Monday, Arora called it a “frivolous complaint.” He said he provided all the information upfront to the SEEC before the investigation began. Arora said he could not comment further on the pending matter.

Other races

Arora has previously sought higher office. In 2018, he unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, for his seat in Congress.

Last year, Arora explored a possible run for state Senate after the resignation of Alex Kasser from her seat serving the 36th District. But ultimately, he withdrew the night before the Republican convention. Ryan Fazio got the GOP nomination and was elected to the state Senate in a special election last August.

If Arora runs for treasurer, he faces an uphill battle — as the state constitutional offices have long been held by Democrats.

“I am not going to minimize the fact that this is a good challenge, but at the same time considering the environment we are in and considering the performance overall, especially in economic terms, of the other party, I do see that our community will vote for a change,” Arora said. “It will be a tough race, but in Connecticut we have a lot of unaffiliated voters and in times like these, they can move to support someone with my background.”