New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Bowen to take on Klarides Ditria for House seat
Valley voters will decide in November whether incumbent Republican state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria should retain her 105th District legislative seat or Democratic newcomer Christopher Bowen deserves a shot.
Both candidates recently received the unanimous endorsement of their respective party during virtual nominating conventions.
Klarides-Ditria, 51, sister of state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, is seeking her third term.
The 105th District covers Seymour, Beacon Falls and parts of Derby.
“Valley residents can count on me to be their voice in Hartford and know when they need help they can call on me and I will answer,” said Klarides-Ditria, an
athletic trainer at Lauralton Hall high school in Milford. “Right now we need to make sure residents are getting the help they need from state government and that our state government is transparent and being held accountable. I will always fight for the Valley and be there for all of us during the good and the bad times.”
Bowen, 40, a cellular engineer, is a Seymour selectman, a member of the town’s Economic Development Commission and an alternate for the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“Our district has been shortchanged by years of negligence by Hartford,” Bowen said. “I would bring a fresh perspective to this district. Every person who has held this seat for over a decade has had powerful family names; in comparison, I am a newcomer, but in a short amount of time, I have been able to work with people — not parties — to move Seymour forward, without the weight of a big name weighing me down. I look forward to the chance to do that for Beacon Falls and Derby, as well.”
Seymour Republican Town Committee Chairman Richard Demko said Klarides-Ditria is the right person for the job.
“From passing bipartisan legislation to strengthening penalties for individuals selling Fentanyl to seeing that hospitals get the necessary funding they deserve, Rep. Klarides-Ditria is getting the job done every step of the way,” Demko said. “I don’t see any reason to change our representation in Hartford, in fact, I know many communities that would love to have Nicole representing them.”
Seymour Democratic Town Committee Chairman Stephan Behuniak said Bowen offers a fresh perspective.
“The three towns that you are running to represent and the Valley as a whole need an advocate with your kind of tenacity and understanding of the issues,” Behuniak said during the convention. “All of us here thank you for putting yourself forth and vowing to fight for the prosperity of the Naugatuck Valley.”
Bowen said he has expertise to address the coming “5G revolution.” In Hartford, Bowen said, he’ll fight to cut spending, cut elective taxes and eliminate licensing requirements for non-degree vocational careers.
“I am not your everyday Democrat,” Bowen said. “I am a libertarian at heart, and as such, I feel that the way to prosperity is through minimizing unnecessary obstacles to allowing people to thrive.”
Klarides-Ditria said her focus is not on politics, but on helping people and businesses, especially during these difficult times.
“I don’t think people care about November right now, I think they care about keeping their jobs, about their children getting a quality education and about how we are going to open up the economy,” she said. “I am focused on holding state government accountable and believe it is time for the legislature to take back control from Gov. Ned Lamont. I think we can all agree that the governor has overstepped his authority in many ways and that the legislature should be making the decisions using science and consulting with doctors on the best way to open up our economy.”
More information about Klarides-Ditria’s reelection campaign can be found at www.reelectnkd.com.
To learn more about Bowen, visit www.facebook.com/bowen4seymourct.