UPDATE: On Feb. 22, a special election will fill the state assembly seat vacated by Chris Caruso who’s working for the state Labor Department. Caruso was originally appointed to a position by Governor Malloy in the Department of Economic and Community Development. Malloy is doing a national search for a DECD commissioner. Caruso, an ally of Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall, is splitting his time between the Wethersfield and Bridgeport labor offices. The candidates appeared at a forum Tuesday night. From Tim Loh, CT Post:
Six candidates for the city’s open seat in the state House of Representatives offered a range of ideas on cutting the state’s budget deficit, pulling in more state and federal funds, and lifting this city’s beleaguered tax base during a forum Tuesday night at the Lake Forest Clubhouse.
At least 60 residents attended as five men and one woman running for the post in the special election on Feb. 22 swapped strategies as to how Bridgeport can better fight with its neighbors for business, and how the city’s Hartford contingent can better serve the residents of the 126th Assembly District.
The position opened in early January, when 10-term state Rep. Christopher Caruso accepted a position as counsel to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on urban issues, housing and smart growth within the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
City Counsel Member Carlos Silva, who failed in his bid to unseat Caruso four years ago, said the district needed someone in Hartford “with a little style, charisma, and who’s young.” He opposes Sunday liquor sales in Connecticut and said he would need to go through the state budget line by line before he had the authority to propose specific cuts.
“But getting rid of employees for the sake of it is not enough,” he said.
The Rev. Charles Stallworth was only slightly more detailed. “We shouldn’t just take a hatchet and chop things off,” he said. “We need to take the time to go through and remove what’s necessary.”
Stallworth is a member of the Bridgeport police commission and pastor at the East End Tabernacle Baptist Church.
He repeated several times that he prizes teamwork, but also individual ideas. He voiced his support for allowing Sunday liquor sales, stating: “I would probably be able to preach longer sermons because my members would know they could make it to the store.”
Verna Kearney, a 19-year Bridgeport police veteran who won Caruso’s endorsement, called repeatedly for the district’s constituents to send her more ideas that she might channel in Hartford. Offering one such example, she called for Bridgeport to send its prisoners to shovel snow from the driveways of the elderly and disabled residents.
“We need help with this snow situation,” she said. “And we need to utilize those manpower hours.”
Offering a different approach to the budget crunch, Robert Keeley said the state should scale back corporate tax incentives to firms that aren’t reciprocating with new jobs. “If they’re not producing jobs in Connecticut,” he said, “they need to remove those benefits.”
Keeley served in the state House from 1982 through 2008. He served in the most recent years as head of the State Bond Commission. He suggested Tuesday that Bridgeport’s current representatives aren’t tough enough for the challenging times.
“What we have now are toothless tigers on Valium,” he said. “We need a tiger again. That’s what I am.”
Thomas Lombard called on the state to streamline and consolidate its services, beginning with large tracts of unused, underdeveloped lands that eat up resources for safety and landscaping. He cited one such 3-acre plot in Bridgeport. “There must be thousands of them throughout the state,” he said.
Mark Trojanowski said Bridgeport’s residents shouldn’t shoulder 70 percent of the city’s tax burden.
“The fact is, businesses have been leaving Bridgeport for 30 to 40 years,” he said. “The key to attracting the businesses is to make it easy for them. Maybe we need a state review board to bring businesses to Bridgeport.”
As the evening wound down, Audrey Barr, a member of the North End Community Council, stood up from the crowd and demanded that residents keep whomever is elected accountable.
“Everyone’s up there saying the same thing,” she said, “but once they’re elected, it’s up to us to get them to act.”
“That’s right!” a woman shouted.
“Our kids go to college, and then don’t even come back,” Barr said.
“There’s nothing for young people. And nothing gets done because everyone has their own agenda. It’s up to us to see that it gets done after the election.”
I wonder who is more prepared to come to the General Assembly with the level of preparation that is needed to handle not only the problems of Bridgeport, but to be able to utilized negotiating tools to work with representatives advocating on behalf of the other 168 municipalities.
Quite an assignment … and it seems that Bob Keeley was the only individual who displayed this capability, or at least articulated this capability.
This is not the easiest of times for Connecticut, especially for Bridgeport, and a learning curve is not going to be acceptable under these circumstances.
I agree totally with your post, CAC. I was at the forum last night. Mr. Keeley is without question the most qualified and prepared candidate in this race. Bridgeport is, once again, behind the 8-ball. Our current delegation is weak. We desperately need an experienced legislator with seniority in Hartford. Right now we need to elect a representative who will have the best probability to bring the bacon home.
Gee, speaking of Chris, I see in the Connecticut Post he was just promoted by the Malloy Administration.
Three Shills and a Debate.
Three Shills and a Debate, the place was packed with Lake Forest people as well as the panel.
Bob Keeley, past President and Dam Builder for Lake Forest along with Rev. Chuck (I’m not in bed with those Demons) Stallworth and Police Officer Verna Kearney. All Lake Forest members in waiting, all running for the same seat, 126th.
The non-members of (Lake Forest) also running for Chris Caruso’s old seat, the 126th. Tom Lombard, Mark Trojanowski and Carlos Silva.
I found the debate very interesting. The Rev. (I’m not in bed with those Demons) Stallworth kept looking at his watch the way Geo. Bush Sr. did when he debated Bill Clinton.
Carlos Silva was constantly waking Bob Keeley up to speak. Bob is as old as dirt and served 26 years in Hartford, so he tells us.
The only people with vision for Bridgeport, were Mark Trojanowski and Tom Lombard. They both spoke of jobs and the burden of high taxes on our seniors. They both had great ideas on cutting the state’s budget deficit.
*** Crapshoot no doubt! ***
Funny … the Republican party candidate was not there to voice his opinion. Probably ’cause he did not receive an invitation to the event. Mr. Keyser, do you have any thoughts on the budget? How about jobs in Bridgeport?
Thank you for the question, BPR. You are correct. I was NOT invited to the the forum. I was told today they were not able to contact me and could not find my information. All of my information, including mailing address, is now public record. If you Google me, my campaign’s web site comes right up where my email address is in plain view.
However I digress.
Connecticut needs to slash spending on everything besides public safety. I commend Mr. Malloy’s willingness to consolidate state departments and eliminate redundancy. I just hope he has the drive to keep on track. The tax and spend habits this state has developed have made businesses look at almost every other state in the union before us. If you remember in the not-so-distant past this state made ends meet with NO income tax at all. At this time we have taxed the job creators to the point where there is no incentive for them to hire or even remain in business. If we are to recover in Connecticut and Bridgeport we cannot welcome businesses here with walls of taxes, fees and regulations.
I hope this answers your questions. If not please feel free to call (203-383-3379) or email me (james@keyser2011.com).
Thank you!
I am appalled that Mr. Keyser, one of the only two party-endorsed candidates in this race, did not receive an invitation. If you google his name his contact comes right up. There is no excuse.