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Town Times | towntimes.com
Friday, June 26, 2020
34TH DISTRICT RACE
Candidates talk health care, economy, police reform Two candidates running for the state Senate seat to be vacated by Len Fasano spoke recently about where they stand on issues facing voters in the 34th District. Fasano, the North Haven Republican who leads his party's Senate caucus, announced in April he would not be seeking a 10th term. The district includes East Haven, North Haven, Durham and Wallingford.
Both candidates secured ballot access through party nomination, and both have qualified for funding from the state Citizens’ Election Program after raising the minimum of $16,000 from at least 300 individuals. A third party or independent candidate has until August to petition to be on the November ballot. Candidate platforms
The race is currently between Republican Paul Cicarella Jr., vice chairman of the North Haven Republican Town Committee and a member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and Democrat April Capone, a former East Haven mayor and a former manager at the state Office of Policy and Management.
Cicarella, 36, said his platform is based on “common sense solutions,” a philosophy he applies to creating jobs, growing the economy and making living in Connecticut affordable for working and middle class families.
“Too many people are leaving the state at an alarming rate,” he said, “especially young professionals. We have to definitely create good-paying jobs to keep
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biggest concerns facing residents of the 34th District As a small business owner — are getting people back to he owns three investigative work and health care. and security companies — he’s an advocate for afford“Right now is the time to lisable, though not universal, ten to what they have to say,” health care for all. he said, “and from my time speaking with everybody, “Health care is a huge exthat’s definitely a conpense,” he said, and the cost cern; making it affordable to of insuring a family can be stay within the district and oppressively burdensome if the state.” people don’t receive health care benefits through an em- Capone, 45, said she beployer. lieves legislators are “the chief advocate” for their “How we would go about constituents and must vote doing that, I’d have to really in ways that ensure the reanalyze data that I have not sources taxpayers send to had access to yet and come Hartford benefit their disup with a common-sense sotrict. They also must help inlution,” he said. dividuals “cut through the The father of two elementary red tape” when dealing with school-age children, educa- state agencies. tion is also important to “I have done all of those jobs him, as well as ensuring sein one form or another,” she niors are able to afford said, citing her past local to live in the state. and state government experience and her current job Cicarella said that the at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Center for Living Organ Donors.
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“Experiencing COVID as part of the heath care team — I’m not a clinician, but experiencing it as part of the team at Yale New Haven, I am very concerned about the state of health care,” she said. “I think we have learned the hard way that having your health care tied to your job is probably not the best option for many people.”
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She said that she’s in favor of “affordable, reliable coverage” for everyone, but stops short of Medicare for All. “Sometimes we need to get to where we want to go through incremental change,” she said. Capone said that she and her husband are small business owners, so she would advocate for getting small business back on track and keep people employed. “This is a working-class district,” she said. “I think the issues of pay equity, pay fairness, fair taxation resonate with the people of this district. We’ve got hard-working middle class people in this district who certainly pay their fair share into the state. Can we really say that about Connecticut’s most fortunate residents?” See Candidates, A9
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