www.towntimes.com
Volume 24, Number 21
Friday, November 2, 2018
Suzio says he’s ready for challenges By Matthew Zabierek Record-Journal staff
“I don’t know anybody who, in their right mind and has an understanding of financials, thinks we can somehow balance the budget without SEBAC being back on the table,” Suzio said.
MERIDEN — Republican state Sen. Len Suzio believes he is the “right person at the right time” to help navigate the state’s fiscal challenges.
Suzio is also a strong opponent of tolls, something Abrams is open to considering, because he believes they are not needed to replenish the state’s special transportation fund.
“We’re in dire circumstances,” said Suzio, a member of the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee this past term. “We need people that understand the financial side of things.” Suzio, 70, is seeking re-election in the 13th Senate District against Democrat Mary Daugherty Abrams, a first-time candidate, and retired special education teacher and school administrator. The district includes parts or all of Meriden, Cheshire, Middlefield, and Middletown. Suzio says “the days of raising taxes have got to be over in Connecticut”
Suzio
because tax hikes are driving away residents and businesses and argues the state needs to consider other ways to balance a projected $4.7 billion deficit, including renegotiating the state’s 2017 concessions agreement with the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC).
Suzio earned his current term in 2016 by narrowly defeating Democratic incumbent Dante Bartolomeo, despite the fact that the 13th Senate District is overwhelmingly Democratic. Both parties view winning the 13th Senate District as important to gaining control of a split Senate. The district has gone back and forth between Republican and Democrat over the past decade, with most races decided by razor-thin margins. See Suzio, A6
Abrams prompted by 2016 election By Matthew Zabierek Record-Journal staff
up call.” She believes Suzio’s agenda is much like that of national Republicans. She disagrees with Suzio on most issues, including abortion, gun control, tolls, and how to fix the state budget.
MERIDEN — During her career as a teacher and school administrator, Mary Daugherty Abrams, the Democratic candidate in the 13th Senate District, never thought “in a million years” she would run for office. But that changed earlier this year when Abrams, now retired, learned the Democratic Party was looking for a candidate after Susan Bysiewicz, former longtime secretary of the state, decided to run for statewide office. The 13th Senate seat is currently held by Len Suzio, R-Meriden. The district includes parts or all of Meriden, Cheshire, Middlefield, and Middletown. “The more I talked about it, the more I realized this was something I need to do,” Abrams said. “I felt strongly that Senator Suzio wasn’t representing the community as I knew it, and I wanted to make sure someone would
Abrams’ platform includes promises to support universal access to affordable health care, protect women’s reproductive rights, and fight for “sensible gun control that protects our children and our community.”
Abrams
step up and do it.” Abrams, 59, has lived in Meriden for most of her life and raised two children with her husband, former state Rep. James Abrams, now a Superior Court judge. She was also compelled to run by the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president, which she called a “wake-
When it comes to fixing the state’s projected deficit of $4.7 billion over the next two years, Abrams said Connecticut needs to support working families, which will grow the state’s economy. “The way we build our economy is by educating a workforce that is ready to work, and offer a quality of life here in Connecticut that attracts people and makes them want to be part of the state,” she said. “If everyone is prosSee Abrams, A2
Fasano, McKeen differ on tolls By Lauren Takores Record-Journal staff
With less than a week to go before the election, jobs, taxes and the state economy are the top issues that residents of the 34th Senate District are bringing to Republican incumbent Len Fasano and Democratic challenger Aili Fasano McKeen, the candidates said. Fasano, of North Haven, who leads his party’s Senate caucus, ran unopposed in the McKeen last two election cycles. McKeen, of Wallingford, said Tuesday that the concerns she’s heard lately as she continues door-knocking are not very different from what she heard earlier this year. “People don’t want their taxes to go up,” she said. “They want to stay in the state when they retire.” Fasano said Tuesday he’s hearing from his constituents that there are too few jobs and too many taxes. “They really feel they’re being taxed to death,” he said, See 34th, A7