On Monday, Sept. 21, The Bristol Edition sent a questionnaire to the local candidates for state office. TBE was seeking their responses to questions reflecting many of the important issues facing Bristol. We asked the candidates to send their responses to us by the end of the day on Friday, Sept. 25. We asked them to also include a short bio and a photo that we would include with their responses to our questions. We requested answers to each question of 250 words and no more.

The following were the questions:

1. What is your opinion of Connecticut’s response to the COVID crisis? And what, if anything, would you do or have done differently?

2. How do you propose the state address income inequality?

3. What is your opinion about the way we fund education in Connecticut, and what changes, if any, would you support?

4. In this election, will you be voting by mail? When COVID is over, would you support voting by mail as the new normal?

5. What do you consider Bristol’s most pressing issue? As a state legislator, how do you propose to address this?

The candidates for Senate District 31 are incumbent Republican Henri Martin and Democrat Mary Fortier. We received no reply to our questionnaire from Martin. Fortier sent the following:

My name is Mary Fortier. I am a lifelong Bristol resident. I graduated from St.Paul Catholic High School in 1979 and Boston College in 1983. I graduated from Western New England College School of Law in 1995 and most of my legal career, over 20 years,has been spent working for the Connecticut Judicial Branch.

I have been married to my husband David for thirty seven years and together we raised six children, and this year we have two grandchildren.

I have served as a Democratic City Council member in Bristol since 2013, representing the 3rd Council District.

1. I think Connecticut’s response to COVID has been good. I acknowlege that the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the many things we don’t know about this virus make it almost impossible to have a perfect or excellent response. I think Governor Lamont has been a good communicator, both talking and listening to the various stakeholders. He has been measured in his approach, balancing between what people need or prefer and what is the safest way to get through this crisis. He has based his decisions on science. I generally don’t disagree with his phased opening approach and appreciate his working with our neighboring governors. I wish we had more of an emphasis on widespread and frequent testing. I don’t have information on the production process for tests. More or earlier testing may not have been possible. I would have explored all the options for more testing, invested time and money in the production or procurement of tests and communicated the status and importance of testing because I think that has made a significant difference in other countries. Connecticut has done a good job addressing vulnerable populations and having specific protocols for specific situations but there are gaps and situations that need more attention. Going forward we have to listen to all our Connecticut stakeholders and give additional support where it is needed as we continue to work through this new normal.

2. I have been concerned about growing income inequality over recent decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has, I think, accentuated the disparity and some of the impacts of that disparity. As the shift to ordering items for delivery grew during the pandemic, those delivery workers and grocery store workers suddenly became essential front line workers, but still among the lowest paid workers in our economy. While there are many systemic reasons for income inequality that are beyond the ability of the Connecticut legislature to fix, there are things we can do to move us in the right direction. I wholeheartedly support the scheduled increases in the minimum wage in CT but that will not bridge the income gap. We also have to increase taxes on the wealthiest citizens and corporations in Connecticut. We can use those funds to increase funding for job training, post secondary education, and investment in green technology in order to create better paying jobs which will provide stable income that will help close that income gap. Education is probably the biggest factor in bringing those in poverty out of poverty, and provide all residents increased opportunities. We have to do more to insure that there are no failing public schools in CT so that every student has that opportunity. If I am elected to the State Senate I will support programs to lessen income inequality in Connecticut.

3. As I stated in the previous question, education is a very important key to success, both individually and as a society, and is and should be, a spending priority. Our current funding for education is a complicated blend of local, state and federal funding with most of the money coming from local property taxes. While a majority of the spending requirements come from state and federal statutes, with 170 school districts in Connecticut, there are 170 different abilities to spend adequately. The state attempts to level the playing field with the designation of Alliance (low performing) school districts, complicated formulas for supplementing special education, and primarily Education Cost Sharing, which attempts to distribute state funds to districts which have certain demographic disadvantage such as poverty and English language learners. All of these have the right goal in mind but they have not significantly narrowed the achievement gap and need to be revisited and revamped on a regular basis. The overall total spending by the state has not been increasing significantly over time and it may need to be. I am not an expert and don’t have an easy solution. If state funding were to increase significantly and local funding were to decrease significantly, it would require an overhaul of our tax structures here in Connecticut with local property taxes decreased and state taxes increased. While it might be achievable, it would require a lot of planning, persuasion and work over time. All the stakeholders would have to be on board to make it work. I think it is worth exploring because no child should be in a failing public school.

4. I voted with an absentee ballot for the August 2020 primary and I plan to vote by absentee ballot for the fall election as well. I do not have a condition which makes me particularly vulnerable to a serious case of COVID -19. However, I know that in a presedential election year, larger numbers of voters are expected to vote, so I want to make sure that those who do vote in person are able to socially distance at their polling place, and all our poll workers are as safe as possible. In other words, I don’t want to contribute to any possible overcrowding at my polling place. I also believe that voting by absentee ballot is safe and secure, including securely locked dropboxes at city hall where applications for absentee ballots and ballots themselves can be dropped. The City Clerk’s office in Bristol has hired a group of temporary workers to process the anticipated high number of absentee ballots. I would be in favor of expanding absentee ballot voting as a new normal in Connecticut. Currently the norm for absentee ballots is very restrictive and does not even allow for people who are working during the hours of voting to be allowed to use absentee ballots. In the 2019 municipal election in Bristol only 33% of eligible voters voted. While there may be many reasons for that, I believe expanding the availability of absentee ballots would encourage more voter engagement.

5. Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic is the most pressing issue facing Bristol, and the rest of the 31st District, and the country for that matter. As we have all seen, this virus has impacted everything, from how we work, whether we are able to work, to seeing our family members, from whether we are able to adequately educate our children to whether some of us will have a place to live. Our Mayor in Bristol has worked tirelessly to keep Bristol as safe and productive as possible. She has constantly addressed needs and managed resources, not to mention managing our August hurricane and other non-COVID challenges at the same time. She has paid particular attention to our non-profits, small businesses and our vulnerable populations. While the full impact of this virus on our economy and everything else, will not be realized until sometime in the future, if I am privileged to serve in the State Senate, I will be in constant communication with our Mayor and impacted groups in our communities as we recover from this pandemic and the effects on all of us. Congress has passed emergency measures to help keep our economy and our citizens from economic disaster but due to the emergency need, these measures have been necessarily cookie cutter and not necessarily addressed every need. I spoke to a woman who had two part time jobs pre-pandemic and lost one due to the pandemic, but was not able to collect unemployment because she was still employed. The economic impact on her can’t be fixed with our current programs. We have to communicate with our Federal representatives and help fill the gaps in the response so far. As a State Senator I will advocate for what Connecticut can do to keep this pandemic under control and get back to normal as soon as possible, but I will also partner with our local leaders and our Congressional representatives to make sure the needs of our communities are communicated to those that can best address those needs.

The candidates for State Represenatative in the 77th District are incumbent Republican Cara Pavalock-D’Amato and Democrat Andrew Rasmussen Tuller. We received no reply to our questionnaire from Pavolock-D’Amato. Rasmussen-Tuller sent the following:

1. I feel that Connecticut is leading the way on response to the COVID crisis. We have followed experts who relied on science to determine the best response and we acted on it quickly. If other states had followed suit, the US death rate could have been significantly reduced. The only thing I would have done differently is to have pleaded with other states and the federal government to listen to science and take appropriate actions.

2. The first step to addressing income inequality is to have Legislators who will continue to support the state’s legislation for the minimum wage raise to $15 per hour. Another progression toward income equality is providing free community college to allow students the opportunity to continue their
education when they may not have otherwise been able to.

3. The current structure for educational funding bases the State’s funding on the income of the town’s residents. This is a good structure to allow for accessible quality education for all. Communities with lower incomes should continue to be provided additional funds to allow for the same quality of education as communities with higher incomes. Though the structure is currently there, improvements must be made to allow for even more funding to those lower income communities. It is clear that low
income families in low income communities are not being afforded the same quality of education as higher income communities. I would support legislation that focuses additional funds to those communities in need to assist with hiring and retaining educators.

4. I will not be voting by mail because I will physically be at the polls and do not have any underlying medical conditions. I also understand that steps have been taken to provide a safe environment for those that are able to attend the polls in person. That being said, I am a full supporter of mail in voting whether COVID is around or not. It is everyone’s right to have their voice heard, and counted, whether they can physically go to the polls or not.

5. I consider the underfunding of Bristol’s Enterprise Zone to be one of the most pressing issues facing our city. As State Representative, I will fight for proper funding from the State and work with local officials to make Bristol the place that businesses want to be. Redeveloping downtown by attracting businesses will not only bring additional revenue to the city by enhancing the Grand List, but will also attract new residents who want to work and live in Bristol.

The candidates for State Representative in the 78th District are incumbent Republican Whit Betts and Independent Aileen Abrams. We received no reply to our questionnaire from Representative Betts. Aileen Abrams was sent the questionnaire this week and we are awaiting her reply.

The candidates for State Representative in the 79th District are Incumbent Democrat Christopher Ziogas and Republican David Rackliffe. We recieved no reply to our questionnaire from either candidate.

TBE disclosure: Fortier’s husband, David, mentioned in her bio, is TBE editor-in-chief/publisher.