Allie-Brennan Says Jobs, Economy Are Top Concerns for Voters

BETHEL, CT — By Scott Benjamin: As he goes door to door, voters tell state House candidate Raghib Allie-Brennan “that they’re nervous about the direction” of Connecticut, yet many of them are not ready to leave despite a disappointing job market.

“People feel that [Gov. Dannel] Malloy (D-Stamford) dropped the ball on the budget and people have a right to be upset,” said the Democratic candidate in the Second District, who nevertheless applauds the governor for increasing the minimum wage and enacting strict gun controls following the 2012 shootings at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Malloy, who had a dismal 24 percent job approval rating in a Quinnipiac University poll in June, has been an activist governor. State Rep. Bob Godfrey (D-110) of Danbury has said that he has been more involved in the “nuts and bolts” of state operations than any of the other four governors he has served under since 1989.

The recent Connecticut economic news has been discouraging. A tattered state budget had to be repaired multiple times during the last session of the General Assembly and then the lawmakers had to address a projected $930 million shortfall for the fiscal year that began July 1.

The most recent U.S. Labor Department figures indicate that the state still is 20,300 jobs short of replacing the positions lost in the 2009 recession and a poll shows that 40 percent of the Nutmeg State’s residents are considering moving elsewhere within the next five years.

Allie-Brennan, who also has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, said Malloy “misjudged” the potential job growth. Connecticut and Michigan are the only states with fewer jobs now than in 1989.

Allie-Brennan, a Bethel resident, faces Bethel Republican Will Duff - a candidate for first selectman in 2013 and 2015, a former other selectman and a former Board of Education member, in the November 8 election in the district - which encompasses parts of Danbury, Newtown, Bethel and Redding.

It has elected two Republicans and one Democrat since it was reconstituted in 2002. Bethel Republican incumbent Dan Carter is not seeking another term and instead is running for the U.S Senate seat now held by Richard Blumenthal (D-Greenwich).

Carter initially captured the seat six years ago over two-term Bethel Democrat Jason Bartlett. He had been able to win the three smaller towns but never prevailed in Danbury, although he only lost by 40 votes in 2014.

Allie-Brennan said that he and some of his supporters expect to have contacted every home in the district, which has about 25,000 residents, by later this month.

He said that he agrees with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Cheshire), who has said that unless you are regularly going door to door you will end up with a skewed profile of what voters are thinking.

“When you are physically meeting with people, you hearing about what they are interested in and not what is necessarily on your agenda as a candidate,” Allie-Brennan said. He added that “jobs and the economy” have been the most talked about issues.

On another topic, he said he disagrees with the governor’s efforts to reduce state funding to hospitals, which has had a negative impact on Danbury Hospital, the city’s largest employer. Officials of the Connecticut Hospitals Association have said the governor’s reductions are increasing costs for patients.

Regarding the 2016 state ad-hoc transportation panel report on funding a $100 billion infrastructure upgrade over the next 30 years, Allie-Brennan said he would oppose tolls near the New York state border, which would impact sales at the Danbury Fair Mall. Largely due to the mall, Danbury has the highest sales tax receipts in the state and, per capita, the most restaurants, according to the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce.

On a separate subject, Allie-Brennan said he would be willing to consider “all options” in addressing the 15 percent decline in enrollment over the last five years at Western Connecticut State University, (WCSU) another of Danbury’s largest employers.

He said those options would include making the curriculums more compatible between the two-year and four-year schools in the Board of Regents system and offering more online and distance learning classes.

WCSU President John Clark is seeking approval from the Board of Regents to offer in-state tuition to students residing in seven New York state counties in close proximity to the campus. CTMirror has reported that Clark has said the plan could generate 150 additional students over the next two years but that the school, which has had to take about $2 million from its reserves in each of the last three fiscal years, needs to add a total of at least 450 students.

“I think we need to know why we have those empty beds,” Allie-Brennan said regarding the 200 dormitory beds not occupied during the current academic year. Within the last 10 years, WCSU had to secure housing at a local hotel to cover the overflow of dormitory students.

CTMirror reported that Clark has said the future of WCSU and the Board of Regents is at stake. The special tuition offer to out-of-state students may be used by some of the other 16 campuses in the system. The university president said if this plan doesn’t work then WCSU’s next step would be to seek savings from faculty and staff.

Allie-Brennan, who has been endorsed by the Connecticut Education Association and has an interest in serving on the General Assembly’s Education Committee, said he also opposes Malloy’s efforts over the recent years to increase funding for charter schools. Some Democrats in the General Assembly have complained that conventional schools have received less funding while charter schools have gotten a boost from the state.

“We need to focus more on our public schools,” Allie-Brennan said.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a Republican, has said he supports making charter schools more accessible, indicating that he has seen “fascinating” results in the charter schools that he’s toured. He has noted that the students have a longer school day, they go to class every other Saturday and the principal teaches a class and maintains a classroom.

Regarding another issue, Allie-Brennan said the state’s opioid crisis is “worsening,” but he praised state officials for approving legislation this spring to limit prescriptions to seven days and police officers for getting drug dealers off the streets.

He said his goal is to “fight to provide our communities with additional resources to improve the coordination of public health outreach, treatment and recovery programs and law enforcement efforts.”

Allie-Brennan graduated from Bethel High School in 2009 and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Marymount Manhattan College and worked for U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) and before that served as an intern in U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s (D-5) New Britain constituent office.

He said during her two terms in Congress, Esty has established herself as a valuable member.

“The people I worked with in Congresswoman Adams’ office were impressed with the rapport she has with the members,” Allie-Brennan explained. “She is active and gets a lot done.”

Photo: Raghib Allie-Brennan.