Harding Says Voters Have Their Eyes On Economy

BETHEL, CT — By Scott Benjamin: State Rep. Stephen Harding says Connecticut’s sluggish economy is the issue most mentioned by voters this fall. Harding of Brookfield, who won a special election in February of last year in the 107th District, says repeated budget deficits, a looming pension funding crisis and the lack of higher-paying jobs are the chief concerns.

This spring noted television business commentator and author Larry Kudlow of Redding rated Connecticut’s economy a “zero” on an ascending scale to 10. CT Mirror recently reported that there is a $133 million budget gap for the current fiscal year and a projected $1.3 billion shortfall for the fiscal year that will start next June.

“It is very similar to what we’ve been dealing with over the last four years,” said Harding, who is running unopposed in the November 8 election in the district, which encompasses Brookfield, northern Danbury and the Stony Hill section of Bethel. The state has addressed a projected deficit and then months later has to take action after the budget again has a shortfall.

Harding, 29, an attorney, said he is concerned that a recent news report indicated that only 1,100 of the 3,000 projected layoffs announced last spring have been carried out. He said this appears to be a trend, since “millions in dollars” in concessions agreed to by the state employee collective bargaining units in Gov. Dannel Malloy’s (D-Stamford) 2011 “shared sacrifice” plan never materialized as the state grappled with an estimated $3.5 billion budget deficit.

“These layoffs never occur to the magnitude that the governor says they’re going to,” Harding said.

He said the public employees “are not the enemy,” but that Malloy and the Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate need to make an effort to “find a middle ground” in their negotiations with the bargaining units.

“It’s not healthy to have one-party control,” the state representative said of the 77-64 Democratic majorities in the state House and 21-15 in the state Senate. The Democrats also control all of the state constitution offices, the five U.S. House and two U.S. Senate seats.

“They haven’t been willing to address the elephant in the room, which are the bargaining units and more cost-efficiencies,” Harding said.

He also said the state should consider privatizing some of its operations, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. “You might have better services at lower costs,” he added.

Harding said the massive tax increases of 2011 and 2015 have slowed Connecticut’s recovery from the recession. U.S. Labor Department statistics indicate that it will be at least the end of next year before all of the jobs are recovered from the 2008 crisis.

“People have been taxed enough,” the state representative said. “We’re at the breaking point.”

He called the $32 billion in unaccounted for pension obligations by 2030 “severe.” However, instead of trying to raise additional revenue, state officials should identify savings in other areas over several years to pay for those obligations.

On another topic, Harding supported the recent $220 million package for Lockheed Martin in Stratford to build military helicopter production over the coming years, but voted with “trepidation.”

“They were thinking about leaving the state if they didn’t get money to offset some of their costs,” he said. “It wasn’t a bluff. But I hope that we can reach the point where we have a business climate where we don’t have to provide incentives like this. We might be able to do that by slashing some of the business taxes and regulations.”

On a separate subject, he said it is unclear what the impact would be on the schools in the 107th District from the recent landmark Hartford Superior Court decision on education funding. State Attorney Gen. George Jepsen (D-West Hartford) has appealed the decision, which also addressed teaching standards.

“The ECS [Education Cost Sharing] is such an arbitrary formula,” Harding said of the way school districts are funded.

He said that, for example, New Fairfield and Brookfield have similar demographics, yet New Fairfield gets about $3 million more per year under the ECS formula.

In the district, Harding said he expects Danbury to continue to buck the state trend and add school enrollment since it has a low unemployment rate and a vast array of commercial development on the west side of the city. He said Danbury and Stamford are the only cities in the state that are attracting large numbers of young people.

In Brookfield, he said he is continuing to work with Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn on revising the state’s affordable housing appeals law. He said they made minor progress during the regular legislative session by getting elderly units included in the affordable housing total. If a municipality doesn’t meet the state minimum requirements, developers can build projects that don’t have to conform to local zoning regulations.

Harding said some of the projects in the 198-acre Town District Center are “altering the landscape” of Brookfield as a result of the state appeals Act.

He said he is encouraged that the town continues to make steady progress in turning the Town District Center into a pedestrian-friendly retail streetscape.