The go-to guy on fiscal, energy issues aims to take GOP gubernatorial nomination

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – The Seattle Mariners broadcast team might say that Ryan Fazio is trying to clout the Cal Raleigh Grand Salami.

Fazio, the state senator from the 36th District – Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan – is running for the Republican nomination for governor. He is younger than the median age for signing your first house mortgage.

If he is elected next year as the state’s 90th governor, he would be the youngest ever at age 36. Republican John Rowland won the office in 1994 at age 37.

Also, he would become the first sitting state legislator to directly ascend to the prime second floor office at the state capital.

The last sitting legislator to even win a major party nomination was Republican state Rep. Julie Belaga of Westport in 1986.

Two years ago state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield said Fazio is someone who “should be on the state ticket.”

Fazio is standing near Harding in front of the Brookfield Republicans banner and the table filled with campaign lawn signs as the local GOP holds the grand opening for its headquarters at 247 Federal Road.

He’s shaking hands, getting acquainted with municipal issues, eating pizza and posing for photos with Karl Hinger, the Republican candidate for first selectman, and other members of the ticket.

Fazio formally announced his campaign August 13 and says by September 30, the end of the current fund-raising quarter, he will have raised more than $100,000.

“We will report the best per-day fund-raising first quarter of any campaign this quarter,” he tells Patch.com.

He has received a number of endorsements from fellow Republican legislators.

In March Westport First Selectman Jen Tooker was the first GOP contender to formally enter the gubernatorial campaign. She suspended her campaign days earlier.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart formed an exploratory committee in January and is nearing her fund-raising goal of $350,000. It is expected that she will formally enter the fray this fall.

Who is the greatest Yankee play-by-play announcer of all time: Michael Kay or John Sterling?

“That is a really tough question,” said Fazio, a longtime Yankee fan.

“Michael is probably a better play-by-play guy,” he commented. “John is a special guy who has special place in all our hearts, and there is no one like him.”

“Doesn’t Mel Allen get a vote? Shouldn’t Fazio have said neither Kay or Sterling and named the former Greenwich resident?

Said Fazio, “That was before my vintage. I grew up with Michael Kay and John Sterling.”

After all, in his 2005 book, “Voices Of Summer,” Curt Smith, the foremost baseball broadcast historian, rated Allen second, after the Dodgers Vin Scully, on his list of the best 101 baseball broadcasters of all time.

Fazio commented, “Well then, I will take that seriously.”

He should. When George H.W. Bush was in the White House Smith wrote more speeches for him than anybody.

Bush and Fazio both grew up in Greenwich and both got their bachelor’s degrees in Economics.

If Bush wanted to make America a “Kinder, gentler nation,” as he said in his 1988 convention speech, written by future Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, then why can’t Fazio, a Millennial, make Connecticut “a kinder gentler state.”

How is Fazio going to secure the Red Sox vote?

He said, “I was rooting for them this week when they were playing Toronto,” which was vying with the Yankees for first place in the American League East.

The Red Sox did not win the American League East as some analysts predicted in March, but they are in the playoffs.

Of the Red Sox, Fazio said, “Despite a lot of skepticism from their fans about the front office moves, so far, so good. They have a lot of young talent and they’re going to be good for years.”

How can anybody question the front office moves? The team’s chief baseball officer is Craig Breslow, who grew up in Trumbull.

Since winning a special election in August 2021, Fazio has become a GOP point person on fiscal and energy issues.

Travis Fisher and Glen Lyons wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal that New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayote, a Democrat, has signed legislation “which minimizes red tape for electricity providers that don’t connect to the existing grid, thus bringing more competition, speed and innovation to the state. Off-grid electricity providers in New Hampshire will no longer be subject to public-utility regulation.”

They wrote that, “New Hampshire’s off-grid electricity suppliers will find innovative ways of designing transmission and distribution assets.”

Fazio said he is considering submitting similar legislation during the 2026 session of the General Assembly.

“I’m more than open to it,” he said. “In order to ensure that there is more generation, there is lower costs. There has to be a limitation to the regulatory cost that is imposed on generators and if this is a reasonable way to reduce costs for people who are not taking from the grid themselves, it could help to alleviate the supply and demand problem.”

That problem reportedly is growing as more artificial intelligence data centers are built.

On a separate topic, during the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Stefanowski of Madison said the collective bargaining units would have to make further concessions to address the long-term pension obligations.

The collective bargaining units pointed to a consultant’s study for the state Office of Policy & Management – the governor’s budget arm – that stated they were making $24 billion in concessions between 2017 and 2037.

Does further action need to be taken?

“There needs to be change without a doubt,” Fazio said. “We need to have fairness both for the taxpayers and the state employees. There needs to be sustainability. As is: That is not the case.”

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial stated that the state employees should be on 401-K plans instead of defined benefits packages. The new hires have been on a hybrid package since legislation was approved in 2017.

Remarked Fazio, “It should be more of a defined contributions plan than a defined benefits plan. Everyone in the private sector has a 401-K package.”

He added, “That still means you can have well-compensated employees. You need a more defined structure that is more transparent and that is fair for the taxpayers.”

CT Mirror Budget Reporter Keith Phanuef wrote this month that the General Assembly will have to soon make a decision on what portion of a $2.5 billion state surplus should be spent to fill gaps from Republican President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which, among other things reduced funding for Medicaid and food assistance, or let the funds be utilized for further paying down a large state pension debt.

Phaneuf reported that Democratic legislative leaders have said at least $500 million should be set aside for addressing cuts in the social safety net.

Fazio remarked, “They really haven’t given answers on what holes if any exist. My analysis is that it is tens of millions of dollars, but it might be to the plus side, not the minus side of the state surplus.”

“They’re being rhetorical, political. They’re not giving right answers on what the actual cuts are,” he added. "What voters want is to pay down debt or provide tax relief. They don't want it to deliver new spending and new programs."

On another subject, does Connecticut need to invest more in vocational education?

Fazio commented, “I think we need to provide alternative pathways to our young people. I think young people are increasingly interested in avoiding the highly-costly college-degree route and pursuing jobs in the trades.”

“I think the vocational schools can help that,” he said. “I think we also should be reducing licensing fees and easing the apprenticeship ratio so that more people can get apprenticeships in the state.”