CT Patch Candidate Profile: Julie Kushner For State Senator

DANBURY, CT — Election Day on Nov. 5 is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot in Danbury, Ridgefield and New Fairfield.

Patch reached out to candidates for office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing the towns, cities and state.

Candidate’s Name: Julie Kushner

What office are you seeking? State Senator

District: 24th State Senate District

Campaign website

What city or town do you live in? Danbury

Party affiliation: Democrat

Education: I received my B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin

Occupation: I'm proud to serve my community as the current state senator for the 24th district! I retired several years ago after 40 years organizing working people for better pay and working conditions with the United Auto Workers, Region 9A.

Family: My husband Larry and I have called Danbury home for several decades. Our three children, their partners, and our four grandchildren live in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. I'm close with my mother and siblings, and we enjoy celebrating family holidays together at our home.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? N/A

Previous public office, appointive or elective:

I'm running for re-election as the State Senator in the 24th district, encompassing Danbury, Ridgefield, and New Fairfield.

Age: 72

Why are you seeking this office?

I've spent my career bringing working people together to win real victories, from organizing secretaries in New York to fighting for you as your State Senator. I originally ran in 2018 to get big things done in Hartford – and since then, we’ve done just that! I led efforts to pass paid family & medical leave and a $15 minimum wage, index to rise with employee costs. As of January, Connecticut’s minimum wage is $15.69. As Co-chair of the Indoor Air Quality Working Group, I secured over $300 million to improve ventilation system in our schools.

In the 2023 session, we expanded the Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund with an investment of $5.8 million to provide workers compensation benefits to firefighters and their families.

I worked on district concerns like protecting Candlewood Lake from invasive species. Each session, we’ve passed bills to reduce gun violence, including banning ghost guns. We’ve worked to ensure debt-free Community College a reality which will make Naugatuck Valley Community College even more accessible to our community. Fully funding public schools is a priority for me. In 2023, we increased education funding by $230 million, with $12.6 million going to Danbury Public Schools. We also secured state funding for new high schools – reimbursements of $23 million for New Fairfield and $46 million in Danbury.

Year round, we help people in our district struggling with a wide range of issues: food insecurity, rent and evictions, unemployment issues, and many more. But there’s still much work to make sure Connecticut is a great place to work and raise a family.

What do you believe is the No. 1 issue facing Connecticut, and how do you plan to address it?

I believe the number one issue facing Connecticut in this election is defending our freedoms. Defending - the freedom to send our children to school and out to play without fear of gun violence. Defending - reproductive freedoms to ensure we can grow our families how and if we want to. Defending - the freedom to live in communities and attend school and jobs with clean air and a healthy quality of life. Defending - the freedom to have a safe job with good benefits, and to afford everyday essentials like energy bills, groceries, a rent or mortgage, and transportation. Defending - the freedom to retire with dignity. Defending the freedom to love who you love, and not face persecution.

Regardless of what happens around the country and in Washington on November 5, the Connecticut legislature must be a backstop and defend all of these freedoms right here in Connecticut.

There have been an alarming number of deaths on Connecticut's roadways. Is there anything from a legislative standpoint that can be done to address that?

Alongside far too many Connecticut residents, I’ve been personally touched by the loss of someone close to me on Connecticut’s roadways. Last year, our colleague, Representative Quentin "Q" Williams, was killed by a wrong-way driver as he traveled home from a celebration of our swearing in as public servants. We’d taken a final photo just moments before he left, and we were looking forward to a meeting the next morning about our shared work as co-chairs of the Labor Committee. I miss him everyday, and am inspired by his passion for justice as I do this work. Unfortunately, far too many families and friends have stories like mine of someone they lost far too soon, and the legislature and Department of Transportation have taken action to reduce these fatalities.

Installation around the state has begun on wrong-way detection systems onto highway exit ramps to reduce the number of wrong-way fatalities, including here in the 24th district. In addition, I've been proud to ensure our police officers and highway patrols, who work hard every day to ensure driver safety, have the resources necessary to do their jobs. I’m committed to continue protecting Connecticut drivers, pedestrians, and public safety officers when I return to the legislature next session.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

After a career fighting for working people and several years as your state senator, I know what people are facing trying to make ends meet, and I know how to get things done to improve our communities and our economy. I’m a mom and a grandma and I’ve spent my entire career working to improve conditions and reduce costs for working families.

I know how to get things done – and in the Senate I’ve done big things in just a couple of years. Unlike my opponent, I’ve delivered for the people of our district, from Paid Family and Medical Leave, which has already helped 125,000 working families in CT, to raising the minimum wage. I’ve enacted a historic $600 million tax cut for seniors and working and middle-class families and defended and expanded access to abortion. I’ve increased funding to our schools and passed bills to reduce gun violence.

But I think the main difference between me and my opponent can be summed up by why we’re running. I’m running to defend our freedoms and our democracy. My opponent is not.

On January 6, 2021, I know where I was – I was in Hartford, getting sworn in to represent the 24th district in the State Senate. My opponent is reported to have been at the Stop the Steal rally in Washington DC, where the crowd gathered to attempt to overturn the results of the free and fair election. When pressed for an answer, Michelle Coelho refuses to give a straight answer whether or not she was in Washington on January 6th.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I'm proud of my record of accomplishments in the legislature, yet know we have more work to do. I've brought resources back to our district, from funding for our public schools to support for cultural and natural areas that make our communities unique. And in just my first term, I passed the strongest paid family and medical leave law in the nation, and increased the minimum wage to $15 indexed to inflation. Earlier this year, I led passage of an update to our state's paid sick days law. I’ve done big things for our state and our community, but I’ve delivered on many other projects and bills too.

For example, I’ve passed a bill to ensure safe staffing ratios at our hospitals around the state. Far too many people have experienced understaffing, which exhausts our fantastic healthcare professionals and means patients and families don’t receive the best care possible. When my husband was in the hospital here in Danbury last year, everyone we interacted with was wonderful and he received exceptional care. We’re both so grateful. But the lack of consistent safe staffing levels meant I slept in the hospital overnight for six nights to help with his basic needs, because there weren’t enough techs on-call to support him at any one time. Hospital executives need to prioritize paying our wonderful healthcare workers, as well as, training and hiring more direct care professionals.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I’d like to thank the voters of our district for their past support – I work hard every day to ensure that I’m living up to their trust and faith in me as their state senator. In the last six years, I’ve gotten to know so many wonderful people and communities here in the district, by attending events as diverse as Diwali celebrations to the St. Patrick’s Day ball, reading to children at our local elementary schools, marching in parades, and being named La Madrina for the Ecuadorian community. And I’ve done the hard work to ensure constituents are able to get their problems solved, and connect residents with resources. Passing the big bills like paid family and medical leave and minimum wage are important, but I hear most often from constituents for whom they have no one else to turn, and I’m able to get their problem addressed.

As state senator, I feel responsible to be the elected official that I’ve always wanted – accessible and on the job 24/7. That’s how I strive to show up to this job, and I’ll continue to do so.