Joe Zullo Lists His Top 3 Issues as Special Election Approaches

EAST HAVEN, CT - Republican Joe Zullo is facing off Tuesday against Democrat Josh Balter in a special election to fill the seat recently vacated by James Albis.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 01 is Tuttle School: District 1s is East Farm Village; District 02 is Momauguin School; District 03/3s is Deer Run School; District 04 is Overbrook School; District 05 is Hays School; District 5s is Woodview.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Patch asked both candidates to list their top 3 issues. Here are Zullo’s.

Taxes

Politicians in Hartford are out of touch and are failing to realize that taxes are not budget solutions. Increases and extensions of the sales tax to services, groceries, and medicine, are not solutions – they are just further enabling the spending problem we have in Hartford.

Spending and Debt

The State of Connecticut is over $28 billion dollars in debt. I agree with Governor Lamont that we need to go on a serious debt diet. I am proposing taking measures to cut our State’s debt in half, which will reduce future debt service payments and allow us to meet our spending needs without future tax hikes. Here in East Haven, under Mayor Maturo, we’ve paid off 60% of our debt since 2011. As a result, we were able to institute the largest tax decrease in a non-revaluation year since 1989 while meeting all of our contractual obligations and, at the same time, investing tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure. Over 30% of the State’s revenue goes to paying its credit cards. That needs to change.

Minimum Wage

I want to have an honest, bipartisan discussion about the minimum wage. I understand the push for $15 minimum wage. However, in making that push, the legislative absolutely must flesh out whether a $15 minimum wage is an impediment to youth employment (i.e. Will a $15 minimum wage make it impossible for a sixteen-year-old to find a first job)? At the same time, will a $15 minimum wage result in staffing reductions for small businesses (i.e. Will a store go from having two cashiers to one to absorb the new costs)? Finally, will a $15 minimum wage result in disqualification of some people from social safety net programs they rely on? I’m all for an honest discussion about raising the minimum wage. However, these are real questions that will impact scores of people.