Patch Voter Guide: The Race for House District 111

Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment of Patch's interactive voter guide for the upcoming election. You can expect to see coverage here on every national, state and local race affecting Ridgefield. Click here for instructions on how to use this guide. Click here for more articles in the 2010 Patch Voter Guide

The Situation   

• Incumbent State Rep. John Frey and challenger Joseph Heyman face off Nov. 2 to represent Ridgefield in Hartford.

Fast Facts:

• Frey, a state legislator since 1999, wants to cut the state legislative budget by 25 percent and consolidate state agencies to streamline government. He also supports spending less.
• Heyman who has served on the P&Z for 20 years and two years on the Board of Selectmen wants to enact a spending cap to reign in the budget deficit. He also supports renegotiating pension contracts.

The Rundown

• Candidate            John Frey                             Joseph Heyman
  
• Age                          47                                                70
• Residence           Ridgefield                                  Ridgefield
• Political Party   Republican                                Democrat
• Website                repfrey.com                               None provided

• Phone                    203-431-6799                           203-438-0515

• E-Mail                    jhfrey@aol.com                       jhheyman@comcast.net
• Family                   Single                                         Widowed, two children

• Education:
  
  • Frey graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1981. He then attended Western Connecticut State University.
  • Heyman earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. He then went on to earn a master's in urban planning from the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture.

• Professional                     
  
  • Frey has been a state legislator since 1999 and is a principal at Century 21 Landmark Properties, a company he founded in Ridgefield in 1992.
  • Heyman has served on the Ridgefield Planning and Zoning Commission for 20 years and on the Board of Selectman for two years. He also spent 12 years as chairman of the Danbury City Center and two years in the U.S. Army, one of which was in Vietnam.
    Heyman is trained as an urban planner and is now in real estate management.
    

The Exchange

Patch posed the following questions to each candidate. Questions are in bold, and candidate responses are beneath them.

• How would you propose funding the state's pension obligations and renegotiating future ones?
  

Heyman: Our pensions for state employees are one of the highest in the nation.  Although I feel we must honor the commitments we made to those who have retired, we must renegotiate to bring the pensions more in line.  Future obligations must take into account comparable pensions, and the state of our present economy.

Frey: Pensions are negotiated and cannot be unilaterally changed — both parties must be in agreement. I would begin negotiations with SEBAC (collection of state employee unions) to attempt to modify the pension program. I would immediately create a new tier for new employees that would change from defined benefits program to a 401(k) type pension program. I would raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. I would have pensions based on the last five years of income vs. the current three-year basis. I would have pensions based on stated income and not earned income (so overtime in the last 3-5 years wouldn't artificially boost pay during that look-back period.) Lastly, I would fully fund current obligations and not defer state contributions as the Democrat-controlled legislature has done to 'balance' the budget.

• What would you propose to narrow the budget deficit? What will people have to do without and what should take priority?
  

Frey: No doubt, hard decisions will have to be made. I would cut the legislative management budget by 25 percent. I would consolidate at least 30 agencies or commissions to streamline government. I would look at every item in the budget (i.e., does every state trooper need to have a car 24/7, and receive a stipend for a meal per shift — that is leftover from years ago). I would look to privatize in areas there would be costs savings (like the CT Juvenile Detention Center).

Heyman: In 1991, Connecticut ranked 18th in the nation in personal taxes going to the state.  In 1992, this jumped to the 5th highest. Today we are the 3rd highest state in personal taxes going to the state. This was due to establishing a personal state income tax. As part of the compromise made in 1991 to enact this personal state income tax, it was agreed to have a cap on state spending.  Although the income tax was enacted, the cap was never implemented. I feel the budget deficit is a direct result of no cap being placed on spending. My first order of priority, if elected, would be to enact the spending cap that should have been adopted some 20 years ago. In reducing the budget deficit, every state expenditure must be examined to determine if the results are worth the money.  Everything would be on the "table" for discussion. Although wealthier communities should pay more state taxes than poorer towns, the degree we pay the state and what we get back from the state, is not fair.  We receive from the state $6.25 million dollars a year (OPM) and pay to the state, $72 million dollars in personal income tax, and $24 million dollars in state sales tax.  Of the $96 million dollars we give the state, we get back less then 7 percent, according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (2010). If we look at similar towns, based on what Wilton gets back from the state, we would be getting an additional $2 million; Simsbury, an additional $4 million, and Newtown, an additional $10 million. Paying the state $96 million dollars and getting back $6.25 million, has placed a higher tax burden on the town, and therefore the taxpayer. It is interesting to note that our entire town budget is about $120 million.  Every dollar we spend is looked at, voted on, and discussed. We give the state $96 million dollars, and there is little or no transparency. I want to change this.

• What are the key issues you would advocate for in Ridgefield?
  

Frey: There are some in Hartford who believe Ridgefield is spelled R-I-C-H.
I can attest that there is a lot of hurt in our town. People are without jobs, their COBRA insurance has run out, houses are in foreclosure. The No. 1 issue is the state of our economy — that means state spending, taxes and jobs. We have lost 100,000 jobs in this downturn. Simply (but it won't be simple) replacing those jobs will have more people paying income and sales taxes and having more disposal income. The state needs to be very aggressive in seeking companies to relocate/expand here.  We have a highly skilled and educated workforce. The answer isn't "getting more money back from Hartford to Ridgefield." We currently get pennies on the dollar.  The answer is sending less to begin with - which is why I have opposed tax increases. According to recent data, Greenwich sent 14 percent of the state income tax revenues. Ridgefield was No. 9 on the list of towns sending income tax revenue. Connecticut was recently named the No. 2 highest taxed state in the country. The answer isn't more taxes — it is spending less.

Heyman: Did not submit a response to this question. This Voter Guide will be updated if we receive a response at a later date.