CAMPAIGN ISSUES

Jobs and the economy are often a systemic problem at the local and state level in Connecticut. Pressure must be applied to our politicians in order to ensure we support commercial jobs, manufacturing, and additional military contracts along with continued job skills programs. Federal grants and contracts are a temporary solution, but state leadership with real economic insight is the long-term answer.

Reopening Connecticut needs to be a state priority. There are many who will simply not be affected by the coronavirus. The long-term effects of economic shutdown and social isolation will take a large toll on our citizens. Employers must allow those who have specific concerns (such as specific risk identifiers) or additional health risks to return in a safe manner. At the same time, those who are healthy, or believe they can perform their duties safely, must have the freedom to return to work. Families need to be able to support themselves. Those that have concerns need to be the ones to socially distance themselves or take continued precautions.

We as a nation need to figure out how to deliver the best possible care at the least possible expense. One thing we cannot allow is a single-payer healthcare system. There are 150 million Americans with great healthcare who would lose that healthcare in a single-payer system. All of America would be under one medical system, managed by politicians. The VA rendered notoriously poor care until President Trump made some significant changes; one of which was to allow service members the opportunity to see a commercial physician if they could not get the desired proper care from the VA. If the entire country is run like the VA used to be, where would you go for better care?

Connecticut has some incredible universities, which provide a strong education for those who attend. We need to support technical schools, grants for skilled labor, and a pipeline of skilled workers to ensure our military contracts are continued and sustainable in the future. If we do not concern ourselves with skilled workers, the loss of military contracts will have a destructive consequence on our economy.

I believe in the continued funding of a strong military. The national defense budget is critical to maintaining peace through strength. It is also necessary to ensure our money is spent wisely. Funds spent must maximize capabilities and improve efficiencies. As a Lieutenant Colonel who has managed multiple federal budgets, there is no other candidate in this race who has the same insight and understanding to help guide the funding of the best possible military as me. Prominent employers like Electric Boat (EB), Sikorsky, and Pratt & Whitney have been key contributors to the Connecticut economy. During the height of the Cold War, EB employed about 25,000 workers. The workforce shrunk down to about 9,000 in 2004. With the strengthened military spending of the Trump Administration, Electric Boat surpassed 16,000 workers in 2018, which was a 25-year high. Shortly after, Joe Courtney supported impeaching a president who fully supported funding a strong military. This was counter-productive to maintaining our state economy and a decision which could have ultimately damaged our military contracting industries for partisan political purpose.

Joe Courtney has systematically ignored management of the national debt since taking office in 2007, and has openly supported the Green New Deal (GND). The GND has cost estimates well into the trillions. If we had implemented the GND and Covid-19 had come about after those trillions were allocated, the economic disaster might have been irreversible. The expense is far too much when compared to the inadequate energy return. A sweeping deal will always place the nation in jeopardy if laid out in full. Small reasonable steps can be made to be a greener nation, but they can never be implemented as a complete funded plan which leaves no way to recover from any type of national emergency. At all times, we need to consider the burden we may place on our children. One cannot say "the children are the future" and then set them up for economic failure.

Homeland security is far more important than people know. Many organizations that were formerly in place now fall under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) umbrella. I have personally been involved with DHS training programs which ensure all law enforcement agencies have the best possible training and standards. ICE agents target human traffickers, drugs dealers, and many other aspects of law enforcement which cannot always be addressed at local levels. Nationwide resources are available and federal intelligence is tracked by federal agents, allowing for quicker response to criminals who operate across state lines. This is important in terms of the national drug trade and human trafficking.

As a former correctional officer with over twenty years overseeing our state’s most dangerous criminals within a maximum security prison, I understand public safety better than my opponents. I worked with the State Police in Bridgeport in response to both Storm Sandy and Storm Irene. I have maintained the frontlines of public security both inside the state facilities and out. I was ordered to active duty from March to August 2020 to ensure a federal response to the state municipalities. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was distributed from federal and commercial stocks and pushed down to the local municipalities, for distribution to hospitals, and first responders to include police, fire and emergency medical personnel. Public safety is always a number one priority, as is the support and funding of police departments. The local mayors and town council members need to lead that fight and do their jobs. If money needs to be reallocated from the police, those decisions should already have been addressed. If some new or better policing agency or activity would work better, our local leaders have already failed us by not addressing those issues. If police departments have been overfunded, why are local leaders just addressing that now? Any knee-jerk reaction to current events is proof that local leaders have been absent in the planning and administering of local safety. Vote in someone who leads on public safety and provides the vision, not the reaction.

Illegal immigration costs the American taxpayer over $100 billion per year. We must enforce current immigration law, complete the border wall, and defund sanctuary cities. My family came here from Ukraine in 1948 after being imprisoned in German work camps during World War II. They came here legally and were sponsored by a Christian church, which helped them relocate to New Britain, Connecticut. My grandmother returned the favor and assisted fellow Polish prisoners from the same work camp to gain a legal and permanent future in America. Government financial support was not the answer. Hard work in a prosperous country was. We need to maintain these basic principles.

I take pride in my personal gun ownership. There is no one who will work harder to protect your constitutional rights than I. Our Congress has proven that it knows very little about firearms and this is evident by the legislation it proposes, which puts every American’s right to bear arms in jeopardy.

Veterans and active duty personnel will also be a top priority for me. I am a combat veteran with over thirty years of military service. Those who have sacrificed for their country deserve our respect and support. I am fully engaged in current programs which support our military veterans and personnel. Job fairs, personal assistance, and ongoing medical and mental health will be continued and managed closely by fellow veterans.

The concerns of senior citizens are often overlooked. There is a window between the expected retirement age (around 60) and Social Security benefits that cause many to either work longer for proper healthcare, or take a risk for up to five years, hoping nothing serious happens. Many are capable of working longer but lose benefits if they earn too much. This needs to change. The more capable people who can work longer, and not lose benefits; the more we can support those who can no longer work at all. In either case, lowering medication cost to senior citizens needs to be addressed and will raise the standard of living for all.

Transportation and infrastructure will have to be addressed through federal grants and an increased return on our national tax contributions. As of 2013, only 11 states were actually generating money for the federal government and the people of Connecticut were the third highest contributors on a per capita basis. At some point, when Connecticut decides to elect fiscally responsible leaders, we will once again be self-reliant and play a larger role in our own infrastructure. As a state, we have invested in poor transportation programs that have been costly, with very little return on investment. Although many appear to be getting wealthy from our poor transportation policies, little help has been realized considering the costs to taxpayers.

Addressing crumbling foundations is a slow but necessary fight. There are companies here in Connecticut that are receiving federal dollars to deal with this issue, but the annual budget is not a large one. It needs to be increased and in needs to be sustained for the long-term. If we ignore or forget about the crumbling foundation issues which plague our district, we will continue to feel the negative effects for years to come. In short, we need to get people re-interested in living in Connecticut – with reliable homes to move into and a strong housing market. Crumbling foundations affects our future maintainenace of a strong economy and workforce.