State Senator Ryan Fazio, officially announced his run for governor three weeks ago. Fazio currently represents the 36th District which includes Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan. He is the highest ranking Republican senator on the Energy & Technology Committee and the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee. The Connecticut native originally from Norwalk sees potential in the state.
Q & A
Julia Barcello (JB): What inspired you to run?
Ryan Fazio (RF): Well, this state is home. I was born and raised here. I think it’s a great state with great people, yet people all across our state are hurting. They’re facing the third highest electric rates and the third highest taxes in the country, and I believe that they deserve better than that… So I’m running to change direction and to create affordability, opportunity and hope for all.
JB: If you win, what is the first thing you plan to tackle in office?
RF: My first priority will be to reduce the cost of living and electric rates electricity bills. In particular, I have a six point plan that would eliminate the public benefits charge in our electric bills and reduce electric rates by 20%. That will be the first priority. Second will be to reform and reduce our taxes, to deliver a $1,500 tax cut for the average middle class family and to cap property taxes.
JB: What specific next steps would you take to eliminate those extra charges that Connecticut residents are seeing?
RF: Over the last two and a half years, I have introduced and updated a six point plan that’s now really a five point plan, to first eliminate the public benefits charge. The public benefits charge on our electric bill funds over 50 different discretionary government programs that aren’t necessary to deliver electricity to our homes and places of business. Most of those programs should be eliminated entirely, but some of them could continue to exist, but be funded through the state budget process, where there’s a spending cap that requires that the people in the legislature and the governor’s office prioritize the most important, the most important programs in the state budget. So that would be first. We also need to expand the capacity of affordable and natural gas, maintain or increase the amount of clean and reliable nuclear power and limit the amount of subsidies that any private energy producers get at the expense of regular ratepayers.
JB: How do you plan to promote housing supply and resolve the affordable housing issue across the state without losing the quality of some of the towns?
RF: We need to protect local control of decision making for towns and cities, and I think we could improve the affordability and availability of housing in our state, even with towns in the lead. So my proposals have been to reform 830G, to change 830G in order to give towns and cities more options on how to meet their requirements. There’s also reforms we can make at the state level to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units or mixed or residential units in mixed use and commercially zoned areas in towns and cities, as well as reducing the cost of construction in order to improve housing affordability. So, I think there needs to be a negotiation where both parties and all people come to the table and respect the local control of decision making, while also finding reforms that everyone could get behind to reduce the cost of housing.
JB: How will you encourage local leaders to support local control from their perspectives, from their level?
RF: Well, I’ve been working with and listening to local leaders for years now, as a member and a leader on this issue statewide, and including for two years, a ranking member on the Planning and Development Committee… I have a record of listening and bringing people together in coalitions across geographies and across parties in the state. I think the vast majority of people want positive reforms to improve housing affordability, but they also want local control. I think this is an issue where local leaders across the state are behind us.
JB: How do you plan to kind of attract yourself more to younger voters?
RF: You know, be myself and run on the issues that I think are most important to people. I think younger voters want change. They want affordability and opportunity and they want a better future for our country. I think that younger voters are generally attracted to people who are providing positive solutions to the problems that our society faces and our country faces and our state faces… You know, it’s not as if I am especially targeting people of individual ages. I think the vast majority of people want the similar things for our state, and I’m confident that by providing a vision for positive change in Connecticut, for affordability and opportunity and hope for everyone in Connecticut, that younger voters will flock to support our campaign for the governor, just like they’ve supported our campaign for state senate in the past.
JB: What is something that you want to tell people about your campaign this year?
RF: I truly believe that we can make Connecticut succeed better than ever before. I think the state has everything working for it, except the right policies and leadership in Hartford. I really believe that we can do this. This is in my heart. This state is my home. It’s a place that I love, and I believe that if we bring people together, we can make the future better than ever before for Connecticut.
