{news} Mike DeRosa in Wethersfield Post

[David Bedell]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20158388

Charging for the senate 

By: Ted Glanzer, Correspondent10/09/2008

3 candidates vie for 1st District seat 


Voters may forgive the candidates who are vying for the state Senate's 1st District seat for their predictable laser-like focus on blunting the impact of the economic downturn, given the most unpredictable atmosphere surrounding the meltdown of the global financial markets.
While it is not yet known how far-reaching the crisis on Wall Street will affect those on Main Street, Connecticut is certain to see significant declines in tax revenue collections, as many residents in Fairfield County who work in the financial industry have their pay drastically slashed or their jobs eliminated.
In addition, the current year's $300 million budget deficit could double or even triple, according to some estimates.
Incumbent veteran legislator John Fonfara, a Democrat, first-time Republican challenger Barbara Ruhe and Green Party of Connecticut candidate Mike DeRosa all agree that tough choices will have to be made by whoever is sworn into office in January.
They all diverge, however, as to what areas they plan on making those tough choices. 
Fonfara, who is seeking his seventh term as state senator, said that, if re-elected, the bleak economic picture would change the nature of his job.
Specifically, Fonfara said that the 1st District, comprised of Hartford and parts of Wethersfield, does not have the resources to pay for the services that the state provides its residents. 
In that respect, he said that his task is normally to go on the offensive to bring back as much state revenue as he can for his district. The current economic realities now mean that he would move into a more defensive position, to protect that which is already being spent on the district while focusing on other areas where cuts can be made.
While it is not a role that he relishes, Fonfara said that he has weathered tough economic downturns during his 22 years serving at the State Capitol, including 12 as a senator and 10 years in the House of Representatives. 
His knowledge of the process in addition to his relationship with the Wethersfield delegation - state Rep. Russell Morin, D-28th District, Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-29th District and Sen. Paul Doyle, D-9th District - up at the State Capitol are "critical in protecting and defending the resources Wethersfield receives.
"This is a time when experience does matter," Fonfara said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Knowing not only the mechanics of the legislature but also the legislators themselves will serve the residents within the 1st District best during these challenging economic times, he said.
Noting Gov. M. Jodi Rell's highly conservative spending record when she served in the state legislature - a trait that had not appeared during her tenure as governor until recently - Fonfara said that unless there is a miracle between now and January, the state is going to be in for "a tough ride."
"I think people want folks at the helm who understand the process and are part of a team that works strongly together," Fonfara said.
While the economy is currently front and center, Fonfara noted that health care was still a priority, including providing home health care to seniors, a less expensive and, oftentimes, preferable alternative to nursing homes.
Fonfara, who is co-chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee, said that he will continue to help Wethersfield become more energy independent.
"My job has been to encourage and provide incentives to develop alternative means to generate electricity in town, at site facilities or at businesses or generating power at group homes," Fonfara said. 
Technological advances in energy - particularly in electricity - have not been as significant as those made in other industries, such as telecommunications. 
"The whole system has been a monopoly for so many years and we've paid a high price," Fonfara said. "I see my job to spur those advances on, as well as look for alternatives to our reliance on oil and foreign sources of energy."

 
GOP contender wants to take on DCF

Republican challenger Barbara Ruhe is calling for injecting more common sense into the way things are done at the Capitol, in addition to implementing greater fiscal controls such as wholesale audits of existing state programs to determine whether they have outlived their usefulness. 
Ruhe, a Wethersfield attorney whose practice focuses on family law, said the state Department of Children and Families must be drastically overhauled.
"That is a passion of mine," Ruhe said of her desire to address the problems that have plagued the embattled state agency for years.
While statistics without more data often provide incomplete pictures, the numbers in this instance appear to bear out Ruhe's concerns: Last year, there were 9,574 substantiated cases of abandoned or neglected children in the state, and 8,237 children were placed under state care, Ruhe said. 
While one case of neglect is one too many, the number of children appear to be manageable from a cost perspective, what with DCF's $900 million annual budget, according to Ruhe.
"I really wonder. We're a little state and we could fix it," she said.
In addition, Ruhe supports state legislation that would cap municipal tax increases at 3 percent.
She said that Wethersfield has the highest percentage of senior residents per capita in the state. Since senior residents tend to live on fixed incomes, high property tax hikes have stretched many taxpayers to the financial brink.
"Government keeps expanding and spending money and thinking that the taxpayers can pay more," Ruhe said. "There has to be a way for citizens to put the brakes on."
Ruhe said her proposal would include opt-out provisions in the event of emergencies.
While a municipal tax cap appears to be gaining some traction, Fonfara vehemently opposes any such measure because it would amount to an unfunded state mandate and is a not-so-subtle way of circumventing the collective bargaining process between towns and municipal employee unions. 
Fonfara doesn't see the logic in having the state legislature tell municipalities that "you can't decide what's in the best interests of your residents," he said.
"Imagine the federal government telling states that they had to cap spending increases to 3 percent," the senator said. "On the face it sounds good."
A tax cap put into practice, however, could mean changing programs and policies at a time when less money is coming back to the schools, Fonfara said. The end result would be teacher layoffs, fewer dollars for books and computers, according to the incumbent.
In response to critics, such as Fonfara, Ruhe said that she does not believe the cap interferes with municipal home rule because the state is already so entrenched in city and town finances. 
Ruhe is cognizant of those who view her platform with skepticism, noting that it's one thing to make pledges during a campaign, and quite another to deliver on those promises once ensconced in Hartford, dealing with fellow legislators who have their own constituents to please, agendas to meet and promises to keep. 
Her response is nothing if not refreshing.
"If I'm elected to only one term, that would be OK," said Ruhe, adding that if she could start the conversation to real reform that would be enough to gain some traction with other lawmakers. 
To date, Ruhe's biggest challenge, her opposition notwithstanding, has been raising the money to meet the requirements of the Citizens Election Program, a state campaign finance law that provides senatorial candidates with $85,000 for their races, provided that they first raise $15,000 from at least 300 donations from residents within their districts. 
The donations cannot come from lobbyists or individuals who have contracts of over $50,000 with the state. In addition, Ruhe has lost some donations because people have been scared away by a form they must fill out that requires the listing of their names, addresses, and current employers, she said. 
"It's a challenge," Ruhe said in an interview Monday in her law offices in Wethersfield. "In theory, you are collecting 300 $50 donations. It's a somewhat daunting task."

'More choices, more voices'

The candidate calling for the greatest wholesale changes is S. Michael DeRosa, the Green Party of Connecticut candidate who is making his fourth run at the state Senate. He also ran for Secretary of the State, garnering 18,000 votes in 2006.
The cornerstone of DeRosa's platform calls for the reduction of the state's exorbitant electric rates, which are the highest in the United States.
"We are in a new dark age where electric rates go up when people's ability to pay the bill goes down," DeRosa said in a telephone interview last week.
To solve the state's energy woes, DeRosa said that he and the Green Party are calling for major investments into alternative energy and safe, renewable energy.
DeRosa scoffs at Connecticut's claims that it is well ahead of the curve concerning promoting the use of clean, renewable energy.
"The state is not doing all it can," De Rosa said, ticking off energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal and a variety of geothermal options.
The reason for what he considers slow movement toward more cost-efficient, environmentally sound forms of energy is that "we have a legislature and an executive branch which is locked into a process."
That process, DeRosa said, keeps minority views from being expressed. As proof, he sites the recent campaign finance reform law, which he calls "No Republican or Democrat Left Behind Law." 
The law was passed with great fanfare, promising average citizens greater access to run for political office.
The devil, according to DeRosa, is in the details. While candidates for the two most popular parties reap the benefits of the law, third-party candidates face "draconian" requirements, such as having to obtain the signatures of 10, 15 or 20 percent of the number of residents in a district who voted in the last election, DeRosa said. 
"The state Senate is one of the most exclusive clubs in Connecticut," DeRosa said.
A third-party candidate running for governor must collect a minimum of 200,000 signatures and raise $250,000 in order to qualify for $3.2 million from the state. 
The law's unequal treatment of third-party candidates led DeRosa to become a litigant in a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to strike down the barriers to non-traditional parties.
"What we need now are more choices and more voices to keep independent thought and ideas continuing in the Connecticut legislature," DeRosa said.
He dismisses Fonfara's support for smart power, which, according to DeRosa, "is not a solution to our problem."
Other issues high on DeRosa's list are creating a sustainable economy in the state and constructing a mass transit system alternative to complement people's automobiles.
The biggest hurdle to clear for DeRosa isn't the economy, but changing people's habits and moving away from the state's dependence on industries that contribute to the "military/industrial complex."
In short, DeRosa is calling for a massive overhaul in the way Connecticut citizens view the state.
That also entails fostering creative ideas and putting an end to political censorship by changing to a system of proportional representation, referendum initiatives, recall and instant runoff.
"They are all in the toolbox of Democracy," DeRosa said. 


©Wethersfield Post 2008 
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