{news} Kenric Hanson in the New London Times

[David Bedell]

http://zip06.theday.com/blogs/new_london_times/archive/2008/10/23/election-connecticut.aspx
 
District 39The 39th State House district has been a Democratic stronghold for more than two decades, and it would be the shocker of the season if that changed. But, as the saying goes, that’s why they play the game. 
Incumbent Ernest Hewett, a former City Councilor and mayor first elected to Hartford in 2004, is seeking his third term in a rematch with Republican former City Councilor Jason Catala. 
This is the second time Catala has sought the 39th seat and hopes to fare better than two years ago, when Hewett took 71 percent of the vote. 
In 2006, Catala was a fill-in candidate when Allyn de Vars, the initial nominee, dropped out of the race. 
The wild card in the race is Green Party candidate Kenric Hanson, a member of the city’s sustainability committee and frequent speaker at City Council meetings. 
Hanson will attempt to be the third party’s first elected official in New London. In the previous two municipal elections, the Green candidates narrowly missed getting on the Board of Education. Ernest HewettParty: Democrat Occupation: Carpenter Factoid: Member of the New London City Council and mayor  Jason Catala  Party: Republican Occupation: Teacher Factoid: Served Three Terms on the New London Board of Education. Kenric HansonParty: GreenOccupation: Property Owner Factoid: President of the New London Sustainability Committee. What is the most important issue that you will address should you be elected? Hewett: Healthcare is the number one thing. It’s one of the hardest things we had to do. We were pretty close with the municipalities this year, where we pooled healthcare together. That was a fair way, but the governor vetoed it. [Also] More money for PILOT [Payment in Lieu of Taxes] in the city of New London because a lot of our property is off the tax rolls due to non-profits, hospitals, and colleges. Those would be the priorities. Catala: The first issue I will address if elected will be to make sure that unfunded mandates that are passed down to cities and towns [are funded.] I will make sure that education mandates are funded and in turn lower taxes for citizens in New London. I will do this by putting a tax on millionaires, using lottery and casino dollars.Hanson: It’s hard to pick, being a third party candidate, without a party coalition in place. I want to promote a future focus on sustainability and define and determine our future actions. Having said that, there is one issue I want to pursue—property taxes. I’ve been working with Green New London, a group that started after the [2007 municipal] campaign and we’ve been working for a land value tax. It needs to be enacted on a state level. A lot of the conversations throughout the state, have been about doing something about property tax burdens on residents. Working with Green New London, we’ve started doing outreach to build a coalition throughout the state. We’ve reached out to Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and other cities, and we’re getting positive responses. That is one of my priorities. What I’ve offered to people as a reason for running is that governments—local, state, and federal—lack a long-range view of things and what we should be doing now to lessen our burdens in the future. 
 
If we keep to the status quo, we are going to experience some great failures. The land value tax legislation is going to come up, and it is something I would work strongly on. Did you support the Connecticut Supreme Court decision stating that same-sex marriage must be allowed under state law?Hewett: I supported civil unions, but gay marriage is not before us. I don’t know where I am with that. All I know is that if we had to vote on it, I don’t know where I’d be at this point. I’d be in support of civil unions, which gave gays in the state the right to have insurance purposes and legal documents, things like that. The decision has not been out long enough for me absorb what’s going on.Catala: I support the Supreme Court decision. I believe we need to respect everyone and the choices they make. I am firm believer that this decision will allow people to feel they are respected and will allow for all married individuals to have equal benefits.Hanson: Yes I do. As a civil rights issue, marriage is ultimately a legal right and economic issue. I find it incredulous that someone else’s marriage has an effect on my marriage. I don’t see that at all. I’ve been married for more than 16 years, and I imagine there have been millions of people who have been married in that time, and I haven’t felt anything from that. I see [marriage] as being a legal and economic benefit that is important to people. Not that relationships are built for those reasons, but those are benefits of the ultimate expression of love under, ultimately, law. If people want to separate what the church does from what the state does, we can have some designation, but what the state does cannot be diminished.
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