State Representative District 142

What action(s) will you take to reduce out-of-pocket drug costs and reduce the impact of the cost of prescription drugs on taxpayers and insurance premiums?

I believe in affordable, accessible healthcare to meet all residents’ needs and out of pocket drug costs have become astronomical over the last several years and is at the forefront of people's minds. There is a lot of focus on this at the federal level with the Inflation Reduction Act, but there are potential measures that we can also do in the state. We should incentivize heath care providers to leverage the state's buying power for high use prescription drugs. In 2019, the General Assembly sponsored a bill that capped the cost of Diabetic supplies including insulin and we can follow this similar approach to other high used life-saving medications, like blood pressure or cholesterol medications. As a member of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, we continue to evaluate policies like these but are also trying to address the root causes of increased health care.

In these inflationary times, what will you do to help ensure that Connecticut’s middle-income retirees on fixed incomes are able to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets?

How do you plan to address the growing long-term care workforce crisis in the state?

This is a critical issue in many of our non-profit safety net providers as they are competing with the big box retailers to attract a workforce in a growing field. Within Appropriations, we have been working at funding these non profits to assist in the shorter term need. Even more importantly, we need to ensure that this becomes a focus of the Workforce Development Council so that we can develop a career progression path for this workforce that enables workers to see that this is not just a "dead end" job to care for people but a step to a longer-term career with advancement opportunities that will also provide advancing pay, training opportunities, mentorship and career mobility.

Gas prices are higher than ever, which is difficult for older adults on fixed incomes. Yet, alternatives to cars in Connecticut are limited. What will you do to help older adults access other forms of transportation?

What are the two most urgent problems facing Connecticut within the context of climate change and the environment, and what will you propose to solve them?

Two environmental issues that I am most energized (pun intended) about are clean air/renewable energy and waste management. I have been a supporter of clean energy projects, like our 2019 legislation about wind farms but I believe we can also expand this, to provide additional incentives to encourage transition to solar, like better Net Metering laws. Net metering will help consumers be able to have flexibility to use their generated energy when it needed and not necessarily when it is generated. This will also lessen our reliance on dirty fossil fuels. We also must develop new waste management systems in light of the MIRA plant’s closure, and evaluate investments that address compostable waste, especially food, as this is a significant portion that heads to the incinerator. We are responsible to our community and our planet’s future to prioritize conservation and clean energy.

How can Connecticut's education systems create better outcomes for students in low-income communities?

I believe that there are improvements that need to be made at every developmental stage, from early, quality day care programs to workforce development programs in high schools. We need additional focus on reading programs for elementary schools students and consider expanding the work of the Center for Literacy Research and implementing the successful programs in communities that suffer from lower literacy rates. We can improve job training opportunities by investing in vocational and technical trade schools to prepare workers for the 21st century jobs employers are looking for when they consider where to headquarter their businesses, while guaranteeing community colleges across the state are debt free for students who are looking to expand their education beyond high school.

Pedestrian deaths spiked a few years ago and remain high, and it's fairly clear that driver behavior, such as distracted driving, is only getting worse despite significant efforts by law enforcement to stop it. How can Connecticut's streets be made safe for pedestrians and bicyclists?

How should the state and its school districts deal with COVID-19 going forward?

What should be done on the state level to further address Connecticut's lack of affordable housing? Do you support, for example, mandating or incentivizing towns and cities to alter their zoning codes to be friendlier to affordable housing?

Affordable housing has drawn a lot of attention over recent years at the state level and nationally, as housing costs have risen. Connecticut lacks an estimated 87K units of both affordable and low income housing. 8-30g has not been as successful at developing enough affordable housing as many hoped, but necessary amendments to the law were enacted to help towns meet the 10% target. The most important is 8-30j, which requires towns to approve affordable housing plans every 5 years. This is important as a road map to the 10% target. I support the 8-2 statute, the zoning enabling act, giving the necessary local control to towns’ P&Z commissions for development. I believe we can find a solution to make 8-30g more effective in developing affordable housing, while still giving local control to the towns. Businesses locating to an area must ensure their workforce can find affordable housing in order to attract the best talent.

What can be done to prevent excessive consolidation of the healthcare industry and the loss of services – or, in some cases, the loss of small hospitals themselves – in the state's rural areas?

Do you think the state's two major electric utilities (Eversource and United Illuminating) are sufficiently regulated? If not, what measures would you take to ensure that consumers are protected to the greatest extent possible against prolonged loss of services and unfair rate increases?

What is your position on whether Connecticut should open its election primaries to unaffiliated voters?

I would support open primaries to unaffiliated voters, who could chose which party's primary to participate in each cycle. Even more important, we need to address the lack of opportunity to participate in the voting process, as a whole. Currently, Connecticut is one of only four states (with Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire) that do not offer pre-Election Day in-person voting options for all voters. As a member of the General Assembly in 2019 and in 2021, I voted in favor both times to allow for early voting. I believe we need to ensure that Connecticut’s citizens have more than one day between 6AM - 8PM to cast their ballot. Not only will this measure make voting more accessible to every eligible voter, it will also decrease election day lines, ensure accuracy, and increase security for prompt election day results. I was disheartened to see that some Republican members of the General Assembly did not vote in favor of this initiative, in effect suppressing many voices who do not have flexibility with their daily schedule. We have an opportunity in November to approve the referendum question to allow early voting based on the support of the passed legislation in the General Assembly in 2019 and 2021.