As I write this letter with Election Day right around the corner, I find myself thinking about this campaign and wondering about voter perception.
As a business owner and lawyer, I constantly self-reflect and ask for feedback from peers and others so I can grow, learn and gain greater insight. I find strength in being able to admit I do not have all of the answers and that I can always be better and do better.
As a lawyer, you quickly learn that it is better to admit that you do not know an answer and do your research to find the correct answer than it is to give the wrong answer or one that is uninformed.
I mention these thoughts because as I self-reflect on my campaign, I think about what I want in a leader and my elected representative. Certainly, we want to know their positions on the issues. But there is so much more to we should not only expect, but that we should demand.
Maybe I am being overly idealistic, but, in my humble opinion, a leader stands up and speaks out about the real issues in an election. A leader should engage in fair and public debate with opponents and critics, and should not campaign by scripted letters in the press. A leader is out speaking directly to the public, discussing with the voters their concerns and the real issues facing our communities and our state. A leader discusses how to address those issues and then gets to work trying to making our communities stronger and brighter. A leader does not avoid the real issues, and does not distract the voters with election year tricks and promises, and politically convenient grant announcements.
All summer long I took the time to listen to your concerns. The overwhelming majority of people I spoke to identified high taxes, the failing economy and the underfunding of our schools as the main issues in this election. All throughout this campaign, I have had the privilege to stand on many of your doorsteps and discuss these issues with you. At times, when other issues have come up, I have acknowledged if those issues were unfamiliar to me, and indicated I would research them. As many found out, I then looked into the issue, and reengaged to continue our discussion.
In early September, I offered to engage in three debates, so that you, the voters, would have the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates seeking your votes. Debates are important so that voters can see the candidates unscripted, while learning about their ideas and positions, their visions and plans, and why they are the best choice for the people of Ansonia and Derby. The voters however, were deprived of a debate this year when Rep. Gentile announced during her podcast with the Valley Independent Sentinel that she did not believe in debates and would not participate. I chalked this response up to incumbent arrogance and went back to work, knocking on doors and getting my message out there.
I have spent every day of this campaign speaking about your issues, and discussing my ideas to get Connecticut back on track. Rep. Gentile, on the other hand, has ignored these issues, choosing instead to proclaim herself as bipartisan in an obvious attempt to counter my common sense approach to issues. Well with all due respect to Rep. Gentile, the truth is in her voting record (99.2% with her party) and in her titles. Rep. Gentile is the Deputy Speaker for the Democratic majority in the General Assembly and also the Co-Chair of the Screening Committee (which determines what legislation is brought to the house floor). In both capacities, she vigorously supports, promotes, votes for her party and the Governor. The Deputy Speaker is simply claiming otherwise because Election Day is quickly approaching.
Hoping to score cheap political points (by implying I have no experience), Rep. Gentile has claimed I have never had any input into the legislative process. A simple search of the General Assembly website reveals that I have provided testimony and input into the legislative process – so I am left wondering, is my opponent attempting to mislead and deceive the voters, or is she just a poor researcher?
The people of Ansonia and Derby deserve a representative who will admit that there are challenging issues facing our communities and our state. They deserve a public debate of ideas and solutions about those challenges. They deserve to be leveled with, and not misled. Unfortunately, our current representative is more concerned with trying to convince you that she is bipartisan or scoring cheap political points with misleading information than she is with talking about the real issues. Rep. Gentile has had twelve years as our State Representative to propose legislation and vote for the interests of the 104th district. I encourage all of you to ask yourselves, “Am I better off because of it?” On November 8th the people of Ansonia and Derby get to decide if they are, or if it is time for change.
The writer is the Republican nominee for State Representative in the 104th District
