ANSONIA-DERBY — Incumbent State Rep. Kara Rochelle is the Democrat trying to get re-elected to represent Ansonia and much of west Derby in District 104 of the state House of Representatives.
There are two other candidates. Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti is the Republican candidate. Ansonia resident Tom Egan is the Independent Party candidate.
Click here for everything The Valley Indy has published on the race.
The Valley Indy sent eight questions to each candidate and gave them 18 days to respond.
The following answers were submitted by Rochelle.
1. Why are you running?
I’m running for the people of this community. I always say, I love the public service and hate the politics. People must come first, and I never get distracted from that. For me, this is about your wellbeing, your stability and your opportunity for prosperity. Times are tough economically for a lot of residents, and I’ve worked hard to deliver meaningful tax cuts, relief through prescription drug savings programs, expansion of affordable childcare, investment in our schools, in job training programs for adults, and game-changing investment in economic redevelopment in Ansonia and Derby to name a few. And that’s leadership you can count on.
It’s important to me that you have a public servant who is down to earth, puts your needs first, advances laws that will make your lives easier, and is capable of bringing home funding and resources to our community. Being organized, detail-oriented, and having a knack for coalition building has delivered major results for us, from the investment in our train line to our brownfields/old factory sites, the Rt. 34 widening to our schools, job training programs, and we still have so much more to do together.
As your State Representative, I prioritize being accessible to the people of Ansonia and Derby holding regular community listening sessions to ensure everyone is included in the conversation about how to build our community up and improve peoples’ lives. It is also deeply important to me that we have a leader who treats every resident with dignity and respect and that is why you have put your trust in me to be your leader in Hartford for the past six years.
At the capitol, I have been highly effective at building coalitions on important issues around education, healthcare, economic development, and investment in our community. My record speaks for itself. Leadership has advanced me to the role of Majority Whip at Large, Vice Chair of the Higher Education & Employment Advancement Committee, and to the powerful Screening Committee which decides what bills make it to the house floor.
This comes down to a very simple matter: who will stay focused on our community, who has the relationships and experience to get laws passed, and who will tirelessly work to deliver the resources needed to move Ansonia and Derby forward.
2. What are three accomplishments that matter the most to you while you’ve been in elected office?
The first is providing economic relief, which is one of my top priorities. This has come in the form of the state’s largest tax cut for middle- and working-class residents in our state’s history, reducing taxes on pensions, annuities, and social security, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, and expanding of property tax credits. This also includes state investment in programs that make life more affordable for people, such as the ArrayRx prescription drug savings program, expansion of affordable childcare through the Care4Kids program, increased funding for our nonprofits like Team, BHCare, Umbrella and the Parent-Child Resource Center, and investment in nutrition programs for kids, families, and seniors alike. We’ve even eliminated property taxes for our fully disabled veterans.
The second set of accomplishments are the major state investments I’ve secured for our economic development in Ansonia and Derby. This includes $23.44 million to clean up and redevelop the Ansonia Brass/SHW/Farrel sites, which the city is just starting to spend. I secured $18 million towards the Rt. 34 widening, which sets the table for downtown redevelopment in Derby. I’m also very proud of my hard work and coalition building to help deliver increased train service on the Waterbury Rail Line as well as $22 million to upgrade and modernize the train stations in both towns — which is in design now with ground break set for next year; and helping to secure $65 million for a dozen new train cars for our rail line. Economic development beyond these big-ticket items includes: passing my bill to expand manufacturing training into high schools across the state. Ansonia and Derby High both have excellent programs, in addition to the program at Emmett O’Brien. I recently secured $140k in new CMC machines for Emmett. I very proudly, secured the funds to set up a free manufacturing training certificate program for adults, which is taught at night at Derby High. This program is upskilling class after class of adults in our community and helping them break into the good-paying field of manufacturing. Creating these economic advantages for our residents, and spurring major development in our community, is something I’m deeply proud of and I will continue to build upon in years to come.
The final set of accomplishments are the bills I’ve passed that directly impact the wellbeing of residents. Three examples include a bill I wrote and passed this year to crack down on banks who were attempting to prey upon our elderly and disabled residents who need bank documents to apply for critical social services, such as home health aids and wheelchairs. I also wrote a law which eliminates out of pocket costs from insurance for those who need ovarian cancer surveillance due to a family history of breast, colorectal, or ovarian cancer. Early detection is critical to save lives, and this law removes the financial barrier to that early detection. Another is the law I passed so the state pays for Fire I and Fire II training for our volunteer firefighters, and the law I passed to pay our volunteer fire companies $500 per call for every call they respond to on a state highway. That program has delivered nearly $100,000 in state dollars for our volunteer fire companies in Ansonia and Derby since it started.
3. What are the top three issues in Ansonia and Derby?
The biggest issue is that our residents are struggling economically. The cost to rent or buy a home is a big piece of the puzzle, as well as local property taxes, and cost of childcare, prescription drugs, and everyday expenses. People are doing more with less, and we must work smarter and harder to address these issues.
The second issue is economic development. I along with the rest of the state delegation have helped to bring home millions in state investment to redevelop this community. This will open up the opportunity to bring in new jobs and housing, grow our grand list, and help to stabilize or lower taxes locally. It is critical that we have full time, dedicated mayors in both towns with their undivided attention on spending the dollars I’ve helped bring in wisely and managing redevelopment well.
The third issue is housing. The cost to buy a home is through the roof, rents are sky high, property taxes are making this situation harder, and in the Valley and across the state, more must be done to bring these costs down. This is being exacerbated by big corporations and out of state landlords swooping in and buying up homes and multi-families that our local residents would otherwise strive to purchase. These absentee landlords then drive-up housing costs for all of us. I have a series of housing bills I have been developing and want to enact in the coming session. I hope to be re-elected so I can tackle this issue head-on.
4. If elected, what will you do to tackle these issues?
My proven track record shows I know how to face these challenges head on. To address housing, I’d like to expand income tax cuts, enact a child tax credit, and expand property tax credits for seniors. I will continue to snag big dollars for redevelopment projects in our community. Regarding housing, we need stronger fair rent commissions, to crack down on price gouging by big corporate landlords, more funding to build affordable housing for average people, first time homebuyer programs, and to put an end to corporate takeovers of neighborhood housing, which I have heard from so many hurting both renters and those aspiring to own a home alike.
5. List prior elected office: title and years served:
I was appointed to Derby’s Ethics Committee, 2017 – 2018
I have been the elected State Representative from 2019-present
6. List local community or civic engagement:
I have been a regular volunteer at Masters Table Community Meals for many years in Ansonia, serving free, nourishing meals to residents of the Lower Valley. I’m a corporator at Griffin Hospital in Derby, which is the 104th’s largest employer. I have been involved over the years with the Derby Elks Club, Derby Lion’s Club, Catholic War Veterans Auxiliary, Valley Sons and Daughters of Italy, and Women United with the Valley United Way, of which I am also a corporator. When younger, I had founded the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats, working to build young civic engagement and push the party for a return to its working-class focused, FDR-style roots.
7. List prior work experience:
I am a Field Organizer for a national healthcare workers union affiliated with AFSCME. Helping healthcare workers to organize for fair wages and safe working conditions is extremely important. I also set my own schedule, which allows for tremendous flexibility. Prior to that, I was the administrator for a faith based society affiliated with Yale for several years. Earlier, I spent several years managing restaurants in New York City where I had a staff of 70 – 100 under me. Two of my locations earned two stars from the New York Times. In all I do, I strive for excellence and am most proud of my work as a legislator fighting for the hardworking people of Ansonia & Derby.
8. Education:
· Seymour High School, Class of 2001
· Fordham University, Class of 2005
· B.A. in English and Certificate for completion of a Masters Program as an Undergraduate in Adolescent Education
· Completion of the National Legislative Leaders Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Program. I was one of 50 state legislators nationwide (out of 700+ state legislators nationally) to be nominated for and selected to this leadership program.
