Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
Chris Bowen: “You don’t need a degree to cut hair.”
For more than 20 years, politicians from well-known Valley families such as the Conroys and the Greenes have held the spot as representative for the 105th state General Assembly District. Challenger Chris Bowen plans to disrupt this history by taking on incumbent State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, whose family launched the Klarides supermarket business and has served in the legislature since 2017 alongside her sister, House Minority LeaderThemis Klarides, the Valley’s favorite public official.
“There is no weight of a family name or party politics holding me back” Bowen said.
Bowen, a self-described Libertarian, will have his name on the Democratic line against Republican Klarides-Ditria on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Bowen grew up in Seymour, raised by a single mom, who worked as a waitress. Bowen said he has seen many positive changes in the town. He said he’s determined to fight for more in his campaign as the Democratic candidate to represent the 105th district in the Connecticut General Assembly.
“I feel the area has been underrepresented in Hartford through no fault of anyone specifically, but we’re not getting our fair share” Bowen said.
Bowen has served on the Seymour Board of Selectmen since 2019, and previously served as the vice-chairman of the Seymour Economic Development Commission.
Bowen said his proudest accomplishment so far on the board was casting the deciding vote on increasing development on Route 34, which was limited because of former septic tank requirements.
By and large Seymour politics lacks the partisanship and personal animosity that has played a role in Ansonia and Derby. “Municipal management is not filled with hot button items. Seymour is boring, but I like that it’s boring,” he said.
Bowen left Seymour after graduating high school to join the Navy as a third-generation sailor; he said he hopes there will not be a fourth generation joining the Navy. He said his family’s service history demonstrates the fact that the United States is at war too much. Though Bowen said that call is above his pay grade, other observations from his time in the Navy have informed his policy ideas and beliefs.
Scratching his beard, Bowen added, “<any people I served with did not join because of their love for our country, but because they wanted a way out of their financial situation. For one guy I knew, it was go to the Navy or end up in jail.” Bowen said this realization helped drive one of his top priorities as a representative, which is to ease financial burdens.
To accomplish this, Bowen said he wants to get rid of many of the licensing requirements for careers in fields including plumbing, HVAC technicians, and cosmetology. During his four years on the USS George Washington in the Navy, Bowen was actually chosen to be part of a shifting rotation of ship barbers on board. “You don’t need a degree to cut hair,” Bowen argued.
Typically, a career in cosmetology requires a high school diploma or GED, a cosmetology training certificate or associate degree in cosmetology, and supervised hands-on experience to be eligible to take a state cosmetology licensing exam. In order to obtain a hairdressing license in Connecticut, one must successfully complete a course with 1,500 plus hours of study in a school approved by the Connecticut State Board for Barbers and Hairdressers or in a school teaching hairdressing, cosmetology or barbering under the supervision of the Connecticut State Board of Education.
By eliminating some of these requirements, Bowen said, he hopes to help more of his constituents move up the financial ladder. Bowen said this also will hopefully encourage younger Seymour residents launching their careers to stay in town.
Bowen also said the Navy helped him learn how to engage with people from all walks of life. While campaigning for Board of Selectmen in Seymour, Bowen made an effort to knock on every door regardless of the voters’ party. “It got a little awkward when I would knock on other selectman doors,” Bowen chuckled.
Bowen is an underdog in this campaign and he knows it. Klarides-Ditria is an incumbent with deep roots in the community. And Bowen is a Democrat is a town where Republicans rule.
A self-proclaimed libertarian, Bowen is running as a Democrat because he sees the party as the best to represent individual rights and liberties. In his eyes, the Republican Party in Connecticut has become the “no party.” “It seems their goals are entrenched in opposing Democrats. That hurts us here,” Bowen argued
“Nicole is a good Republican, but can get sucked up by party machinery and lose track fighting Democrats,” Bowen said of his opponent.
Bowen declared himself not bound by party policy lines. Bowen said he differs with state Democrats on gun control laws, for example, which he said have gone too far.
Again divergent from many state Democrats, Bowen also opposes instituting electronic tolls on some state highways. Calling Seymour and the 105th District a commuter hub, Bowen claimed tolls would disproportionately affect residents in the Valley who commute to Hartford or Stamford for work.
He said his preference would be similar to former Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Guy Smith’s plan which would allow Connecticut residents to have a debit card for tolls and gasoline to receive a tax credit for transportation.
To improve transportation for commuters, Bowen plans to advocate for adding a second line at the one-track Waterbury train station. Bowen said the area has gotten a lot of lip service from Metro North and the Connecticut Department of Transportation on expanding the station. Bowen called a second line is imperative in order to improve green technology and commuter flow. “I don’t care if we have horses drive on the track, we just need a second line.”
Since returning to Seymour after the Navy, Bowen has worked in tech support and has been a cellular engineer for five years. If elected, Bowen, said he hopes to dispel any myths or misinformation in regards to 5G installation in Connecticut, as state representatives are reviewing requests from carriers and developing guidelines.
Through his years in Seymour, Bowen said, the biggest change has been in the city’s diversity. “It’s more diverse, more understanding, and more tolerant in general,” Bowen said. Despite this positive change, Bowen said Seymour and Connecticut need to make changes to combat police brutality and systemic racism.
Bowen said he is in favor of banning police chokeholds and will push for continued checks on officers to rid bad actors and for continued training in de-escalating situations. “The number-one thing I hear in conversations is that it’s hard to fire bad cops,” Bowen said. This is why Bowen is proposing competency and psychological evaluations for cops.
As for the protests in recent weeks that have swept the nation, Bowen said, “When you poke a bear too long, it will react.”
He said education on racial injustice needs to extend beyond just social media or a hashtag and be soundly integrated into school history curriculums and public discourse. “We need to encourage honest and frank discussions.”
To encourage these public discussions and police transparency, Bowen said, he is in favor of creating civilian review boards with subpoena power to investigate allegations of misconduct, as long as the boards have diverse representation. “But, everyone elected to a civilian review board in Seymour would be almost entirely pro-police” Bowen said.
To better train first responders in the 105th and neighboring districts, Bowen said, he plans to push building a regional fire safety school. In a 2019 Connecticut State Firefighters Association Education Committee Regional Fire School Report, the Valley Fire Chiefs said because they lack a training facility, they “are operating out of a small office and 20-ft Connex box at the former Seymour Middle School located at 20 Pine St.”
For now, they are waiting on the release of approved bond money to start construction of a replacement training facility in Beacon Falls.
