The three candidates running for governor of Connecticut ”“ Democratic incumbent Ned Lamont, Republican challenger Bob Stefanowski and Independent Party candidate Rob Hotaling ”“ met for a debate at Mohegan Sun on Tuesday evening. This was the final gubernatorial debate before Election Day and was produced by News 8 WTNH and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM).
The bulk of the debate centered on pressing economic issues.
“I think we’re a lot better off,” Lamont said. “Four years ago, we were looking at $2 billion budget deficits as far as the eye can see.” He claimed that the state had just managed to balance its budget before the shock caused by the start of the Covid pandemic but took credit for making use of federal funds with an eye towards keeping spending to a minimum and amassing a $6 billion rainy day fund for the state. The governor concluded that he would not switch places with any other state in the union economy-wise.
“I think the governor has been living in a different state than Rob and I are,” Stefanowski said. “What I see are the second highest taxes in the entire country, what I see is Eversource today announcing a 40% increase in rates and potential blackouts throughout the winter.”
Stefanowski shared an anecdote about encountering a man in New Haven who asked him if he should buy medication or food for his family. To alleviate those problems Stefanowski called for spending a significant portion of the $6 billion budget surplus that Lamont has made a cornerstone of his campaign, referring to the surplus as a “slush fund.”
Hotaling said that the economy is “okay” but called out Lamont for referring to the state’s “mojo” as something impossible to measure.
“Right now, we have 100,000 jobs that are not filled,” he said, adding the key issue was an achievement gap which can only be closed by strengthening the workforce. Hotaling called Stefanowski’s plan for spending a significant portion of the rainy-day fund irresponsible.
The candidates were also asked what they will do about inflation, and if they will extend the gas tax exemption Lamont instituted.
“The only state in the country with an economy growing slower than Connecticut is Wyoming,” Stefanowski said, calling the economy decidedly poor. He argued Lamont had made the situation worse by siding with Joe Biden, increasing the tax on diesel fuel, and instituting a tax on prepared meals. Stefanowski said his “Connecticut First” plan would lower income taxes and fight inflation through additional gas tax holidays.
Hotaling pointed out that much of the responsibility for fighting inflation falls to the Federal Reserve in setting monetary policy, but said he would want to both reduce government spending and increase housing supply to lower the cost of living alongside extending the gas tax holiday.
“But we need to be focused not just on inflationary measures but also recession measures,” he said, stressing that the state failed to “stick the landing” on previous attempts to pay down debt during recessions and fared poorly when the economy turned worse.
Lamont went on the attack and accused Stefanowski of badmouthing the state with selective statistics. He claimed that Connecticut is one of the faster growing states in the country over the past several years and said the rainy-day fund was necessary to maintain government services without cuts or tax hikes in case of a recession.
The candidates were next asked about how they will handle raising electricity costs and grid instability.
Hotaling said that the state has done almost everything it can with available hydroelectric and natural gas and called for Connecticut to pursue a policy of energy independence. Stefanowski did not answer the question but instead took issue with Lamont’s accusation of him of badmouthing the state, while Lamont highlighted his efforts to keep Millstone Nuclear Power Plant open, pointing out that it generates a significant amount of power with little to no carbon emissions. He also brought up the state’s “doubling down on wind power” and the New London State Pier Project.
Lamont was then asked by the panel about whether the State Pier Project was a mistake given federal corruption probes and cost overruns that brought the $93 million project to more than $250 million, and how he will address the issue going forward.
“I think the investment in State Pier is one of the most important we’ve made in Southeastern Connecticut and more broadly across the state of Connecticut,” Lamont replied, claiming that Stefanowski wanted to “tear up” the contract despite its potential as a source of revenue for the state.
“Somebody at the table needs to represent the taxpayers,” Stefanowski said in response. He depicted the cost overruns as directly costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and laid the blame on the governor. He said that he would not scrap the project but would ensure that Connecticut taxpayers no longer come last in projects.
“What differentiates me from my competitors on stage is that I’m actually in operations ”“ they’re not,” said Hotaling. “It’s the right project, it was just mismanaged.”
The next economic issue discussed was the state’s debt. The candidates were asked at what point in the coming years of expected recession and deficits are tax increases or service cuts necessary.
“First of all,” Stefanowski said, “let’s be clear about where that surplus came from. It’s not anything the administration did, it’s not money that came down from heaven.”
Stefanowski stated the money was federal tax dollars returned to the state in something akin to a shell game. He said he would slash taxes on prepared food, reduce the sales tax, and pay off the unemployment insurance loan.
Hotaling laid out four key points after reiterating that he has the broadest financial experience of anybody on the stage. He wanted to maintain the state’s reserves to prevent cuts to existing programs, ensure that unemployment insurance stays strong in case of layoffs, ensure Medicaid, and provide opportunities for workers to reskill.
Lamont took issue with the depiction of the budget surplus as being the result of “federal largesse.”
“We did that by growing the economy, tens of thousands of new people coming into the state, and capital gains and bonuses as well,” he said, claiming his predecessors had put the state in difficult situations where cuts became necessary that he was working hard to avoid.
The final economic topic of the evening was affordable housing. The candidates were asked if suburban municipalities should be required to construct or approve multi-family housing to address the state’s shortage of affordable units.
“I just recently put out an affordable housing plan,” Hotaling said, urging the audience to visit his campaign site. He drew a sharp division between himself and his opponents, characterizing Lamont as perfectly fine with 8-30g as it stands with only 18% of municipalities in compliance, while Stefanowski wants to repeal it without any alternatives in place.
“I believe strongly in local control of zoning,” Lamont said, but noted “we desperately need more housing.” The governor said many businesses had told him that a lack of housing was limiting their ability to grow. He challenged the members of the debate audience, CCM members, to come up with plans that will work in their municipalities, stating, “You tell us where you want housing to be and there is no 8-30g,” but noted that there were still cases that required an additional push.
Stefanowski recalled growing up in affordable housing but decried that 8-30g had failed to produce results despite being in effect prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. He said that the solution is to repeal the bill and work with the towns unhampered by confusing aspects of the bill.
Photo: (From left to right) Rob Hotaling, Ned Lamont and Bob Stefanowski. Photo by Anthony Quinn / WTNH.
