CT Governor’s Race 2018: Meet All 5 Candidates

HARTFORD, CT — The race for governor is in the final stretch as two major party and three minor party candidates seek to replace Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who decided not to run for a third term. The next governor of Connecticut will face the unenviable task of sorting out the state’s long-term fiscal mess starting with a projected $1.9 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year and a $2.5 billion deficit in the following fiscal year.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll puts Democrat Ned Lamont ahead of Republican Bob Stefanowski 47 to 39 percent with independent candidate Oz Griebel rising to 11 percent. Still, the poll found that 21 percent of voters might change their mind. In other words the race isn’t in the bag for anyone.

On the top of voters minds is Connecticut’s economy, taxes and government spending. The next governor could be a deciding factor on the future of electronic tolling and recreational marijuana legalization in the state as well.

The race is also partially defined by two men who aren’t running for governor. Stefanowski has painted Lamont as Malloy 2.0 while Lamont has criticized Stefanowski’s support of President Donald Trump.

Follow along here for live election updates:

• CT Governor Election Results 2018: Voters Head To the Polls
  
• CT U.S. Senate Election Results 2018: Chris Murphy Vs. Matt Corey

Below are profiles on the governor candidates.

Ned Lamont, Democrat

Lamont crushed Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim in the primary by a four to one margin to secure his spot on the ballot.

He served as a one-term Greenwich selectman before his 2006 bid for U.S. Senate where he beat incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary.

Lieberman came back to challenge Lamont as an independent candidate and ultimately kept his seat.
Lamont first tried to run for governor in 2010, but lost to now-Gov. Dannel Malloy in the Democratic primary.

His business background is in the telecom industry where he started his own company Lamont Digital Systems. The company's Campus Televideo provides cable television solutions to more than 220 colleges across the country. The division was sold in 2015.

Lamont supports paid family and medical leave, a $15 minimum wage and strong labor rights. He also wants a Medicaid buy-in option that would allow younger participants to join.

He wants to make the first two years of public college or university free for residents who commit to living and working in Connecticut after they graduate.

Lamont would push for legalized recreational marijuana. Taxes from sale and regulation could be used to fund opioid treatments.

He has come out in favor of electronic tolling of heavy trucks. A truck organization sued Rhode Island over a similar plan, but the case is pending.

He also believes that air service should be expanded at Bradley, Tweed and Sikorsky airports.

Upgrades to the New Haven Metro North line could bring a trip from New Haven to New York down to one hour and 15 minutes. He also wants to invest in high speed rail that would bring the commute to an hour.

To tackle the opioid addiction crisis Lamont wants to increase the number of practitioners who can prescribe buprenorphine for addiction treatment and increase funding for proven addiction treatment. Lamont also wants insurers to cover the entire cost of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone.

He also wants to cap out of pocket drug prices at $275 per month for consumers.

Susan Bysiewicz, Democrat Lt. Governor candidate

Bysiewicz previously served as secretary of the state and in the state legislature. She is a graduate of Yale University and Duke Law School and published a book biography on Connecticut’s first female governor Ella Grasso.

Most recently she has been a business lawyer and has helped dozens of businesses secure tens of millions of dollars in funding, according to her campaign biography.

She supports equal pay for women, sustainable energy, and a single payer medical insurance option for Connecticut residents.

Bob Stefanowski, Republican

Stefanowski won the Republican primary with a convincing 29.4 percent out of five candidates, besting Republican nominee Mark Boughton by nearly eight points.

Stefanowski was most recently the CEO of DFC Global Corp. in London and Philadelphia. Prior to that he worked at several other businesses including a division chief executive officer position at General Electric from 1994 to 2007.
Stefanowski was briefly a Democrat for eight months and switched last July to the Republican party, according to the Courant. He asserted that other prominent Republicans including President Donald Trump were at one time Democrats.

Stefanowski plans to phase out the corporate income tax and business entity tax over two years and the state income tax over eight years. He would also work to eliminate the gift and estate taxes. A Quinnipiac University poll found that 49 percent of voters want to eliminate the tax, but 56 percent said it wasn't realistic to do within eight years as it makes up about half of the state’s revenues.

He argues the gift and estate taxes drive people to other tax-free states and Connecticut is the only state that has both taxes. About $6 billion of adjusted gross income has left Connecticut for Florida.

They only raise about one percent of the state's revenues, but are a drag on the state's economy.

Stefanowski said he isn’t opposed to considering recreational marijuana legalization, but the state should worry about bigger problems first.

Stefanowski said he wants to contract out certain government services including the DMV and implement zero-based budgeting that would start Connecticut's budget off with a blank piece of paper and add in only necessary services.

Stefanowski also wants to impose a 10-year term limit for state legislators and an 8-year term for governor along with the ability for voters to recall elected state officials.

He also wants to give voters referendum powers.

His tenure at DFC has become a source of attacks as the company offered controversial payday loans; short term loans with effectively high interest rates. The type of loans offered are illegal in Connecticut.

Stefanowski said he got rid of 28 out of 30 executives when he was hired by DFC and that he ended the company’s controversial auto loan business that required a $3.3 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Joe Markley, Republican Lt. Gov Candidate

Markley first served in the State Senate in 1984 for one term and then again since 2010. He has been a critic of Gov. Dannel Malloy. His district covers Waterbury, Southington, Wolcott, Cheshire and Prospect.

Markley helped organize the massive “Axe the Tax” rally that sought to dissuade Connecticut from passing the income tax in the early 1990’s.

Oz Griebel, Griebel Frank for CT Party

Griebel isn’t affiliated with any major political party and recently surged into double-digit territory in the Quinnipiac Poll, which helped get him a spot in the latest gubernatorial debate.

Griebel led the MetroHartford Alliance for 17 years. The organization advocates for state policies on behalf of businesses. He also has served on the boards of numerous charitable, educational and business organizations.

Griebel maintains that the two-party system has failed Connecticut with anemic job growth over the past 30 years and has plunged the state into a budget crisis.

He supports recreational marijuana legalization with taxes that would be spent on mental health, substance abuse programs and education. He wants to incentivise the regional delivery of municipal services such as trash collection to save money.

Griebel is in favor of electronic tolling with a pilot program on I-91 and I-84 in the HOV lanes.

Griebel is seeking to eventually reduce the personal income tax to 4.5 percent, which is what it was when first enacted. He also wants to eliminate the business entity tax.

For pension liabilities he wants to securitize all state-owned assets except public parks and contribute the proceeds to state employee and teacher pension funds.

Lt. Gov Monte Frank

Frank is a past president of the Connecticut Bar Association and a litigation lawyer with Pullman & Comley where he represents businesses and municipal clients.

His hometown is Newtown and he leads Team 26, which is a group of cyclists who ride from Newtown to Washington to raise issues on gun violence.

Rodney Hanscomb, Libertarian Lt. Gov candidate Jeffrey Thibeault

Hanscomb served six years in the U.S. military

He cites states like fast-growing Washington, which has no income tax and a higher sales tax. A manager making $200,000 a year in California pays $18,000 per year in income tax, but nothing in Washington, which leads many executives to move their businesses to low or no income tax states, he said in his campaign biography.

He also wants to move state pensions to a 401k-style plan and dismantle the welfare system in Connecticut.

Mark Stewart, Amigo Constitution Party

Stewart wants to bring an NHL team back to Connecticut. He would veto any law longer than two pages and push to repeal three laws for every new one passed.

He also wants to reinstate the death penalty and end the income tax.

Stewart taught SAT prep courses while in law school and founded Education excellence, which “gives students more post-grad opportunities through outsourced in-school guidance counseling,” according to his campaign website.

His first lieutenant governor candidate dropped out, which will require municipalities to repurchase ballots, which could cost towns and cities between $200,000 and $250,000 collectively, according to CT News Junkie.

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