Candidate Profile: Jennifer Leeper For Fairfield State Rep.
CONNECTICUT — The 2020 election is heating up in Connecticut and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. Eyes are primarily focused on the presidential election, but every state representative and senate seat is up for grabs. All five of Connecticut's congressional seats are up for grabs as well.
There are 151 seats in the state House of Representatives and 36 in the state Senate. Democrats currently hold majorities in both chambers with a 91 to 60 lead over Republicans in the House and a 22 to 14 lead in the Senate.
Connecticut Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.
Jennifer Leeper, a Democrat, is running for state House of Representatives District 132.
Age: 36
Party affiliation: Democratic Party
Family: I am married to Nick Leeper who is a principal at RJA Asset Management. Together we are raising our two young boys, Sam (6) and Ben (4).
Occupation: In 2019, I started a small digital marketing and consulting business. We worked with a variety of mission-driven clients ranging from nonprofits to entrepreneurs to candidates. To avoid any conflicts, I ended my partnership prior to this campaign. Before that I was an education service specialist for the Connecticut State Department of Education from 2013-17, where I worked on education policy for the state and managed the department's largest data collection and analysis. Prior to moving to Connecticut, I was a school administrator for an elementary school in NYC from 2011-13, where I was the director of special education and oversaw all academic data. While I was in graduate school in Chicago (2009-2011), I interned in Pretoria, South Africa with John Snow Inc., supporting a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program. It was a fantastic experience but it is what propelled me to change my policy focus from international development to education. Upon my return from South Africa, I worked on the West Side of Chicago with students who were identified as high risk for dropping out and it cemented my deep commitment to education.
Previous elected experience: Fairfield Board of Education member (2017-present)
Family members in government: My brother is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Campaign website: leeperforfairfield.com
The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.
The single most pressing issue facing our state is rebuilding our economy, and I think we must:
1. Aggressively market Connecticut to NYC businesses and highlight our regional advantage to those fleeing the city to free themselves from massive rental obligations, and to be closer to where their workers want to live
2. Offer businesses longevity and growth tax incentives, and
3. Invest in our transportation infrastructure.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
The issues that face Connecticut are complex and require honest and difficult conversations with all stakeholders. Our economic challenges are far more complex than "wasteful government spending" but rather are driven by our unfunded pension liabilities, which were 70 years in the making. I will alway be honest about the challenges we face and will communicate with our community transparently about them. There are no silver bullets to get us out of this predicament, which will continue to require difficult conversations and decisions — this is work to which I am deeply committed.
Additionally, I will never publicly claim to be in support of an issue and then vote against it. I am the pro-education candidate. I have spent my career working to improve school quality and expand access to educational opportunities for all students. I have done this work with an understanding of educational challenges both rooted in data and with the firsthand experience of working in schools and witnessing the intricacies teachers and staff face on the ground. Here on Fairfield's Board of Education, I have thorough, firsthand knowledge of the importance of local control for the vast majority of issues. However, the pandemic, in particular, has highlighted the places where state-level intervention would have been helpful, in such instances as leveraging the state’s purchasing power to bulk order COVID-related resources and relieving the financial strain on districts.
Finally, my track record shows tangible evidence of my independent thinking and willingness to work with elected officials of both parties. It is easy to claim to be bipartisan, it is much harder to do the work, build those relationships, and achieve bipartisan solutions. I know that good ideas, critical thinking, and creative solutions are not bound by party affiliation. I will always be thorough in my research to act in the best interests of my Fairfield constituents.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I earned a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. Through this training I learned how to use data to analyze complex problems, identify common ground, and build solutions. It is exactly this approach I think we need more of in Connecticut's General Assembly. When I was first elected, I conducted an audit of all the unfunded mandates that applied to the schools, evaluated which were costly and not beneficial to improving student outcomes. It became clear that the state mandate around teacher evaluation was laborious, expensive, and not effectively achieving its goals. I calculated that this mandate cost the district between $650,000 to 800,000 per year in administrator hours and demonstrated no tangible connection to improvements in teacher practice. I worked with the then-superintendent to request a waiver of this mandate from the State Department of Education and to propose an alternative evaluation program.
As a member of Fairfield's Board of Education, I've always prioritized seeking out opinions that are different from my own to challenge my thinking and to expand my perspective. I regularly reach across the aisle to talk through complex issues and ensure I'm understanding all sides. We deserve that kind of decency and respect in our leaders.
Do you believe Connecticut needs reform when it comes to electric utility oversight? What steps, if any should be taken?
In terms of utility-oversight our current system has PURA regulating the utilities and the Office of Consumer Counsel serving as the ratepayer advocate. Together these two oversight agencies hold our utilities accountable, ensure energy in Connecticut is reliable and affordable, and ensure that our grid is resilient. However, until now there has not been a performance-based aspect to their oversight and the bill that is before the General Assembly for the upcoming Special Session has the approval of both PURA and DEEP to add performance-based metrics. I am in strong support of this.
Additionally, the role of the Office of Consumer Counsel must evolve so as to make climate goals, alongside affordability, a part of their advocacy agenda. As of now the OCC advocates on behalf of the consumer to ensure ratepayers pay fair rates (i.e.: least cost). However, it needs to evolve to advocate for the “best” solutions, which would also factor in long term renewable goals.
What steps should state government take to bolster economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic for local businesses?
From my numerous discussions with local business owners, there are a number of things the state government should be doing to bolster economic recovery: reduce bureaucratic red tape, streamline permitting and certifying agencies, improve communication between the state and businesses, and offer businesses some guarantees around stability periods where regulations and taxes will remain consistent. Additionally, we could spur investment in our local retail with quarterly tax holidays for our local businesses until the economy has recovered from the COVID-induced downturn.
List other issues that define your campaign platform:
I am proud to be a Moms Demand Gun Sense Candidate of Distinction and to have received an “A” rating from CT Against Gun Violence. Prioritizing the safety, health, and well-being of our children and our community is my top priority.
When the heinous Sandy Hook shooting happened, I was an elementary school administrator in NYC. I witnessed firsthand the impact our failures to pass common-sense gun safety measures had on our children every day. Our children continue to be affected by anxiety and fear over their safety at school and out in the world. A lot of progress has been made here in Connecticut but there is still more work to be done. Chief among that outstanding work is to implement Threat Assessment Programs in our schools to ensure professionals are in place to intervene at the earliest signs of concerning behavior. Additionally, I have signed the CAGV pledge committed to ending community gun violence.
According to CAGV, “Gun violence costs Connecticut an estimated $1.2 billion every year. Of that, measurable hard costs are $430 million, of which at least $90 million is paid by taxpayers each year.” Combating gun violence is not only our moral obligation but it is a critical economic issue.
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
We need leaders to recommit to listening, engaging in difficult conversations, and who will disagree without vilifying one another. This practice is the only way to build understanding and replace fear with compassion. We have become too isolated from one another and it is not serving us. I believe in data-backed policy over posturing to score political points and grandstanding. Most people I’ve met don’t fully identify with anyone’s agenda and they find all the politicking exhausting. They want someone working on their behalf who listens to them and proposes solutions. It’s not easy or quick work but the objective is simple — leverage our government to improve people’s lives. I promise you that I will never lose sight of this objective. This is the role our elected officials have a duty to fulfill and my commitment to it will not waiver.
This article originally appeared on the Fairfield Patch
