MONROE, CT — The Monroe Sun interviewed both candidates running for the open 21st Senatorial District seat in a special election to be held on Feb. 25. Each question and their answers will be posted in a series of stories leading up to Election Day.
State Rep. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton, is running against Stratford Town Councilman Tony Afriyie, a Democrat. The district includes Shelton and parts of Seymour, Monroe and Stratford.
Registered voters in districts 1 (Fawn Hollow) and 4 (Masuk) will vote in the gym of the former St. Jude School, 707 Monroe Turnpike, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Early voting is still being offered at Monroe Town Hall, 7 Fan Hill Road, this Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
How can legislators help Connecticut’s economy?
Perillo: On the growth front, funding for economic development projects has made a big difference in Shelton, particularly on the riverfront where we’ve seen state dollars generate tens-of-millions of dollars in private investment.
That creates jobs and housing opportunities and keeps property taxes low. I helped to secure grants for infrastructure, for roads and environmental cleanup to make this development possible.
We should also ensure proper state funding for education, because when the state underfunds education that drives local property taxes up for everyone. That money needs to be kept in people’s pockets.
Afriyie: One of my main issues is workplace development. I have a lot of friends I grew up with, for whom college wasn’t an option — by financial means or just by choice. Now, they are working in retail and fast food.
I want to ensure that the future generations know there’s programs to enter advanced manufacturing, and public sector jobs like police officers, firefighters, nurses and teachers.
I think we can provide those core skills and techniques during people’s high school years. We can develop a better trained workforce in the next decade that provides quality pay and dignity of work.
Sikorsky has a program where they pick high school kids over the summer, I think 52 of them. They teach them how to use specific machines or tools and they get paid more than minimum wage. I want to take that model and fund it for different sectors.
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