6th District Debate Focuses on Budget, Jobs, Accusations

When former state Rep. Terry Gerratana and New Britain Mayor Tim Stewart met to debate Saturday at Trinity on Main in New Britain, the two 6th District state senate candidates fielded questions from the audience on a range of issues including health care, air quality, education and the economy. 

Outside about a dozen Gerratana supporters cheered and waved signs, urging drivers to honk as they passed by. Inside about 150 people, many of them New Britain Democrats and including Farmington Republicans and Democratic former state Rep. Demetrios Giannaros, gathered to submit questions and hear the candidates’ answers.

To address the deficit, Stewart said the state must scale back government, put a moratorium on bonding projects, get concessions and scrutinize benefits and create a more business-friendly environment in Connecticut.

Gerratana agreed. “All options must be on the table to come up with a solution to this deficit. We need to not just look at our spending side where we’re spending but also the tax side to make it a little fairer a little more equitable.” Then, she said the state could go on to creating jobs.

“The first issue is to get on that sound fiscal footing,” she said. “We have to come up with a policy in our state. Our economy in our state right now is focused on education, health care and there is manufacturing in our state,” Gerratana said, adding that she had helped manufacturing companies to purchase equipment with tax incentives in the past.

“Once we have a policy in place we have to help businesses that want to come, smaller, start-up businesses… helping these companies with targeted, temporary assistance.”

Stewart responded, saying the state’s immediate need is to bring in jobs.

“We need to create a business-friendly environment in Connecticut. We’re the second worst in job growth to Michigan. That’s pretty sad for what was once the richest state in the union,” Stewart said.

Stewart said he would consolidate economic development agencies to create one point of entry for businesses looking to move into the state.

Gerratana said she had helped bring New Britain into the business enterprise zone, which lured companies like Celebration Foods, the Carvel giant Stewart is known for capturing.

Picking up on it, Stewart said the Celebration Foods CEO told him ‘Connecticut is the most unfriendly business state and I can go anywhere I want.’

“We were able to overcome that by putting together a team that could offer incentives to make that work,” Stewart said. He pointed to mandatory sick time and corporate taxes, saying, “sticking your hands in their pockets is not the way to make it more friendly.”

The debate closed with Gerratana openly accusing Stewart of awarding bids to “cronies and aldermanic people on the council.” New Britain Democrats had made the accusation earlier in the week.

Stewart called it the “most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,” and that “they keep trying to manufacture the issue.”

The subject had been raised by a question about municipal ethics codes, which New Britain aldermen authored in Stewart’s first term as mayor. But it opened the door for Gerratana to take a shot at Stewart and agitated, he fired back, saying her husband had been getting no-bid workman’s compensation work until he became mayor.

Moderator Dr. Mark Russak quickly moved to closing statements, which Gerratana used to quote President John F. Kennedy and take a final shot at Stewart saying she would “protect our neighbors friends and those most vulnerable” as “a full-time state senator.”

Stewart touted his record and leadership skills in bringing jobs to New Britain, saying the state needs the same. Instead, he said, the state has slapped towns “in the face with less funding, more regulations and unfunded mandates.” To counter Gerratana’s jab about keeping his job as city mayor, Stewart said, “I will work 24/7 to make Farmington, New Britain and Berlin great places to live and work.”

The debate will be broadcast on Nutmeg TV and AT&T U-Verse on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 9 p.m.

The 6th District covers New Britain, Berlin and Farmington and the special election will be held Feb. 22.