Oct. 13—State Sen. Martha Marx and her Republican challenger, Shaun Mastroianni, said it’s those local issues revolving around housing and utility bills that weigh most heavily on the minds — and wallets — of the 20th District voters who they hope to represent.
The district covers Bozrah, East Lyme, New London, Old Lyme, Salem, Waterford and parts of Montville and Old Saybrook.
Marx, a 61-year-old New London resident who’s worked as a registered nurse for 39 years, was first elected to state office in 2022 after defeating her Republican challenger, Jerry Labriola Jr., with 52.25% of the vote.
Marx’s win was preceded by back to back losses to former Republican Sen. Paul Formica, who retired ahead of the 2022 election.
“I love the 20th District and have lived here almost my entire life,” Marx said. “And I know every road. I know the 20th District.”
Mastroianni, a 43-year-old Old Lyme resident is the chief operating officer of the nonprofit senior living organization Connecticut Baptist Homes Inc. He also owns Antonio Hair Design in Mystic and Mastroianni LLC, a rental property company, with his husband.
“A lot of people approached me and I think what struck me is we really don’t have representation in our district currently,” he said. “We have an absent senator.”
Mastroianni, a former six-year member of the Board of Warden and Burgesses in Stonington Borough, in 2018 ran an unsuccessful bid as a Republican against state Rep. Kate Rotella, D-Stonington.
Housing access a top concern
Marx said, if re-elected, getting a handle on the state’s housing crisis will be her primary priority.
“Housing, absolutely number one,” she said. “Nothing came out of the Housing Committee last year and we need to deal with it with urgency. We need housing and we need housing that middle- and working-class people can afford. And not just apartments. We need to build some starter homes.”
Marx said the biggest obstacle to new home construction, especially modest residences like cape- and ranch-style structures, is zoning.
“And it’s not cost-effective for the builders to build them, so we have to figure out a way to make it cost-effective,” Marx said.
Mastroianni said young people discouraged by skyrocketing rents are leaving the state.
“Nobody’s rents should be going up $900 in one month,” he said, praising the recent formation of a Fair Rent Commission in East Lyme. “We really need to look at doing some sustainable incentivising through the state. I do not think the state should get involved in local zoning. It should be decided by the people that live in those towns.”
Curbing electric costs
Mastroianni said high utility bills are another frequent issue cited by voters. He said re-examining the work of the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, is an option he’d explore.
“We have to look at diversifying electric and maybe capping what we buy electric at wholesale,” he said.
Marx said she’s a proponent of greater transparency with power-purchasing agreements, citing a 2017 agreement with the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford.
“They did this power-purchase agreement — and Millstone is clean energy, and I wish we had more Millstones — but the fact that they didn’t have to open their books, I didn’t like,” she said. “Normal, middle-class people, we have to show our books for everything.”
Marx said she’s pleased with her district’s strides in the green energy sector, specifically those productions connected to nuclear, solar and wind.
Marx said her constituents have raised a range of issues with her, many connected with health care. She said parents have brought up concerns over how school district provide school meal nutrition data and seniors call worried about the loss of their traditional land-line phones.
Marx said she was particularly proud of championing a Senate bill that included protections for home health care workers that was spurred by the murder of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson in October 2023.
“I won’t say that if I wasn’t in the Senate the bill wouldn’t have passed, but me being there guaranteed it would,” Marx said.
Pro-life candidates differ on issue’s local resonance
Marx said she’s hyper-alert to any threat to women’s reproductive rights.
“I’m fine with saying abortion,” she said, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v Wade. “If you’re a woman, you’re having your rights taken away. Nationally, we have had our rights taken away and we could have legislation says if you get pregnant, you need to go register somewhere and they’re going to follow you around. And don’t think it’s not going to happen. Everyone told us Roe v Wade was never going to be overturned.”
Mastroianni said he, too, is staunchly pro-choice and supports ensuring health care is available for mothers and unborn babies.
“But I don’t think it’s an issue in our district or our state because we still are protected to have that choice,” he said. “It’s local issues I hear about, and it’s very rare to hear about those national issues.”
Mastroianni acknowledged that if elected as a freshman senator ― especially a Republican lawmaker whose party is in the minority ― he’ll need allies from across the party aisle.
“You have to realize that you as one person cannot be effective by yourself,” he said. “You really need to work on fostering those relationships and building those positive relationships and then pushing your ideas and combining those ideas across the party.”
Marx said her political tenure has given her access to a broad swath of constituents.
“I go into poor people’s houses and rich people’s houses,” she said. “I see people young with cancer and old with dementia. I understand how hard life is and I just want to continue my nursing advocacy as a senator and continue to help the people in my district.”
j.penney@theday.com
Martha Marx-D
Connecticut has $37 billion in unfunded pension obligations and a history of mismanaging its pension program. How should the state pay down this pension debt? What changes would you propose, if any, to existing pension programs for state and municipal employees? Be specific.
Past practices put our pension obligations into serious neglect. Over the past three years Connecticut has deposited $7.7 billion in additional funds into our two pension systems. This additional funding has resulted in $16.37 billion in savings over the next 25 years for the state and has reduced our annual pension payments moving forward by $647 million per year. The payments to the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) have plateaued and a plateau is imminent for the Teachers Retirement System, meaning the state will have much more manageable and stable systems to fund going forward. Much of this savings was due to agreed-upon changes in the SERS. Those changes made this program viable and sustainable, but if any more drastic changes are made, I fear it will become challenging to find long-term, qualified state employees. We must ensure that we are retaining our employees after we invest training and resources in them. We have reformed the state employee pension system four times and it is cheaper now to run than it was 10 years ago, because of leadership who hasn’t been afraid to tackle big problems. I would continue with this plan to keep us on track.
Rents are unaffordable for many working, disabled and retired people and youth are losing hope that they’ll ever be able to afford a home. Do you believe the state needs more affordable housing? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to increase affordable housing? If no, why is more affordable housing not needed?
Yes, I believe the state needs more affordable housing. As a home care RN, I see the housing needs of seniors and disabled daily. We must protect the housing stock we have from predatory private equity firms and aid our municipalities in planning for affordable housing. Housing is a human right and lack thereof or inadequate housing is a public health crisis. This is a challenge that all eight municipalities in the 20th District must tackle together. Almost everyone agrees, if you work in a town, you should be able to afford to live in that town. This year the state Senate worked on many types of legislation regarding housing, including using surplus state land for affordable housing development. More creative solutions for all kinds of housing are needed to solve this crisis. There is a coalition of nonprofit organizations in eastern Connecticut working to tackle the immediate housing need and I believe in strengthening partnerships with these organizations. I would like to see legislation to encourage affordable development and allow the municipalities to direct the development in their communities. We need elected officials who have the courage to make the difficult decisions and I am one of those officials.
Is climate change a problem for the state? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to address climate change. If no, why is it not a problem?
Yes, climate change is a threat to the state. The increasing extreme weather events we have experienced are the proof we need that climate change is a problem for Connecticut. I am proud of legislation that has passed in Connecticut to increase clean energy, especially wind and solar. I would support increased investments in clean energy and our electric grid infrastructure to ensure a healthy environment that will reduce reliance on fossil fuel and nuclear energy. In addition to energy policy, I also believe we need to protect our coastline by improving resiliency. We need to fund projects that will protect Long Island Sound as well as our communities. Restoring and protecting wetlands, marshlands and forests will be imperative. A report earlier this year from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection indicated that Connecticut is not on track to meet 2030 pollution reduction goals and that emissions are on the rise. This needs to change and we need legislators who will drive this conversation. I have made environment and climate change a priority with the funding I have championed, and will continue to champion, if I have the privilege to continue to serve the 20th District as state senator.
Shaun Mastroianni-R
Connecticut has $37 billion in unfunded pension obligations and a history of mismanaging its pension program. How should the state pay down this pension debt? What changes would you propose, if any, to existing pension programs for state and municipal employees? Be specific.
Since 2020, Connecticut has contributed over $7 billion to state employee and teachers’ retirement systems, with nearly a billion expected soon. Currently, the state pays less than $200 million a year for normal retirement costs, but over $1.5 billion annually to address decades of underfunding. Therefore, there is no need to cut retirement benefits.
To further manage our pension debt, I propose:
Continued Commitment to Funding: We must consistently prioritize pension contributions in future budgets to meet long-term obligations.
Enhanced Fiscal Management: Implement stricter oversight and transparency in pension fund management by hiring independent auditors or creating an independent board to regularly review investment strategies. We should also prioritize funding contributions during budget negotiations to address these obligations without resorting to tax increases.
Rents are unaffordable for many working, disabled and retired people and youth are losing hope that they’ll ever be able to afford a home. Do you believe the state needs more affordable housing? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to increase affordable housing? If no, why is more affordable housing not needed?
Yes, Connecticut needs more affordable housing, especially as the state has become increasingly unaffordable. This issue is partly due to one-party rule and poor fiscal management. To address this, I propose:
Incentivizing Local Development: We should offer targeted incentives for developers to build affordable housing while ensuring that local towns maintain control over any developments. This ensures projects align with community needs and standards.
Empowering Local Decision-Making: Rather than imposing state mandates, we must strengthen local governments’ ability to make housing decisions that reflect their unique needs and values.
Fiscal Responsibility: We need to prioritize funding for essential services and rein in unnecessary spending to create a stable economic environment that supports affordable housing.
Is climate change a problem for the state? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to address climate change. If no, why is it not a problem?
Climate change is indeed a pressing issue for Connecticut, particularly for our coastal communities. To address this, I propose:
Coastal Resilience Planning: We need to invest in comprehensive coastal resilience strategies to protect our shorelines from erosion and flooding. This includes enhancing natural barriers like marshes and implementing smart infrastructure that can withstand severe weather events.
Collaborative Solutions: I plan to bring together environmental scientists, business leaders, and community stakeholders to develop actionable solutions that protect our environment while supporting economic growth. We can implement initiatives such as eelgrass restoration to improve coastal ecosystems, ensuring that our communities are prepared for climate-related challenges without imposing undue burdens on our economy.
