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From nuclear submarine officer to high-tech entrepreneur to one of Connecticut's leading Republican candidates for governor, Steve Obsitnik has traveled an unlikely path into politics.
It's a path, Obsitnik said in an interview with Daily Voice, that sets him apart from the other two Republican gubernatorial finalists -- whom the Westport businessman called "career politicians."
Obsitnik, a native of Stamford, steers right to the central theme of his campaign: "The biggest problem with Connecticut is we're losing population. One hundred people a day move out of the state."
Obsitnik, 51, said it's not a new problem, but one that grew over decades of poor leadership by a Democrat-led state legislature. Obsitnik is one of three finalists from Fairfield County competing as the Republican Party's candidate for governor. The primary election is in August. The winner faces Democrat Ned Lamont in November's general election.
"The root cause is simple. The same politicians for over three decades have not only bankrupted our state but now our spirits," Obsitnik says on his campaign website. "These politicians are evicting our seniors to Florida, exiling our businesses to South Carolina and making our children Connecticut’s greatest export."
Obsitnik told Daily Voice that he thinks he has the best vision for creating new jobs in Connecticut, and is no stranger to government as a Navy veteran and successful businessman who started three high-tech companies with many government contracts.
"The difference here is I have worked in and around government," Obsitnik said.
Obsitnik said he has a strong vision for driving job growth, fiscal sensibility, investing in education and infrastructure and "rebuilding our reputation as a great state in which to live and work."
On May 12, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton held off a challenge from former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and Obsitnik to win the Republican Party's Convention endorsement at the Foxwoods casino in Mashantucket, as reported here by Daily Voice.
Now, an August primary battle looms between Obsitnik, Herbst and Boughton.
Earlier Daily Voice coverage of the gubernatorial race can be found by clicking here, as well as here.
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