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First elected to the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting, the investment advisor has also spent years volunteering for Greenwich United Way and Meals on Wheels.
In 2021, Fazio first came to the senate after winning a special election upon the sudden resignation of Sen. Alex Kasser (D). In 2022, by a very slight margin, he beat his democratic opponent to retain his senate seat in the general election. And he'll face a new opponent in democrat Nick Simmons on Nov. 5, 2024.
Name: Ryan Fazio
Age: 34
Occupation: Investment professional
What is your party affiliation? Republican
What past offices have you held? Greenwich RTM Member, District 12
Current Race? State Senate, District 36
If elected, what would you do to improve roads and trains in Fairfield County?
The state needs to spend transportation money more efficiently and give Fairfield County residents their fair share of the total funding. The highways and trains are especially important for residents of our district, but traffic and train speed have gotten worse over time. Our district funds the state government but doesn’t get its fair share of services in return. For example, while Shore Line East and Hartford Line passenger rail receive over $100 of taxpayer subsidies per ride, the New Haven Line receives just over $3 of taxpayer subsidy per ride.
According to NASBO, Connecticut spends more per mile on its highways than any state in the lower 48 states. We need to economize and prioritize. We need to focus dollars on improving traffic flow on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. The DOT should accomplish that by elongating and improving on and off ramps and traffic signaling to reduce congestion on the highway, which will also improve congestion on our local roads.
We also need to maintain service and increase train speeds on Metro North, which we can do by making smart investments like superelevation of tracks. I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to ensure these solutions are prioritized in Hartford.
If elected, what is your position on state spending and the state budget?
One of my top priorities as state senator is to reduce the tax burden on our residents, reduce our cost of living, and increase economic growth for all.
Connecticut has the second highest taxes in the country and, because of that, it has pushed many jobs and residents to other states and depressed growth. I have stood strong in defense of extending the fiscal guardrails and spending caps that were first put into place on a bipartisan basis in 2017. These made it possible for us to deliver a minor tax cut in 2023—which I also supported strongly.
We need to go further, however. We need to make the spending and debt caps permanent and reform our tax code so we can deliver a larger across-the-board tax cut of over $1,000 for the average family. We also need to cap property taxes in the state, like neighboring states have done. We must bring policymakers together for fiscal responsibility and affordability for our state’s future.
What is another top issue or priority in your town or district that you would address in office?
My other top priority is to protect local control of zoning, development, and other decision-making for our municipalities.
I trust our towns and cities to make vital decisions over zoning and other issues, rather than the state to impose decisions on us. Unfortunately, the state already overrides local decisions in many areas, most notably under state statute 8-30g.
That law, which our district knows well, allows developers to ignore local zoning laws if they build anything where 30 percent of the units are deed-restricted—no matter where or how big the development. That includes a recent 105-unit development proposed for a single-family zoned neighborhood in our district. That’s not fair. And it gets worse because senior members of the majority party in Hartford want to substantially increase the mandate and increase property taxes to pay for it, too.
I think we can find common ground that increases housing affordability while putting the towns and cities in the driver’s seat to make their own decisions. This year I was able to co-write two new laws that will provide relief to our towns from 8-30g and stopped another bill this year that would push to undermine local zoning even more.
There is more that we need to do and it’s my priority to find a solution that respects local control while also improving our housing market for everyone in the district and state.
Why should people vote for you?
In just three years, I’ve established a strong record of bipartisan accomplishment in the Senate, co-authoring and passing six new laws to improve our district and state.
I’ve expanded birth control access for women, strengthened oversight of utilities for consumers and limited future costs, and I’ve passed some of the only victories for local control of zoning in a decade. But there is a lot more work to do and that’s why I’m more excited than ever to run for another term.
In an age when politics has become more divisive, I am proud of working constructively with people in both parties to solve problems and make our state a better place. Whether it’s on energy issues or mental health or women’s health or economic issues, I will always work to find common ground and make government work better. And the good news is that it is more possible than I thought when I first ran.
So, in my next term, I will continue working constructively and collaboratively to lower taxes and energy bills, improve health care access, defend local control of zoning and more. We need a state government that is balanced and bipartisan.
Currently there is nearly a veto-proof supermajority in the legislature, but that won’t create better policy in the long run. We need more balance and collaboration. I have a record of doing just that and I hope to earn your vote this November to continue that work on your behalf.
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