Dems Pick State Senate Candidates

At nominating conventions last night in Westport and Greenwich, local Democrats chose their candidates for state Senate races in the two districts that cover New Canaan. The party named John Hartwell as their candidate in the 26th district, which also covers parts of Bethel, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton. At the same time, town Democrats joined others in Stamford and Greenwich, choosing Nancy Barton to run for the seat from the 36th district, which includes portions of the three towns.

Hartwell ran two years ago against Toni Boucher, receiving 47 percent of the vote. The nominee said that two years ago he did not feel comfortable with it being his first time running, and he feels that hurt his chances.  “It took me a while to get my sea legs,” the Westport resident said.

With the experience of running under his belt, he feels that he is more ready to start helping the state government and fixing the budget problems facing Connecticut in the upcoming years. He explained how this year, the budget was balanced by borrowing money, dipping into the rainy day fund, shorting pension contributions, and other methods that he said have to stop. Hartwell said, “There are lots and lots of problems and we need to get to all of them, but the first one is the budget.”

Next year looks to be even more difficult for the state budget, with possibly a $4 billion or more shortfall in revenue, which is about 22 percent of the current budget. Hartwell then said that Republicans want to cut everything, but that is “not credible” to him, and that Democrats want to tax the rich, but in Connecticut they define rich as Fairfield County, which is unacceptable to him. “We are not the A.T.M. for Hartford,” he said.

Hartwell also discussed his three principles which he will take to Hartford if elected to help get the state out of the mess it currently finds itself in.  The first is to share the pain, because there will have to be layoffs and an end to borrowing, but Hartwell said benefits will be seen later. The second principle of his plan is to protect the weak, and not to cut or severely damage the programs that help those who need assistance. Investing in the future is the third and final principle, because Hartwell does not want to create a quick fix, but rather wants to focus on the long term. “We have to grow another region in the state and we have to grow another industry in the state to create more balance,” Hartwell said.

Hartwell made it clear that he does not know the answers to the problems in Connecticut, but does now how he wants to go about looking for the answers--by sticking to his principles and trying to work with everyone who will be elected.

Barton, the 36th district nominee, is currently a member of the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation. Her grandfather, H. Allen Barton, was the last Democrat to hold the 36th district seat, from 1930-1932. “He served us proudly and well, and I intend to meet the high bar that he set 80 years ago,” Barton said in a press release.

Before joining the Greenwich BET in 2006, Barton worked in the legal department of General Electric Capital, retiring in 2003. She is currently Board President of Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut, Inc., a non-profit group that provides mental health services to children and families in southwestern Connecticut.

Barton is expected to challenge Republican incumbent L. Scott Frantz. This is the first time Frantz is running for re-election, first winning the seat in 2008, defeating Stamford’s Mark Diamond for the seat vacated by long-tenured Republican William Nickerson.

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