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Tong, Mahoney Take on Gas Prices, Jobs

William Tong and Dennis Mahoney went toe-to-toe Thursday in their quest for votes to be the seat in the 147th state House District. The debate, sponsored by the New Canaan chapter of the League of Women Voters, became contentious at times as Tong talked about all he was fighting to do in Hartford while Mahoney sought to label his opponent as just another Democrat.

Tong, the incumbent, talked about how he has opposed zoned gas pricing, which has forced many area residents to pay higher prices for gas than people in the rest of the state. "I took personal ownership of that issue," Tong said. "Fighting Big Oil and taking them on, saying, 'Look, no way. We shouldn't pay more for gas just because you think we can afford it.'"

Mahoney, who is a petitioning candidate though he has the support of Republicans in the district's towns, criticized Tong for his questioning of a gas company executive and noted that no changes had been made to zone pricing. The 147th District includes parts of Stamford and New Canaan.

The best thing to do concerning energy costs, Mahoney said, is to cut taxes. "The state of Connecticut can do something. It can cut these gas taxes, one of the highest in the nation. And the Democrats, including William Tong, chose not to do that," Mahoney said.

Tong said job creation and retaining major employers is key for Connecticut. "We need to fight harder to bring these companies here and to address the underlying fundamental issues, which are energy, health care and transportation," he said.

Mahoney said the state doesn't create enough jobs. "We need to restrain spending. We need to decrease the number of state workers on the payroll. We need to work on the unfunded liabilities that we have and we need to create jobs," he said.

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