Candidates Stay On Point In Three-Way CT Gubernatorial Debate

Petitioning candidate Richard Nelson "Oz" Griebel of Hartford didn't provoke either major party candidate into misspeaking or changing stands from prior debates.

Democrat Ned Lamont continued to emphasize fiscal restraint while Republican Bob Stefanowski continued to emphasize tax cuts and no new tolls. "Your choice is crystal clear. I'll bring change,'' Stefanowski said. 

"The spending in Connecticut is absolutely out of control,'' the former corporate executive for General Electric and UBS Financial Services said. "I'm going to rein it in. We need to do it quickly and I will do it quickly." 

Griebel was the only candidate to say Connecticut needs new tolls for trucks and cars to finance repairs for crumbling roads and bridges. "Electronic tolls have to be part of the longterm solution and not just for trucks,'' Griebel said.

The election is on Nov. 6.

The one question on which all three candidates answered completely differently was on whether Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, should be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Griebel said women who have complained of sex abuse or assault should be heard. Stefanowski called it a federal issue so declined to state an opinion. Lamont said that he would not support Kavanaugh, pointing out that governors nominate Supreme Court judges in their states.

Stefanowski also declined to grade Donald Trump on his presidency so far — though he did say the president should Tweet less. Griebel and Lamont gave Trump a D+ and an F, respectively.

The clearest contrasts came in how to deal with the state budget crisis, with Griebel emphasizing transportation improvements and Lamont suggesting cuts to health care costs, shared services with municipalities and structural budget reform. 

"You need somebody who's going to have a budget ready to go four months from today. Not more taxes, but more taxpayers. We have a $2.5 billion deficit in year one," Lamont said.

Lamont, a cable-TV entrepreneur, insisted that Stefanowski's plan to cut state taxes will merely add another $11 billion to the government deficit. "I want fiscal stability," Lamont said.

But Stefanowski maintained that cutting taxes and blocking tolls is the only way to get the local economy moving again and keep Connecticut residents from migrating to other states at the rate of 80 per day. "What the state needs is honesty,'' Stefanowski said. 

Griebel is a former banker, lawyer, and was a Republican primary candidate in the 2010 gubernatorial election. He said the state has had no correction in fiscal direction in 10 years. 

Lamont pointed out that he and Griebel were the only candidates who challenged current Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in past elections.  “This is sort of a unique opportunity for me. I’ve only run against Democrats before. Oz is a traditional Republican and Bob is more of a Trump Republican.,” Lamont said, referencing his 2006 primary run against U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and his 2010 challenge to Gov. Malloy.

Griebel, who was previously registered as a Republican but is now running as an unaffiliated candidate, clarified: “Let’s be clear, I am an independent.” He later offered a second clarification, he is not a member of the Independent Party, which he pointed out endorsed Stefanowski with only 40 votes out of its 25,000 members. Griebel received 14 votes.

But Stefanowski repeated: "Ned Lamont will be Dan Malloy 2.0. We're taxing people to the point at which they're leaving. ..." 

"Bob is just making it up,'' Lamont countered. "I'm going to be tough as nails. Please dismiss all the cheap attacks. ... The question is: what are we going to do moving forward?"

Stefanowski, meanwhile, pointed out that Connecticut ranks fourth worst in the nation as far as the poor quality of its roads and bridges and that home prices have dropped by 17 percent. 

"People in Connecticut right now are losing hope. We need a change to bring hope back to the young people of Connecticut,'' Stefanowski said. "We can't keep going the way we're going."

Griebel joined Lamont of Greenwich and Stefanowski of Madison on stage at the WFSB/University of Connecticut debate at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs. 

"The biggest challenge we're facing in Connecticut is a crisis of confidence,'' Griebel said. "You're the future of Connecticut," he told the UConn student audience. 

About 30 minutes into the debate, Griebel took his jacket off, making him appear a little more relaxed. He was not included in the two last two televised debates, which were covered by Daily Voice here as well as here.

Lamont and Stefanowski have agreed to two final debates on Oct. 18 and an Oct. 30.

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