Candidate Profile: Dan Carter For 2nd Assembly District

BETHEL, CT — Dan Carter, 53, and a resident of Bethel, is running for House of Representatives District 2. He is on the ballot as a Republican and has also been endorsed by the Independent Party.
Carter is married with two children, and has been in business as a consultant for six years. He has previously been elected to serve in the House for District 2 in 2010, 2012 and again in 2014.

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Our most pressing issue is rebuilding our economy, starting with getting people back to work and school safely. We have to ensure our businesses and local restaurants survive the winter and that we help those who are facing hardships, especially those without access to healthcare. With deficits and our failing unemployment fund looming on the horizon, we need to be smart about how we use our resources.

I have learned from my time in Hartford that the Republicans need to have a greater role in the budget and a role in solving the more controversial issues that face our state. Most of the time Republicans and Democrats agree that we need a solution to a problem, but we are miles apart on how to get there. The divide in how we accomplish our goals has grown even wider with the extremes in both political parties gaining power. I think a better collaboration between Republicans and Democrats could help solve major issues, which is why I will be starting a new caucus in Hartford.

There are various caucuses in Hartford, but none are dedicated to taking on issues with the sole priority of finding common ground. While there are a few legislative caucuses in Hartford that are created to support industries or issues, most are based on their members' sex, race, age, or political ideology. Using the Problem Solver's Caucus in Washington as a model, the goal would be to address key issues facing the state and appeal to a broad group of Connecticut residents and find common sense solutions. Having served on six of the committees in Hartford and two caucuses, I've learned when we work closely and form relationships, we tend to find better ideas. The caucus will be chaired by a Republican and a Democrat and have equal members of both parties. I think this would be a good step in bringing back bipartisanship to Hartford.

There are tough challenges ahead with Covid-19 and our economic recovery. New taxes and fees shouldn't be our only option to fuel our recovery. We can't afford the same policies that have driven people and jobs out of the state. Especially now that we have an opportunity to grow with people settling in Connecticut from New York.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Experience:

After graduating from college, I joined the US Air Force as an officer and a pilot. I was part of many operations including Desert Storm and Provide Promise over Bosnia. In addition to my flying duties, as I rose in rank, I held staff and leadership positions in logistics, strategic planning, safety, and operations. I also earned a master's degree. The Air Force helped me to learn how to solve problems, lead, navigate government agencies, and the importance of working together towards a common goal. These skills have been very useful as a State Representative.

After leaving the Air Force, I moved to Connecticut to raise my young family. I started with a large corporation in healthcare and after 14 years, I found my way into a start-up. Eventually, I would start my own business in aviation and the travel industry providing advice on sales and recruiting. My kids attended public schools and are now college age and on to bright futures.

In 2010, I was elected to the state legislature where I served for six years. I served on the General Law, Education, Finance Revenue & Bonding Public Health, Energy & Technology, and Banking Committees. I have also served on numerous boards, including the State of Connecticut Special Education Advisory Council, Western Region YMCA, and the Connecticut Cardiology Foundation.

Business experience and life experience are important when representing residents in Hartford. Working in different types of businesses and being a small business owner helps me relate to business owners when they are faced with laws that affect them. I have leveraged my background in the military, healthcare, and aviation to help my state and community. I have also raised a family, owned a home in the community I've represented, and sent my children to college. This has provided me with a deep understanding of what it takes to make it here and the importance of the educational opportunities in our state.

Stand on the economy:

From the first time I asked for voters to support me, until now, I have made it clear that my top priority has been to make Connecticut affordable by reducing spending and resisting new taxes. In my first year, I helped pass a bipartisan package to help businesses add new employees, update equipment and provide better training, and streamline permitting processes. In the years following, I routinely proposed viable alternatives to the job-killing tax increases that were implemented by Governor Malloy and the majority in the legislature. I have remained steadfast in my commitment to spend wisely and to grow revenue for the state by growing businesses, and unlike my opponent, I have never misrepresented my record.

My opponent's top campaign goals in 2018 were to support small businesses and help fix the state's budget crisis. He claims to have achieved his first campaign promise by eliminating the business entity tax, something Republicans have proposed for 17 years. However, he neglects to mention that he also raised taxes and filing fees on those same businesses. His fix to the budget was to increase spending and raise taxes another $1.75 billion. He also supported refinancing teacher pensions which put the taxpayers on the hook for over $15 billion in additional interest. It's clear we can expect more of the damaging policies from my opponent that held our economy back and we just can't afford him.

Local decision making:

There is a growing movement in Hartford led by the Progressive Democrat Caucus that will have significant effects on our communities in the 2nd District. For years the only path to creating affordable housing in Connecticut has been through the "8-30g" statute that drives new construction of multi-unit housing. The law allows for situations where developers can essentially bypass local zoning and build large units in residential areas. In addition, in order to strengthen these laws, there are bills being drafted that will eliminate single-family zoning and create regional zoning entities which will take zoning decisions away from local officials who are accountable to the people they serve. It is imperative we keep these decisions in the hands of the local leaders. I have proposed other paths forward that can allow existing housing to be deemed affordable.

The same movement has pledged to pursue regionalizing schools to save money. I believe that parents, teachers, and local community leaders should determine how children are educated and the state should provide resources and best practices. If communities and schools see an opportunity to share resources, then they should have the freedom to pursue it. Schools should not be forced to regionalize.

My opponent is a member of the Progressive Caucus in Hartford and he has voted for the majority of their policies, including removing the requirement that zoning boards consider the character of their communities in their zoning decisions. Perhaps more concerning, against the advice of local police, he supported changes to pursuit laws which has resulted in more stolen cars in our area and, again against the advice of local police, he supported the hastily crafted "police accountability bill" which puts our safety and the safety of our officers at risk. The bottom line is he does not recognize, either through his inexperience or his ideological lens, that the communities in the 2nd district have unique issues and should not be regulated the same as large cities.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My military experience has shaped me into who I am today. After graduating from college, I joined the US Air Force where I flew in many operations including Desert Storm and Provide Promise over Bosnia. In addition to my flying duties, as I rose in rank, I held staff and leadership positions in logistics, strategic planning, safety, and operations. I was recommended for promotion to Major two years early and among my awards, I received the Meritorious Service Medal. The Air Force helped me to learn how to solve problems, lead, navigate government agencies, and the importance of working together towards a common goal. These are all critical skills needed as a State Representative.

The best evidence that I can handle the job, however, is the fact that I served in the position from 2011 to 2017. During that time, I leveraged years of experience in the military and in healthcare to develop sound policies to benefit the 2nd district. While I may not have been able to stop some of the awful economic policies that still plague our state, I worked across the aisle and share many accomplishments with my colleagues in Hartford.

Some of these accomplishments:

- Passed a bipartisan package that helped businesses add new employees, update equipment, provide better training, and streamline permitting processes.

-Required state agencies to expand the types of information they must consider before adopting
regulations that directly affect small businesses.

-Protected seniors with grants to older adults and persons with disabilities to make home modifications and purchase assistive technology so they can remain in their own homes and passed legislation aimed at making nursing home settings more homelike.

-Improved our mental health network with a comprehensive plan for better created by Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families to meet the mental, emotional and behavioral health needs of children.

-Expanded access to healthcare by allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to practice
independently of doctors after practicing in collaboration with a doctor for three years.

-Passed a law that prohibits discrimination based on religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression within our National Guard.

-Increased access to the drug Nalaxone ("Narcan") which acts as an opioid antagonist to save lives on the brink of an overdose.

-Brought back millions to the district for projects including a new roof for the Danbury War Memorial community center, expanding the parking lot at Redding's Mark Twain Library, sidewalk repairs in Bethel, and the Hawleyville Sewer Extension Project in Newtown.

-Passed legislation to ban tiny particles of plastic called microbeads that are found in facial scrubs, soaps, shampoos, and even toothpastes that pass through sewage treatment plants and pollute our waterways, thereby threatening aquatic life and transporting toxins throughout the environment.

-Passed legislation that helped protect the privacy of violent crime victims and their families and limits access to their personal information.

-Introduced legislation to mandate the safe storage of firearms, which would eventually pass after I left the legislature.

-Improved prevention efforts of sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence on college
campuses and gave victims of sexual assault clear and concise information on their rights and options for reporting such crimes.

-Combated human trafficking with increased penalties for convicts and protection for victims.

My Awards include:
2011 Children's Champion Award
Presented by the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance annually for exceptional work in support of
children and families in Connecticut.

2014 Legislative Leadership Award
Presented by the Connecticut Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers for dedication to ensuring continued access to high-quality care within the ambulatory surgery care setting.

2015 William H. Ehlers, MD Advocacy Award
Presented by Connecticut Society of Eye Physicians for efforts to promote the protection of patients and the practice of medicine.

2015 Greater Danbury Good Scouter Award
Presented for leadership in the community that helps to inspire future generations of young people.

2016 Fairfield County Medical Association's Legislator of the Year Award
Presented for being a strong patient and physician advocate at the State Capitol and for his instrumental role in helping to craft improvements to the Connecticut Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which is aimed at addressing the opioid crisis.

Do you believe Connecticut needs reform when it comes to electric utility oversight? What steps, if any should be taken?

The truth is we need a lot more reform than simply reforming oversight alone and, we should be wary about putting meaningless regulations on companies just to show constituents that legislators are doing something.

We reformed oversight 8 years ago and since then, the legislature and the regulators have dropped the ball. Part of the reason is that our regulators, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), are not truly independent is because they are under the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). It's difficult to advocate for consumers when regulators are also under pressure from environmental activists within the department to reach the top goal of the administration and DEEP; protecting the environment with clean energy. Reforming oversight is just the beginning.

There is no longer any excuse for us to suffer with the 2nd highest electric rates in the country. We have over regulated the industry, hidden taxes in our electric bills, imposed mandates, and over relied on green energy projects. We have also over relied on high property taxes and gross earnings taxes. We also have increasing costs for conservation and regional limitations on natural gas pipelines. All this results in the electric rates that make living and doing business in our state less affordable. I think it's time to look back at the way the state "deregulated" electricity in 1998 and forge a new path by completely revamping the way we provide electricity in Connecticut.

What steps should state government take to bolster economic recovery from the coronavirus
pandemic for local businesses?

Every industry seems to face unique challenges in the economic recovery ahead, so we will need more time to define their needs. However, there are some things we can consider that apply to all businesses.

- Businesses need clear rules from the state and local governments as soon as it is possible so owners have time to make decisions and prepare for an opening. They need detailed information on restrictions so they can determine whether reopening is even feasible.

- There are immediate challenges for many small businesses of meeting fixed operating costs, such as rent, mortgage payments, utilities, and insurance. These costs need to be paid even when the business is closed. The federal programs are lacking, as a result, we may have to help businesses get access to the working capital they need.

- There are many landlords who have to meet their mortgage obligations and may have a hard time deferring rent.

- The state should work with businesses to make sure we recognize specific policies to keep workers safe provide a "safe harbor." If the practices are followed and documented, an employer can be shielded from legal liability.

- All regulations, especially those that have been suspended temporarily, must be reviewed and we should remove the ones that don't make sense or are costly to businesses.

- We should also keep an eye out for unfair business practices, such as predatory pricing and other
moves that threaten the market share of small and independent retailers.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

There are certainly a few priorities that are currently at the top of my list.

- Electricity rates are hurting families and businesses because we have a lousy system. It's time to completely change how we deliver electricity in Connecticut.

- Municipalities and property taxpayers desperately need stability. We must address the burden of
property taxes through Education Cost Sharing grants, municipal aid, and municipal mandates.

-We need to find common ground on the creation of affordable housing. We must do it in a way that allows our municipalities say over the character of their communities.

-Schools in Connecticut need the support to voluntarily share resources, but remain protected against the threat of forcing them to regionalize.

-The destructive parts of the police accountability bill need to be repealed and we must work with police and community leaders for more constructive solutions.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

People ask why I want to serve again in the legislature, especially in this political climate. I have been critical about the fact that my opponent doesn't have the experience needed to fix our problems and his political positions are too far left of center for the district, which are big motivations for me running again. However, I do love working with people to create good policy and I miss it. It's a satisfying feeling when problems or needs are identified in your community and you have an opportunity to do something that helps. I also believe I live in the best place on the planet and get to have a small part in making it better when it's needed most. Despite the toll politics takes, it's important that good people stand up and get involved.

The desire to serve my community was instilled in me by my Mom, a nurse, and Dad who was a police officer. I was involved in community groups growing up, including the Boy Scouts. I was fortunate to find a good troop with dedicated leaders and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. I was lucky to grow up in a great community and have amazing mentors. I believe strong communities make strong people.

With strong communities in mind, I am approaching the next legislative session with a new perspective and I think Republicans need to take a greater role in helping solve the socio-economic problems in our state. I have realized that we have devolved into a party that is always on the defensive because one party rules the state. We must find a way to be included in the conversation.

I have been proud to represent the 2nd district in the past, and I hope to earn the support of the voters again!