Branford Business Leader Wants To Rebuild Connecticut's Economy

By Scott Benjamin

Business entrepreneur Jacey Wyatt, who has proposed bold economic initiatives during two campaigns as a third party candidate for first selectman of Branford, is now making a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Wyatt, who is Connecticut’s first transgender candidate for governor, has three degrees in architecture and interior design and during the 2013 and 2015 races with the Independent Branford Voters party proposed creating a university in that shoreline town, a historical village and a golf course, according to the New Haven Register.

She said on YouTube that she imported 8,000 pounds of sand to her home to create a beach.

Connecticut’s economy is fizzling.

Retired Webster Bank economist Nick Perna of Ridgefield recently told CT Mirror that it is in “a state of emergency” from a decline in revenue and population.

Wyatt, 46, said in a phone interview that the state needs to achieve concessions from the collective bargaining units, increase the sales tax slightly and install border tolls to help revitalize its roads and bridges.

Wyatt said the state employees need to make a larger contribution toward their pensions. Reportedly most state employees contribute between 0-2 percent

The obligations are currently only 35.5 percent funded after years of neglect before Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) increased the allocations about six years ago.

Reports indicate that his staff is currently having informal talks with the collective bargaining units. In his proposed budget, he is seeking to have the municipalities pay one-third of the pensions for the public school teachers.

“The unions should come to the table,” the candidate said, noting that Connecticut faces a projected $1.7 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year starting in July.

Wyatt, a former model, said the state employees’ fringe benefits package should be reduced as the state grapples with an ongoing budget crisis.

The candidate said part of the budget gap could be addressed through a slight increase in Connecticut’s sales tax, which is lower than those in nearby New York state and New Jersey.

Some Democratic legislators have discussed increasing the sales tax. Malloy has been strongly opposed to raising taxes on corporations or hedge funds, even though the state Office of Fiscal Analysis, the legislature’s budget arm, has reported that in 1989 corporate taxes comprised 20 percent of Connecticut’s revenue and in 2016 they generated just 6 percent.

Wyatt said since there might be significant reductions in municipal aid, the state budget should now be submitted by March 1 - a proposal that has been made by state Sen. Mike McLachlan (R-24) of Danbury – so that the towns and cities will know what they will be allocated before they complete their budgets in the late Spring.

Malloy announced April 13 that he would not seek a third term. Some observers believe he has faced more fiscal obstacles than any governor in recent Connecticut history.

The only other candidate to at least form a Political Action Committee is Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, a graduate of New Milford High School, who entered the race in January.

Wyatt opposes Malloy’s First Five/Next Five program, which has provided financial incentives to such large firms as ESPN in Bristol, Bridgewater Associates in Westport and Cartus in Danbury to hire more workers over the coming years.

However, Wyatt does support the financial incentives that Malloy provided to defense contractors Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford and Lockheed Martin in Stratford, noting that they provide jobs for many sub-contractors across the state.

Reports indicate that Connecticut’s roads and bridges have been crumbling for years.

Wyatt supports border tolls, which have been controversial, in particular, in the Danbury area since an estimated 40 percent of the customers to the massive Danbury Fair Mall are from out of state.

“We need to repair our roads,” Wyatt said. “To help the border towns, such as Stonington, Enfield, Danbury and Greenwich, the state should provide money to make up for the business revenue that they will lose.”

CT Hearst reported that Democratic House leaders said this week that tolls could be installed within 18 months after they have been approved.

Wyatt also supports a Democratic plan to boost the state’s current minimum wage of $10.10 per hour to $15 by 2022.

The candidate said, “People can’t live on $10.10 an hour.”

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