Buchsbaum says McCain’s straight talk left an impression

By Scott Benjamin

SOUTHBURY – At 19 as a freshman at George Washington University, he already had been an intern in the Clinton White House, when it was simultaneously going through an impeachment trial and posting the first federal budget surpluses in a generation.

However, Jason Buchsbaum says he made one of his best decisions by registering as a Republican so he could vote in the 2000 Connecticut presidential primary for a Vietnam War hero who rode the Straight Talk Express, was committed to campaign finance reform and had unaffiliated voters and Democrats cheering at his town meetings.

At the time, Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein said on CNN that McCain was a combination of Eisenhower and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

Buchsbaum said, “John McCain talked about fighting for a cause bigger than yourself. I valued his manner of leadership. His ability to bring people together. He had admiration from people on both sides of the aisle.”

“Voting for McCain is something that has had lasting impact on my life,” Buchsbaum said an interview with Patch.com. “It has motivated me in my own public service.”

McCain, then serving in the U.S. Senate from Arizona, scored a victory in the New Hampshire primary, but faltered after that.

However, among his seven victories was the Connecticut primary, where Republican then-Gov. John Rowland had endorsed Texas Gov. George W. Bush., who would go on to serve for two terms in the White House.

Buchsbaum said in his nine years on the six-member Southbury Board of Selectmen – currently serving as chairman pro tempore - he has tried to emulate McCain’s inclusiveness.

“Most of our votes are unanimous because we do work together,” he said. “I’m not the guy who talks just because I want my voice to be heard.”

Fellow Southbury Republican Selectman Jason Van Stone said, “He’s not ideologically driven.”

Buchsbaum – an attorney who specializes in municipal law and litigation - is the Republican candidate in the November 5 election in the 69th state House District, where he will face Democrat Ed Edelson, who was first selectman of Southbury, 2011 to 2015.

The seat is being vacated by Republican Cindy Harrison of Southbury, an accountant, who was initially elected in 2020. Southbury Republican Art O’Neill held it from 1988 until January 2021. No Democrat has been elected in more than 100 years.

The district encompasses most of Southbury, all of Roxbury and Bridgewater and a slice of New Milford.

In Southbury, Buchsbaum said residents were “devastated” from the August 18 floods, some losing their homes.

He praised the first responders and added that the public works crews got the roads re-opened promptly, making it possible for the school buses to run on the first day of the academic year. He said one of the current priorities is getting the public library reopened.

“Our community came together to help people in need,” he said, noting that there have been fund-raisers and clothing drives.

Buchsbaum commented that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in town and “will be the biggest source of money for people in need.’

On another topic, Buchsbaum said incremental steps should be taken on the continued development of the property at Southbury Training School, which has been gradually ceded from the state to the town. It has been in operation since 1937 to serve the special needs of residents from across the state.

“There are people who still live there,” he explained. “So we should be mindful of that and respectful of that. They are entitled to live there for the rest of their lives.”

Farms already have been developed on part of the 1,700-acre parcel.

Buchsbaum said the town should continue to have input on how the property is utilized.

He said more than a decade ago there was a commitment from the state to help develop affordable senior citizens housing, which is needed in Southbury.

Buchsbaum said the state later “essentially turned its back” on those plans, but that Southbury “should not give up” on making that happen.

Buchsbaum, who grew up in Bridgeport, has lived in Southbury for 15 years.

Has the town changed much?

“We’ve had some population growth,” he said. “We’ve had more businesses come to town. We generally value forward progress. But we also value open space and our rural feel. It is not always an easy balance.”

Buchsbaum said as a state representative he would advocate “local control.”

He said that he feels the “small towns get forgotten” as “one-size fits all” solutions are administered by the state.

Buchsbaum annexed the Republican nomination by scoring an easy victory over Roxbury Board of Finance Chairman Ed Cady in the August 13 primary.

Did he benefit from having a primary?

“We’ll know in two weeks,” he said with a smile.

“It did get us going early,” he added

Buchsbaum lost in a Republican primary challenge to Harrison in 2022.

Van Stone said he is not a fan of primaries, but that the 2024 primary “gave the Buchsbaum campaign an opportunity to find itself very early and become a well-oiled machine. There was a long stretch of knocking on doors. That long ramp-up was to his advantage.”

Said Buchsbaum, “It was a respectful primary. That made it very easy the day after the primary to bring everyone together. We’ve made good relationships in Roxbury, and the primary probably helped to do that.”

He has been endorsed by Cady, Barbara Henry, who was first selectman in Roxbury from 1997 to 2021, current longtime Selectman Russ Diriezno and Democrat Paul Healy, a member of the Board of Finance.

Buchsbaum said that public safety has been mentioned frequently by voters as he has canvassed the district.

He has been endorsed by the Southbury Police Union and the State Fraternal Order Of Police.

Buchsbaum said that “too often” law enforcement officials are “seen as the enemy,” which makes it difficult to “recruit” and “retain officers.”

He said the top concern among voters is affordability.

However, hasn’t the state taken considerable steps to address that?

Last year there was bipartisan support in the General Assembly for a reduction in the state income tax rates. The middle-income rate decreased from five percent down to 4.5 percent and the lower income rate was reduced from three percent to two percent.

It was the largest reduction in state income taxes since 1995.

Also, according to Pay.com, Connecticut is one of only seven states and the District of Columbia to have a minimum wage of $15 or more. It is now at $15.69 per hour and will increase to $16.35 in January.

Commented Buchsbaum, “Costs all around have gone up. The cost of living has increased.”

Most notably, he pointed to “a major spike in electricity rates,” with some of them increasing by as much as “50 percent.”

He acknowledged that part of the higher costs relates to the 2017 agreement between the state and Dominion which runs the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford.

In August, Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie wrote that, “That difference between the locked in rate and the market rate accounts for more than 3/4 of the recent hike in costs.”.

However, Buchsbaum said the public benefits charges in the electricity bills include costs associated with the electricity providers not seeking payments from needy customers during the pandemic and infrastructure for electric vehicles.

“I don’t believe that it is transparent public budgeting,” he declared. “It should be off the electricity bill and done through the normal budgetary process.”

He supports the call by legislative Republicans to address those issues in a special session, and their proposal to use unexpended federal American Rescue Plan money from the pandemic to provide “relief” for ratepayers.

Buchsbaum said he disagrees with state House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford, who, according to a story by Ken Dixon of CT Hearst, has said that using the American Rescue Plan funds would violate the state’s fiscal guard rails.

Dixon also has reported for CT Hearst that Ritter has said he would consider a special session after the November 5 election, but that it would be better to tackle the issue after the regular session commences in January.

Buchsbaum criticized Edelson for refusing to support a special session to address the electricity costs. He also took exception to Edelson’s recent comments about possibly adjusting the state fiscal guard rails that were approved in 2017. The guard rails have been lauded for, among other things, helping pay down pension debt and put money in the rainy-day funds.

Edelson told Patch.com recently on the surge in electricity costs, “I haven’t seen that [the Republicans] have come forward with a responsible piece of legislation to address the problem.”

On the guard rails, Edelson said, “I’m open to discussion about the guard rails. I don’t think we need to make wholesale changes. It is like the Clean Air Act. It is not one and done.”

Buchsbaum said the guard rails, which were extended in 2023, should remain in place.

“That has put us on somewhat predictable footing,” he remarked. “You can’t adjust fiscal policy that is working.”

Legislators ranging from state Sen. Eric Berthel (R-32) of Watertown to state Deputy House Speaker Pro Tempore Bob Godfrey (D-110) of Danbury have called for reducing the state sales tax from 6.35 percent to 5.99 percent.

Buchsbaum commented, “I think we should try to work toward reductions there.”

Connecticut has made considerable increases in the minimum wage.

Democratic former President Barack Obama came to New Britain in 2014 to praise Democratic then-Gov. Dannel Malloy and state officials for agreeing to boost its minimum wage to $10.10 starting in 2017.

Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) signed legislation in 2019 “that connects the state’s minimum wage to economic indicators, specifically the percentage change in the federal employment cost index,” according to a news release from his office.

Godfrey has said that the higher minimum wage has helped bump up other wages.

State Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield has said that he supports all residents having a living wage, but objects to the minimum wage increasing without legislative approval.

When asked about that, Buchsbaum said, “I’d have to look at it specifically.”

In an e-mail interview, Edelson wrote: “ For the larger states [that have increased their minimum wage] the average decrease in the unemployment rate is about 0.3% while economic growth grew by about 2%. Connecticut’s unemployment rate did increase but economists attribute this to the growth in the labor force. (While older people are leaving CT, younger people are moving here.) However, job growth has been strong in CT since the pandemic with a 16 year high of 1.70 million jobs. The conclusion is that recent experience demonstrates that reasonable changes in the minimum wage can lead to lower unemployment and greater economic growth.”

“Tying the change in the minimum wage to an index makes practical sense to me as often legislatures are not able to come to timely agreements -leaving hourly workers to suffer,“ added Edelson.

Also, Greenwich financial investor-columnist Red Jahncke has stated that since Lamont came to office in January 2019 the state employees have received a collective 33 percent in salary and step increases compared to an average of 23.5 percent nationally for private sector workers.

Jahncke has called for a wage freeze on state employee salaries, which was imposed at one point under Malloy.

“I would have to look at the specific figures,” said Buchsbaum regarding whether there should be a wage freeze. on the state employee salaries.

Also regarding affordability, Buchsbaum said, “I think we have to help our small businesses with the increased costs that impact them – filing fees, business taxes. They’re over-regulated an over-taxed. We have to remember that these are the folks that stimulate our economy.”

Resources:

Interview with Jason Buchsbaum, Patch.com, on Sunday, October 20, 2024.

Phone interview with Jason Van Stone, Patch.com on Sunday, October 6, 2024.

E-mail interview with Ed Edelson, Patch.com, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/edelson-says-interstate-84-traffic-top-issue-voters

https://ctmirror.org/2023/09/18/ct-minimum-wage-federal-employment-cost-index/

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/ove-36-years-godfrey-says-danbury-bigger-downtown-has-changed

https://patch.com/connecticut/...