Desmarais says gas prices are the top campaign topic

By Scott Benjamin

BETHEL – After months of canvassing in a district that extends through parts of three countries – six full towns and parts of six others, from Seymour to Bethel – Democrat Jeff Desmarais says “the first thing voters talk about is the price of gasoline."

"Gas prices go up, then the food prices go up,” said the Watertown resident, who faces incumbent Republican Eric Berthel of Watertown in the November 8 election in the 32nd state Senate District. Berthel, who initially captured the seat in a February 2017 special election, defeated Desmarais by garnering more than 58 percent of the vote in 2020.

Following the recent reapportionment, parts of Bethel and Brookfield were added to the district. Voters haven’t elected a Democrat since 1891.

Despite that, Desmarais said, “I think there is a misperception that it is a conservative district. It is a moderate district.”

Desmarais said voters appreciate the gas tax holiday that the General Assembly and Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) signed this spring. It is set to expire December 1, and Desmarais said it should be extended six months into next spring to help reduce the burden of the anticipated surge in home heating oil prices through the winter.

“It should not be made permanent [the gas tax holiday], because that is how we pay for the special transportation fund,” he added.

The lack of money in that fund was one of the reasons that Lamont and some Democratic legislators sought in 2019 and early 2020 to establish a limited-tolls plan for large trucks on some state highways. The proposal never got to a vote in the General Assembly.

In an interview with Patch.com, Berthel said that for years, the Democratic majority has “intercepted” federal transportation funds and diverted them to other state programs.

Desmarais, a financial planner, said many voters also are concerned about soaring health care costs that had been rising before the recent wave of inflation.

During a campaign stop in Bethel, he said he supports the public health care option that former state Comptroller Kevin Lembo (D-Guilford) had championed.

Critics have said it would hurt the large insurance companies based in metro Hartford.

Desmarais said more female voters have been registering as Democrats – partly because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson case regarding abortion access.

Democratic operative Brett Broesder has said that in Connecticut a majority of Democratic primary voters in recent years have been women. Desmarais said he believes that trend started before the Dobbs v. Jackson decision because of fears that the U.S. Supreme Court would take action on women’s reproductive rights following Republican former President Donald Trump’s three appointments to the court.

The public polls indicate that Lamont has a double-digit lead in his bid for a second term.

Desmarais said the governor did a “terrific job” in addressing the pandemic, noting that Connecticut had a “low rate” of cases and avoided “the spikes” experienced by some other states.

He also praised Lamont for lowering the debt on the pensions for the state employees, noting that it would save $400 million in interest payments over the coming years.

However, state Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) of Brookfield recent said Connecticut’s pension debt still remains the second highest in the country, after Illinois.

What about the 42-and-under Millennials and the 23-and-under Generation Z voters?

Desmarais said the younger voters are registering in greater numbers as Democrats and unaffiliated voters.

“The Millennial and the Gen Z: They are going to be extraordinary generation when they are running the show,” he remarked. “They have had a far different experience.”

“They have had access to information and knowledge at their age that we could have only dreamt of,” Desmarais explained. “The Internet showed up when I was in college.”

Has politics become more national than local?

“The thought that all politics is local has been completely turned on its ear,” Desmarais commented.

“All politics now are national,” he exclaimed. “There is polarized, partisan voting. National issues are dictating.”

“It has become a team sport,” Desmarais lamented. “It is as though it is the Red Sox against the Yankees. If we could depoliticize it, we would get better candidates. People should vote for what the candidate is going to do and then hold those candidates accountable. Don’t look at the party label.”

Resources:

Interview with Jeff Desmarais, Patch.com, November 6, 2022.

Interview with Eric Berthel, Patch.com, November 6, 2022.

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