Politics & Government
Harding says Connecticut’s fiscal picture has improved
Republican state senator pleased that two-year $51.1 billion state budget reduces income tax rates, provides more funding for 30th District
By Scott Benjamin
BROOKFIELD – Things have changed for Republican Stephen Harding since he won his first legislative election in February 2015.
Personally, he is now married and has a young son and daughter.
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In sports, two of his beloved Yankees – Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter – have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
However, the Bronx Bombers haven’t won a World Series since then and there is a Democrat in the White House. Since the Eisenhower Administration, the Yankees have only annexed world titles when there is a Democratic president – two under Kennedy, two under Carter, four under Clinton and one under Obama.
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If they started the 2022 season with a 61-23 record, then why didn’t they win one under Biden?
Politically, the longtime Brookfield Republican is no longer one of 151 members in the state House but one of 36 members in the state Senate, representing 18 municipalities in the large 30th District. It stretches from Brookfield to Salisbury.
Economically, there have been notable changes in Connecticut’s fiscal health.
“We’ve gone from what programs will retain funding to what programs are going to get an increase in funding,” Harding said. “The discussion had been about how taxes are going to be raised. Now we’re cutting taxes.”
The 2018 report from the state Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness reported that Connecticut’s economy contracted by eight percent between 2007 and 2016.
CT Mirror budget reporter Keith Phaneuf reported in May that, “Connecticut’s government remains on pace to rack up the second-largest budget surplus in state history this summer.”
But, the $51.1 billion two-year budget is about $600 million higher than what Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) proposed in February.
“There are going to be imperfections,” Harding said in an interview with Patch.com “I would have liked to have seen a little less spending. I would have liked to have seen a little more tax relief.”
“When you’re providing close to a billion dollars in tax relief, actually significant tax relief to the middle class you’re going to support it,” Harding remarked.
Lamont distributed a news release stating that it was the largest income tax reduction since that levy was approved in 1991. The middle-class taxpayers are seeing their rate reduced from the previous five percent to 4.5 percent and the lower income will have their rate slashed from three percent down to two percent.
It appears that the future looks encouraging.
Phaneuf of CT Mirror has reported that, “The legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis recently projected the $51.1 billion biennial budget approved by legislators and Gov. Ned Lamont should finish about $1.1 billion in the black this fiscal year, while 2024-25 should end about $995 million on the positive side.”
Yet, The Wealthy Nickel online niche journalism web site has reported that Connecticut has $10,647 of debt per capita, the second highest in the nation, behind Massachusetts. And economics columnist Red Jahncke of Greenwich recently stated, that “the state’s labor force has been shrinking for a year: from 1.943 million in May 2022 to 1.905 million in March 2023, 1.901 million in April 2023 and 1.897 million in May 2023.
Harding said that more works has to be done.
He has attributed part of the recent success to the fiscal guardrails established in the 2017 budget agreement, which were extended during this session for at least another five years. The guardrails direct some surplus money toward paying off unfunded liabilities.
What will the state budget do for the 30th state Senate District?
Harding said it will either maintain current funding or provide an increase in money for each municipality in the district.
He added that the bond package, for example, includes funds for bridge repairs in New Milford and elevator renovations at the American Legion Hall in Litchfield.
There also are funding increases for non-profit organizations in the district.
Harding captured the seat last November over Democrat Eva Bermudez Zimmerman of New Milford. The Republicans have won every election in the district since 1980.
Matt Grimes, a former Brookfield Board of Education chairman who is running this year for the GOP nomination for first selectman in Brookfield, said Harding “hit the ground running” because as a state representative he had contact with, first, Clark Chapin of New Milford and then Craig Miner of Litchfield, both Republicans, the last two state senators from the district.
“As one of his campaign drivers last year, it was a pleasure to see him easily interact with people in Winchester, where there are a lot of open space and Second Amendment concerns, and then also easily interact with senior citizens in New Milford, New Fairfield and Sherman who are concerned about inflation,” he said in a phone interview with Patch.com.
In an e-mail statement to Patch.com, Brookfield Democratic Town Committee Chairman Aaron Zimmer offered a different position on Harding’s performance.
“Senator Harding is a masterful politician,” he wrote. “He has a way of making his constituents feel heard even when his votes don’t represent their voices. It’s often hard to know what he really thinks because he has to pander to the extreme right that controls the Republican Party. It has kept him from taking a stand on or accomplishing anything of significance for his constituents.”
Grimes disagreed with that premise.
“Steve reflects the views of his constituents and doesn’t cater to any extreme right groups,” he declared. “He has co-sponsored legislation with Democrats. Mr. Zimmer is grasping at straws.”
On another subject, Harding said constituents are still telling him that electricity costs, which increased in January, are “the biggest bill they pay every month.”
CT Mirror has reported that electricity rates in Connecticut increased about 50 percent earlier this year for customers of Eversource and United Illuminating. The companies have stated that the increases were due to rising costs.
Harding said that due to recent actions by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) the rates recently decreased but are still above where they were at the beginning of 2023.
In a news release, PURA stated, “On average, electricity rates starting July 1 will decrease by about 22% for typical Eversource residential customers and about 11% for typical UI residential customers using an average of 700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a month. However, a customer’s total bill may increase or decrease depending on individual energy usage each month.”
Harding remarked, “More needs to be done.”
On a separate topic, he said that he and state Rep. Patrick Callahan (R-108) of New Fairfield have worked in recent months with the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection to help “safely manage” the traffic at the Squantz Pond State Park, the popular recreation area in New Fairfield.
He said that has included placing “necessary restrictions” on capacity.
Who is Harding’s favorite baseball player?
“Paul O’Neill,” he said of the former Yankees outfielder who has been enshrined in Monument Park.
“It is because of the passion he had,” Harding explained. “He also was a power hitter who could still hit for average.”
“I think after he retired in 2001, that was part of the reason they didn’t win another World Series until 2009,” he added.
However, why not Bernie Williams? Williams and O’Neill played guitar and drums, respectively, in a cable television commercial more than 20 years ago.
Williams is an accomplished musician. He has recorded albums and performed concerts, including an appearance in 2006 at Faith Church in New Milford – within running distance of Harding’s home.
When Donovan goes on tour does he hire O’Neill to play the drums on “Hurdy Gurdy Man?”
Harding said the only other player he would consider for the top of his list would be Rivera.
Perhaps more notably, O’Neill argued with umpires and destroyed water coolers. Would that be tolerated in the Senate Circle?
“He could have controlled his temper better,” acknowledged Harding. “But that was part of his overall passion.”
Resources:
Interview with Stephen Harding, Patch.com, Thursday, June 29, 2023.
Phone interview with Matt Grimes, Patch.com, Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
E-mail statement from Aaron Zimmer, Patch.com, Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Phone interview with Matt Grimes, Patch.com, Wednesday, July 12, 2023
https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2023/06-2023/Governor-Lamont-Signs-Largest-Income-Tax-Cut-in-Connecticut-History#:~:text=An%20income%20tax%20cut%20for,couples%20will%20decrease%20to%204.5%25.
https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/harding-hearing-constituents-electricity-bills
Red Jahncke, The Red Line.
