Mattei Says State Needs To Review Its Tax Structure

By Scott Benjamin

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Chris Mattei says the proposed concessions package for the state employee collective bargaining units “isn’t perfect” but it was “probably” the best deal that could have been negotiated.

Proponents have declared that the package would save taxpayers $1.57 billion over the current two-year budget cycle and $24 billion over the next 20 years.

Recently, CTNewsJunkie columnist Susan Bigelow called on the General Assembly to reject the proposed package since it prohibits layoffs for four years and extends the pension and health care benefit provisions from 2022 to 2027.

When asked about abolishing those components, Mattei didn’t provide a direct answer, but said that the state has not allocated enough money to pay for pension obligations for many years.

CTNewsJunike reported earlier this year that the state is only funded for 35.5 percent of those obligations. Brookfield Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn has said that for municipalities 80 percent funding and above in considered stellar.

The proposed concessions package was approved on a mostly party-line vote of 78-72 this week in the House, which has a tiny Democratic majority, and is to be voted on next Monday in the state Senate.

Approving the concessions is considered a vital step in erasing a projected $5.1 billion budget deficit for the current two-year cycle.

Mattei, who has distributed several Internet videos on issues since entering the race in April, is best known for his work three years ago as an Assistant U.S. Assistant in successfully prosecuting former Gov. John Rowland (R-Middlebury) for illegally contracting for consulting services in 2012 for a candidate seeking the seat in the Fifth Congressional District, which Rowland had held from 1985 to 1991.

He currently works for a private law firm in Bridgeport

When asked if taxes should be increased, Mattei, who grew up in Windsor and lives in Hartford, said Connecticut should review its tax structure, which is too predicated on municipal property taxes and “volatile swings” in capital gains revenues that are tied to Wall Street.

“It’s difficult to predict what the revenue will be each year,” he added. “We should have a tax overhaul.”

He said he opposed the plan by Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) in his proposed budget to place one-third of the teacher pension obligations on the municipalities.

“The way it was rolled out was wrong,” Mattei said in a phone interview. “There was very little opportunity for the municipal leaders to plan.”

The state has paid the teacher pensions for generations.

Additionally, Mattei said the state should revamp its Educational Cost Sharing formula, since there is “significant educational inequality” between the wealthy and poor school districts.

He said he’s against Malloy’s use of public money to fund seats in charter schools.

“The charter schools only educate three percent of our students,” the candidate said. “We need to put our resources toward the public schools.”

Regarding economic development, Mattei said Malloy’s First Five/Next Five program “is not the best long-term strategy.”

“I don’t think companies such as Bridgewater Associates are in need of public assistance,” he added in reference to the largest hedge fund in the world, which received financial incentives to remain in Westport and expand its work force.

Malloy’s package, which was developed following his summer 2011 jobs tour, has provided incentives to such other corporate giants as ESPN in Bristol and NBC Sports in Stamford.

“I think more effort should be made to providing credit to small businesses that are trying to expand,” said Mattei.

Under Malloy, Connecticut has established a Small Business Express program to provide incentives for smaller firms, which has received praise from state Rep. Bob Godfrey (D-110) of Danbury, who is the fourth-longest serving member of the lower chamber.

Economist Donald Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners in New Haven has noted that Connecticut is the only New England state that hasn’t recovered all of the jobs lost during the 2008 recession.

State Rep. Steve Harding (R-107) of Brookfield, who turns 30 on Monday, said part of the reason he ran for the seat in 2015 was because so many of his friends had left the state when they couldn’t find jobs after graduating from college.

Mattei said he believes there is potential for significant growth in biosciences and in manufacturing, particularly with the recent expansion in the operations at Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney in East Hartford, which makes airplane engines, and in the Lockheed Martin operation at Igor Sikorsky in Stratford, which manufactures helicopters.

On another topic, one of the centerpieces of Malloy’s second term in office has been a proposed 30-year, $100 million infrastructure upgrade. The General Assembly has still not acted on the recommendations of the task force chaired by former state Rep. Cameron Staples (D-New Haven), which submitted a report in 2015.

Mattei said the improvements “will likely” have to be funded through tolls.

“I get on the Massachusetts Turnpike and then weeks later I get a bill from [Massachusetts Gov.] Charlie Baker,” he said. “I think it is unlikely that we can rebuild our roads without defraying the cost from the people who are traveling on them from New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.”

On another topic, Mattei said Connecticut should review what has happened in Colorado and other states that have legalized marijuana before it decides whether to take that step.

Malloy announced in April that he would not seek a third term. In 2010 he became the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Connecticut since Bill O’Neill of East Hampton was elected to a second term in 1986.

He has had poor poll numbers throughout his tenure as Connecticut has not recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. However, he has been honored with some coveted awards and serves as head of the Democratic Governors Association.

Malloy defeated Greenwich businessman Tom Foley by just 6,400 votes in 2010 and then took a rematch four years later with a plurality of 28,000 ballots.

The roster of candidates for the Democratic nomination includes Mattei, former state Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan Harris of West Hartford, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo of Guilford, Branford business executive Jacey Wyatt and Middletown Mayor Dan Drew.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman (D-Tolland) has indicated that she will make a decision on entering the race after the budget is enacted. Legislators have not voted on a spending package for the fiscal year that began July 1.

After formally launching his campaign in April, Mattei, who is not accepting contributions from lobbyists, had raised $118,343 by the end of June toward the $250,000 needed to qualify for funding from the state Clean Elections Program.

He has called on all gubernatorial candidates to decline contributions from lobbyists since there should not be any appearance that they could influence legislation. Reportedly, the only other candidate to make a similar pledge is Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, who is seeking the Republican nomination.

When asked if he would make his income tax returns public before the nominating convention next May, Mattei said he hadn’t thought about that subject.

“I don’t see any reason why I would not,” he added.

The two major party candidates in the 2012 U.S. Senate race – Democrat Chris Murphy of Cheshire, who captured the seat, and Republican Linda McMahon of Greenwich, now the federal Small Business Administrator director - made their income tax returns public.

The Democratic gubernatorial nomination will probably be determined in a primary in August of next year.