Zimmerman says it has been ‘almost like a congressional race’

By Scott Benjamin

NEW FAIRFIELD – Democrat Eva Bermudez Zimmerman says voters tell her they “can’t believe that” she “drove an hour to start your canvassing,”

From Zimmerman’s home in New Milford and from adjoining Brookfield, the drive to Salisbury – near the Massachusetts border - is about 40 miles. The 30th state Senate district has more land than any of the 36 state Senate districts in Connecticut.

There are 18 municipalities – some in metro Danbury, some with lots of open space and farms and some in the Torrington blue-collar corridor.

“It’s almost like a congressional race,” she told about 15 supporters the other afternoon during a meet and greet event in New Fairfield, a town that was added to the district during the recent reapportionment.

“It is not one size fits all,” commented Zimmerman, a director with the Connecticut State Employee Association/Service Employees International Union. In 2018 she ran at the state convention and in the primary for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

She faces state Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) of Brookfield in the November 8 election for the seat that is being vacated by three-term Republican Craig Miner of Litchfield.

Harding has been praised for his bipartisan work to improve the water quality in Lake Candlewood and his prompt constituent service.

CT News Junkie columnist Susan Bigelow has put the district on her list of 11 state Senate races to watch. No Democrat has prevailed since the late Joseph Ruggiero, a Litchfield attorney, in 1978 - when Reggie Jackson’s name appeared on a candy bar and “Philly Rob” was in high school.

In an interview with Patch.com, one of the guests, longtime Democratic State Central Committee member Audrey Blondin of Goshen, said, “I think it is going to be very close.”

“It depends on how big the blue wave is in Connecticut,” Blondin added, making reference to recent polls that show Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Greenwich) with commanding leads in their races.

Blondin said Zimmerman will benefit from being on three ballot lines – Democrat, Working Families and Independent – while Harding will be only on the Republican line. She also said Harding is not as well-known as Miner - a former Litchfield first selectman and state representative – in such mid-district municipalities as Torrington, Winchester and Goshen.

Miner captured his 2018 and 2020 re-election races with less than 54 percent of the vote.

David Stevenson of Bethel, who was the Democratic candidate in the 107tth District state House race in 2008, attended the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce’s debate on October 17, and said he was impressed with Zimmerman’s performance.

“She did a very good job of differentiating between herself and him on the issues,” he said in a phone interview with Patch.com

In particular, he pointed to her comments regarding abortion access.

Harding said he supports the principles of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which, in effect, was overturned in the June 24 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson case. That decision put the power on abortion access into the states instead of the federal government.

Harding said that he supports the codification of Roe v. Wade in Connecticut, which was approved about 30 years ago, and he would never support repealing the law.

However, earlier this year he voted against a bill that addressed legal protections for abortion that he supported, but that also expanded to individuals that were able to perform asphyxiation abortions, a component that he said he objected to.

Said Stevenson, “I think his position is going to make some people from both sides of the issue angry.”

In an interview with Patch.com, New Fairfield Democratic Selectman Khris Hall said, “Eva’s energy impresses me. Her knowledge impresses me.”

She noted that after the election, New Fairfield will have two state senators, since part of the town is still in the 24th District. She said Julie Kushner of Danbury, the incumbent Democrat in that district, has been very helpful in trying to acquire more state funding for education and special education costs, and she believes that, if elected, Zimmerman will have the same impact.

Hall added that the town also is seeking strong state reimbursement for the new high school, which is scheduled to open in 2023.

This spring with inflation already soaring, the General Assembly and Lamont approved a suspension of the 25-cent a gallon gasoline tax.

What has been the public reaction?

“They appreciate it,” Zimmerman commented. “They are concerned about the cost of oil and everyday consumer goods.”

However, Zimmerman, the co-chair of Child Care For Connecticut’s Future, believes one of the best ways to address rising costs is increasing support for early childhood education.

She noted that her organization recently commissioned a poll that indicated that “57 percent of Connecticut voters surveyed support capping early care and education expenses at seven percent of household income, and there is strong bipartisan support for the state completely covering child cars costs for households making under $75.000” annually.

Zimmerman said that 75 percent of the Connecticut voters polled, “believe early care/education teachers should make the same hourly wage as public-school teachers if they have the same education level.”

With interest rates escalating, is Connecticut ready for a recession?

“We have so much of a surplus,” Zimmerman said, noting the $4 billion in the state’s rainy-day fund. “We are ready for a recession.”

How did the pandemic change the 30th District?

“It has changed how people commute,” remarked Zimmerman.

She said that for “thousands of people” in the 30th District their “vacation home became their forever home.”

Zimmerman said as she canvasses neighborhoods many voters say they “really don’t care which party you are with” and that there is “frustration with the political parties.”

Maya King and Jonathan Weisman wrote recently in The New York

Times that “few groups are as united in their discontent as the young.”

The story reported that, “A survey from The New York Times and Siena College found that just one percent of 18-to-29-year-olds strongly approve of the way” Democratic President Joe Biden “is handling his job.”

Said Zimmerman – who, like Harding, is 35 years old - “They want to be independent.”

Hall said that New Fairfield - which has had a Democratic first selectman since late 2017– is, nevertheless, considered to be a traditional Republican town. According to Wikipedia it has only supported one Democratic presidential nominee – Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Yet, she said over the recent years it had trended more unaffiliated. According to Wikipedia.org, about 44 percent of voters are unaffiliated, 30 percent are registered Republicans and there are about 24 percent registered Democrat.

Blondin said recent data indicates that the voters registered with the major parties mostly vote for their party’s candidates. She said the unaffiliated voters will likely determine the winner in the 30th District.

What about communicating with the voters that you don’t meet in person?

Zimmerman said digital communication is a “much more powerful resource than lawn signs” because it is “quantifiable.”

Which political figure does Zimmerman most admire?

“Chris Donovan,” she said, making reference to the former two-term Democratic state House Speaker from Meriden.

“He is a true role model,” Zimmerman explained. “He understands working class roots.”

Resources:

Interview, Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, Patch.com October 23, 2022.

Interview, Khris Hall, Patch.com, October 23, 2022.

Interview, Audrey Blondin, Patch.com, October 23, 2022.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Fairfield,_Connecticut.

https://mailchi.mp/harrisx.com/ct_child_care

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/0...

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2022/10/18/analysis-legislative-races-to-watch-state-senate/

Phone interview, David Stevenson, Patch.com, October 25, 2022.

https://www.newstimes.com/news...