'Monaco's Campaign Launches Negative Attack on James Albis'

Press release

February 11, 2011 – With the special election rapidly approaching, Republican candidate Linda Monaco has launched an attack on Democratic candidate James Albis by distorting his position on taxes.

During a recent TV debate, Albis made the point that it would be “unrealistic” not to have tax increases to help balance the budget.

In a desperate attack, the Monaco campaign has distorted this statement to say that Albis would propose "substantial tax increases."

"If my opponent understood the voters of East Haven like I do," Albis said, "She would know that we don't need or enjoy this type of negative politics."

Albis also explained his plan to get Connecticut's financial house in order.

“Connecticut is facing a $3.7 billion deficit," Albis said. "To cut $3.7 billion out of the budget, we would have to cut vital services that our hard-working families and seniors rely on daily. We can and should look to cut wasteful levels of bureaucracy and work to make our government more efficient before looking at tax increases, but the fact remains that we can’t cut our way out of the deficit.”

Albis said, he might support a millionaires’ tax, which would "protect our hard working, middle-class families" and help avoid an increase in property taxes that East Haven families could not afford. Albis wants to take an "honest and practical" approach to balancing the budget, maintaining vital services and emphasizing tax fairness.

“Even if we were to lay off every single state employee, we would still not have enough funds to cover the deficit,” said Albis. “It’s time to have a grown-up discussion about how to balance the budget.”