Candidate Profile: Cristin McCarthy Vahey For Fairfield State Rep

CONNECTICUT — The 2020 election is heating up in Connecticut and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. Eyes are primarily focused on the presidential election, but every state representative and senate seat is up for grabs. All five of Connecticut's congressional seats are up for grabs as well.

There are 151 seats in the state House of Representatives and 36 in the state Senate. Democrats currently hold majorities in both chambers with a 91 to 60 lead over Republicans in the House and a 22 to 14 lead in the Senate.

Connecticut Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Cristin McCarthy Vahey, a Fairfield resident, is running for House of Representatives District 133.

Age: 50

Party affiliation: Democratic Party

Family: My husband, Brian Vahey, is a Navy veteran, financial professional, and current chair of the Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board. Daughter Emma, 22, a is a Georgetown graduate and a grad of the Fairfield Public Schools. My sons are Daniel, 17, 12th grade at FWHS, and Gabriel, 13, eighth grade at Tomlinson Middle School.

Occupation: Social worker, practicing for three years post-graduate; prior to that a youth minister for six years; spent a year working in juvenile detention during a volunteer year immediately after college.

Previous elected experience: RTM (three terms, 2005-2011), Board of Selectmen (2011-2014), state representative (2015-present)

Family members in government: My daughter is a policy specialist in D.C. Two uncles, and five cousins, serve in or are retired from the police forces in their respective communities. Two were police chief. One left the police force and is now a firefighter. Two cousins currently serve in the military and my father, husband, grandfathers and multiple uncles served in the military. My uncle is a district judge. I am sure there are others, as I come from a large extended family.

Campaign website: cristinmccarthyvahey.com

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

2020 has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which will be felt for years to come. Our daily life has been altered in countless ways, from how we access transportation, to healthcare delivery, school attendance and economic activity. Our seniors and black, indigenous people of color have been disproportionally impacted, which means that we need to take extra care to assure their health and safety going forward. As families begin to visit loved ones in nursing homes, an important and welcome change, we must ensure that timely and thorough testing and tracing measures are in place. I will continue to support and advocate for proper funding for our public health officials and front-line providers who are battling this pandemic and facing its impact every day. Besides supporting the funding and infrastructure for testing, tracing and, eventually, vaccination, we are going to have to help our economy, our families and our workers rebuild. This means developing our workforce, providing economic relief to families who face hunger and loss of their homes, continuing support for telehealth services, and working in concert with our schools to provide the technology infrastructure and social emotional tools needed for student and teacher success.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am a mom to three children, one a graduate from and two currently attending Fairfield Public Schools. I am a trained and experienced social worker, which has been essential to my proven ability to bring together diverse voices, build consensus, and develop solutions that work. I have been honored to serve as both a community and elected leader in Fairfield for over 15 years. When my husband and I moved to Fairfield in 2002 after time on the West Coast with the Navy, I joined the League of Women Voters. It was my involvement with the League that led me to run first for the Representative Town Meeting and later the Board of Selectmen, where I served for three years. That experience has informed my three terms as state representative, including leadership roles such as caucus chair, chair of the General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee, and chair of the bipartisan Coastal Caucus.

I understand from real experience how systems intersect, how to have and host difficult conversations, how to make use of data, source documents and experts to drive decisions. Also central are the relationships I have developed with constituents, community leaders, fellow legislators and advocates locally and around the state. These relationships are the vital tools that enable me to understand and address the issues facing our community and identify the resources we need. Creating connections to solve complex problems is essential to effective legislating.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

In my six years in the legislature, I have introduced and helped pass bills to limit the use of tobacco, increase protections for seniors, ensure mental health coverage, guarantee paid family leave, fund rail and transit, and ensure reproductive rights. All of these result from working in collaboration with community leaders here in Fairfield, around the state and often throughout the country. Building bridges, creating spaces where differing opinions can be heard and learned from, and staying at the table to resolve those differences guide my work for the people of Fairfield.

Along with being the oldest of six children and a mom, and serving in leadership positions in public office for 15 years, having a Master of Social Work degree is one of the most important assets I bring to the job. Social workers are trained communicators, collaborators and policy analysts. When the legislature took on raising the age for tobacco purchases to 21, I gathered the stakeholders, including the tobacco companies, together around the table, and facilitated the negotiation process. We were successful in passing a bill despite some diametrically opposing viewpoints.

Do you believe Connecticut needs reform when it comes to electric utility oversight? What steps, if any should be taken?

Yes, reforms are needed and in progress as we speak. The legislature is poised to vote on a reform bill later this week that will allow PURA, our Public Utilities Regulatory Agency, to expand its ability to investigate, to adopt performance-based standards for setting rates and for executive compensation, and to increase the time allowed for rate review. The change in the rate review process brings us in line with regulatory agencies around the nation and provides PURA with an opportunity to hear directly from Connecticut residents before making a determination and enacting any rate increases. The bill will provide additional supports for low income customers. It will allow up to a $250 credit for food and medicine if power is out for 96 consecutive hours due to a power company’s lack of preparation. Though not part of oversight, the bill also expands the successful micro-grid program, which Fairfield has taken advantage of for our own critical infrastructure.

The bill, which is the most significant change of its kind since deregulation, does not specifically address problems in communication between the utilities and municipalities. This is an equally critical component of storm response. I have participated in multiple meetings with UI and our emergency response team here in Fairfield and regionally. Efforts to improve and streamline this communication are critical and I applaud our fire and police leadership for the constructive feedback they have provided to the utilities.

Of note is the fact that this past spring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) increased the transmission line rates. Neither the General Assembly nor our regulatory agency, PURA, has jurisdiction over these increases. These are some of the new additional costs rate payers are seeing on their bills.

What steps should state government take to bolster economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic for local businesses?

Economic recovery must be supported at every level of government, beginning with the federal response and including state and local government, and nonprofit, academic and private sector stakeholders. We are going to have to continue to work together like never before. The enormity of the situation demands a federal response, as we witnessed this spring and summer, such as expansion in unemployment relief and loan programs for businesses. States cannot do this alone.
On the state level, we need to provide economic support, such as loans for small businesses; clear communication about guidelines for reopening; transparency in decision-making regarding public health guidelines; and streamlined access to information and resources, including when first starting a business in our state.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

Access to healthcare and mental health care, economic recovery, support and protection for seniors, and educational equity and safety are all primary issues facing the people of our community and priorities for me. At the same time, I will work to address climate change and protect our environment; work to create walkable, bikeable, sustainable communities; expand policies for tobacco and suicide prevention; provide social emotional learning and safety in our schools; support our workers and working families; strengthen gun violence prevention efforts; and address racial and social equity within policies across all disciplines.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

In a world focused on division, I am focused on bringing people together. In Hartford, some of my colleagues chuckle when I say how much I love Fairfield and the people of this community because I say it so often. We are a community blessed with abundant natural resources, residents who are passionate and engaged and committed to education at every level, from cradle to grave. We may not agree, but we can and must learn from one another and build our community together. That is what I will continue to do if re-elected as your state representative.