Candidate Profile: Kathleen Stowe For CT House District 149

GREENWICH, CT — 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.

Kathleen Stowe, a Greenwich resident, is running for House of Representatives District 149.

Age: 44

Party affiliation: Democratic Party

Family: Three children in Greenwich Public Schools

Occupation: Two decades of financial and business experience in investment banking and private equity

Previous elected experience: Vice Chair, Greenwich Board of Education

Family members in government: No

Campaign website: kathleenstowe.com

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

Connecticut faces real economic and fiscal challenges, both in the short term as a result of the pandemic as well as our long term fiscal position. At the same time, I see a tremendous opportunity to set ourselves up for a bright future. New families are moving here. Let's encourage them to stay and more to come by championing a strong local and state economy, by protecting our bucolic landscapes and by maintaining a top quality education system, all while preserving sound fiscal discipline. We can also attract more businesses to our state with this work from home culture and companies looking to leave New York. We have an opportunity to grow our state and improve our fiscal health.

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

I think it’s important to focus on what I bring to the table which is a proven track record with two decades of financial experience and real world experience of growing companies through various economic cycles. I have also been actively engaged in the community for the past decade and have shown my ability as a leader on the Board of Education to work across party lines. Our recent success getting the Greenwich community back to school, when other surrounding schools have yet to open, shows I will work tirelessly for our community to find a solution. Now more than ever we need a leader who has a track record of getting things done and a collaborative style to serve our community in Hartford.

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

I have a strong track record of community engagement, most notably as Vice-Chair of the Greenwich Board of Education but also coaching youth sports for my three children and serving on the Board of the Northeast Greenwich Association. I bring two decades of financial experience as an investment banker and private equity executive which I hope to use to improve our state economy and finances.

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

It is important that we as the citizens of the state have a strong say in how our utilities operate. The Take Back Our Grid legislation provided PURA with some specific guidance and tools, like performance based ratemaking, credits on your spoiled food and medicine and reduced charges when lack of preparation leads to outages lasting more than 96 hours. There should be some financial recourse for lengthy outages like what occurred with the recent storm. I also would like to think more broadly about improving our infrastructure as we are all increasingly relying on our Internet connections as we work from home or have remote schooling.

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

I have been facing this challenge directly as a leader on the Board of Education. We must remain agile and prepared to respond as the situation evolves. It is very important that we get people back to work and to school as quickly and as safely as we can. Governor Lamont and his team have done a good job so far, and Connecticut has managed as well as any state. We need to continue to find ways to get people back to work where it makes sense and to enable others to work remotely. We can do this in a responsible way, but we need to give people the opportunity to get back to work to support themselves and their families. I see the excitement in our local students as they get back to school, even with masks and other restrictions. If they can do it, we can find a way.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

My main theme is that we have a tremendous opportunity to grow our state and economy. We have a wonderful region and with people moving here due to this urban exodus we need to foster a strong economy and welcoming business climate, preserve our beautiful open spaces, support high quality public schools while maintaining fair and reasonable taxes.

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

Only thing I would add is that one of the lessons I learned in this pandemic is that people are incredibly resilient and really want to do the right thing. Obviously it is uncomfortable to wear a mask, but I think the attitude of you’re doing it to protect others and especially the most vulnerable just shows how we care about one another as a society. My children for example know we need to be especially thoughtful because of their grandparents. For me this comes back to my theme of building a strong community.

When you go to vote you often look at the platform, but I truly believe more than ever you need to look at the person. Look at their track record and their background since the next couple of years, as we hopefully recover from this pandemic fiscally and health wise, are so vitally important to our future. When I was elected to the Board or Education no one ever thought, “How will she handle a pandemic?” However, what I think I’ve learned is that in all things you need to find a person who will give it their all (including a lot of zoom summer meetings), can find a way forward, has a good attitude, is open minded, has proven themselves in their career, can work well with others, and just cares. You will have that with me since I don’t know how to operate otherwise. Stay well.