Maroney Makes His Case to be Milford's Next State Senator

MILFORD, CT — Democrat James Maroney, Milford Resident and former state representative, announced his candidacy for Connecticut’s 14th Senate District seat at Founders’ Walk in Milford. Rich Smith, chairman of the Milford Democratic Town Committee, and Gayle Slossberg, current democratic state senator from the 14th district, addressed the crowd of more than 100 friends and fellow democrats, including Mayor Ben Blake, before introducing Maroney.

More than 100 friends and family of James Maroney gather as he announces his candidacy for the Connecticut state senate’s 14th district seat Monday at Founders’ Walk in Milford.

Maroney’s remarks from March 26, 2018 -

I am overwhelmed by the support I have received so far, and I thank you all for being here. Senator Slossberg, thank you for your introduction. For almost 14 years now you have set the standard for how to represent our community in Hartford, and you will leave big shoes to fill. You have shown that it is important to be independent, thoughtful, carefully watch every dollar, and most importantly, serve your constituents well.

Your constituent service has been second to none. I have learned from your example, and if you don’t mind, I plan on leaning on your experience as we move forward.

You may wonder why I chose this location - Founders’ Walk - to make this announcement. Founders’ Walk is just one example of what powerful positive change can happen when a community works together. When I took office as a State Representative in 2012, this for years had been an abandoned road, complete with mafia blocks, a bent chain link fence on one side and some highway guard rail on the other side. But this spot is important, as downtown Milford is the heart of our community. Just the other side of the harbor from here is where the first settlers of Milford landed in 1639.

The genesis for this park actually goes back to 1999, when I was sitting in on a charette presented by Alan Platus, who was developing a new plan of conservation and development for milford. As part of his presentation, he showed pictures of our beautiful green and harbor, and then he showed a picture of the abandoned road and said, “and then you have this.” In my mind, I knew he was right, and we had to do something about this area. When the plan of conservation and development was finished and it mentioned a river walk, the final seeds for what would become founders walk were sown.

Some years later, as a state representative, with the support of Mayor Blake, and the rest of our state delegation at the time, Senator Slossberg, Rep. Rose, and Rep Paul Davis, I submitted for and received state money for this project. Mayor Blake also committed money from his walkable cities initiative. This project is an example of what we can do when we work together.

Different levels of government contributed. The sign board was donated by the Devon Rotary, I chaired the steering committee that was made up wholly of volunteers, the Milford Garden Club dedicated the Blue Star Memorial monument at the top of the walk, and the Garden Club, Milford Education Foundation, Milford Irish Club, and Milford Oyster Festival have all donated money towards the benches that will line the walk this summer, and with the help of Carolyn Augur, I was able to secure a grant from the Realtors Association to have a master plan drawn for an extension of Founders’ Walk.

As we move forward, we need to not just look at what is, but at what can be. While we need to respect our history, we need to recognize that times are changing and see how we can be true to ourselves while retooling for the new economy.

Connecticut used to be the most innovative state in the country and was home to many of most innovative companies of their time. We need to get back there and reclaim our history. We need to innovate our way out of stagnation that has infected our economy and muffled the dreams of our citizens, especially our young citizens. We need to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem and a start up mentality. We can’t buy a top company from another state, no, we need to grow our own new companies, as we are just a few successful startups away from once again having a thriving economy.

As a government, we need to find ways of doing more with less. We need to find better ways of delivering service to our residents. We need to innovate delivery by using mechanisms such as pay for success financing, that I had advocated for when I was a state representative and will continue to advocate for as a state senator.

We need to continue to build on our strengths. We have a highly educated workforce. In fact, between new haven and Boston there are more Phds per capita than anywhere else in the country. We need to educate our students for the jobs of tomorrow.

We can’t rest on our laurels of having some of the top schools in the country. We need to support our teachers and provide them with the resources and support they need to continue improving that education, and offer exposure for our students to computer coding and other skills of the new economy. We need to teach them how to learn a living, as many of the top jobs today didn’t even exist 10 to 15 years ago.

While we have a highly educated workforce, the skills we have aren’t always the skills that are needed. We need to find a way to resolve this skills mismatch. Currently, there are an estimated 13,000 unfilled advanced manufacturing jobs in the state. We need to partner with businesses through programs like apprenticeships and the advanced manufacturing centers at our technical high schools and community colleges to help fill those positions.

Most importantly, at a time when the partisan divide has never been greater, and when we tend to focus on our differences instead of our similarities, we need to work together: government, business, and neighbors, to build a better future for our children and grandchildren. To paraphrase a well known quote, there is nothing wrong with Connecticut that cannot be fixed by what’s right we Connecticut. To me, the thing that is most right about Connecticut is out in front of us today: family, friends, history, and a community that is more of an extended family.

We need to remember that there are reasons why we have chosen to stay here, and build our families, and remain a part of our community. I believe that Connecticut’s best days are still ahead of us, but that it will take thoughtful leadership, shared sacrifice, and teamwork to get there. That is why I am running for State Senate in the 14th district, and why I am asking for your support.

Photo details:

James Maroney, his wife, Jen, and son, Jay, pose for a photo after announcing his candidacy for state senate Monday at Founders’ Walk in Milford.

Rich Smith (left), chairman of the Milford Democratic Town Committee, and Gayle Slossberg (center), Democratic state senator from the 14th district, address the crowd prior to James Maroney(right) announcing his candidacy for state senate Monday at Founders’ Walk in Milford.