Greg Ehlers Seeks Republican Bid to Run Against Norwalk's Bob Duff for State Senate

DARIEN, CT - Republican businessman Greg Ehlers, of Darien, announced Friday that he will seek the his party's nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent State Sen. Bob Duff, who is also Senate Majority Leader, for the 25th District this fall, which includes all of Norwalk and part of Darien.

“Hartford bureaucrats especially Bob Duff do not respect the taxpayers of Darien and Norwalk. There is no accountability," said Ehlers in a statement. "We are being left behind, unable to fairly compete in today’s ever changing world. The Duff- Malloy duo spend our hard-earned money without vision and understanding that we are in the 21st century and Connecticut must be competitive. Bob Duff has supported raising taxes to record levels, increasing spending on failed programs of yesterday and piling debt on future generations. Connecticut deserves better.”

His candidacy marks the first time Ehlers has run for elective office, according to his bio. He has a business and financial services background, he was a member of Round Table Investment Management Company, a global macro hedge fund, and special advisor to Rareview Macro, an advisory firm to some of the world’s most influential investors. In 2007, Ehlers co-founded Navigate Advisors, a boutique macro broker-dealer. In his capacity as Managing Partner, he provided advice and facilitated trading in an array of financial assets. He is currently Managing Director at SROcalendar LLC, which offers consulting solutions in cyber security to Registered Investment Advisers, Investment Advisers, and the Broker Dealer Industry.

Ehlers, a 16-year Darien resident, also said that Duff is a "principal architect of failed policies that are destroying business, hurting the middle class and driving working people to other states. Duff should not be the steward of the taxpayers hard-earned money." He added that voters are "angry about Connecticut’s stalled economic growth and Hartford’s professional political class, which is failing to deliver both realistic budgets or creditable long term plans for the State."

Such issues require professionals not professional politicians, Ehlers says, adding that Duff was "instrumental in enacting two of the biggest tax increases on the middle class in state history – championed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy - under the mistaken belief it would generate jobs and revenue. They were wrong. It produced neither, Connecticut residents were left with record deficits and flat wages."

“People are leaving the state in record numbers. We cannot improve our state economy if we re-elect the same politicians and expect them to fix the problems they created” said Ehlers. “I want my children and your children to have the opportunity to pursue a life and career in Connecticut. We cannot do that with Bob Duff representing us in Hartford.”

Ehlers received his B.S. in Finance and Economics from the University of Montana School of Business.

He has three sons, and mentors young professionals in the financial services industry.

Photo: Greg Ehlers. Photo credit: Contributed