Candidate Profile: Aimee Berger-Girvalo For Assembly District 111

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Aimee Berger-Girvalo, a Ridgefield resident is running for House of Representatives District 111.

Age: 47

Party affiliation: Democratic Party

Family: I have two children, Gracie and Austin. Gracie is a sophomore in college and Austin just started his freshman year at Ridgefield High School.

Occupation: I've worked as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapist for three years and before that for 4 as an Applied Behavior Analysis Paraprofessional, providing in-home and in-school behavioral and educational services to children on the Autism Spectrum.

Previous elected experience:I’ve been a member of the Ridgefield DTC for 4 years and Vice Chair for three. I am a mother, a volunteer, an ABA therapist, and an active participant in our democracy and political process for the betterment of our community.

Family members in government:No

Campaign website: https://aimee4ridgefield.com/

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

COVID-19 recovery. We have a long road ahead to keep our families safe and ensure our economy fully rebounds from this pandemic. We need to focus on creating new jobs, supporting businesses, and providing relief to the working families that are struggling. Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and we need to take bold, immediate action to protect them throughout this crisis. That’s why I have laid out a plan to ensure businesses that are still facing lost income can pay rent, pay employees, and stay afloat. Hartford needs to step up and do everything they can to help them weather this storm and it starts with rent relief. This also means it’s time to institute a living wage in Connecticut — we can’t rebuild our economy while people are paying or earning poverty wages. Now more than ever, our working families need support. It’s critical that we continue to provide emergency rent and mortgage relief to ensure families can stay in their homes, expand access to childcare, create new jobs, and help connect those who are unemployed with new opportunities.

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

I’ve released plans to support our small businesses and their recovery, address the healthcare crisis, protect and support our seniors, and more. I am committed to racial and economic justice, bold action to protect our environment from climate change, women’s rights, an equitable education system, and healthcare access for all. We’re facing challenges on so many fronts, and I envision a future for our community that lifts all boats. My opponent refuses to denounce Donald Trump’s divisive, racist, and downright demeaning practice and policies. He is a member of the Republican Party which has spent the last four years promoting this hateful, divisive agenda, stripping protections from working families, rolling back environmental protections, attacking access to quality, affordable healthcare, and ignoring the needs of the most vulnerable. It is unacceptable for someone who wants the trust of our neighbors to continue to align themselves with such divisive policies meant to bolster the ultra-wealthy and no one else. I have been endorsed by Congressman Jim Himes, Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, First Selectman Rudy Marconi, CSEA SEIU Local 2001, Connecticut Against Gun Violence, NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, and Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut, and I received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction.

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

I bring years of dedicated community leadership, keen insight into the needs of our schools and local businesses, and a background in corporate management, education, and public service that will allow me to hit the ground running in Hartford. I have managed multi-million dollar, corporate businesses, including working as a General Manager for Gap Inc., giving me insight into the needs of our local businesses during this crisis. I have also volunteered for over a decade as the director and coach of the Holland League of the Soccer Club of Ridgefield, giving kids with learning and developmental differences the opportunity to play a team sport. As an activist, I was called to action after the shootings at Sandy Hook and I helped plan the March for Change, have volunteered with Moms Demand Action, and am a co-founder of the Ridgefield chapter of a Women’s March group.

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

Our state’s electric utility oversight desperately needs reform. Eversource has failed time and again to uphold its promises to customers, and it’s time to finally hold Eversource accountable and modernize our state’s energy grid. After Tropical Storm Isaias blew through the state, it was clear that Eversource was not prepared for the storm, and its slow-moving response left thousands of people in our community without power for more than a week. We saw a massive failure of what was supposed to be an established plan. This is unacceptable. The state needs to increase oversight and regulation of Eversource, ensure that it follows through on communication protocols and “make safe” program in emergency situations, and enact consequences if the company fails its customers. We should be getting better at this, not worse.

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

I have released a comprehensive plan to bolster our economic recovery and support local businesses, which includes the following measures:

• Halt all commercial evictions until rental subsidies can be put in place.
• Immediately provide emergency rent subsidies for small businesses that are struggling.
• Expand the Connecticut Recovery Bridge Loan Program to continue providing no-interest loans to small businesses — particularly women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses.
• Create a grant program for small businesses that can demonstrate hardship and cannot afford to take on additional debt, as is being done in Rhode Island.
• Cap delivery platform fees at 10 percent. Deferring fees, as some companies have done, is not enough to help businesses that are struggling to survive.
• Expand Sales Tax Free Week to non-chain restaurants and extend through October, November and December to encourage shopping locally.
• Establish a single-payer healthcare system to ease the burden on small businesses and ensure healthcare coverage for all.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

• Establishing a single-payer healthcare system to lower the burden on small businesses and ensure all families have access to high quality, affordable healthcare
• Preserving reproductive freedom and voting rights
• Implementing common-sense gun regulation
• Protecting funding and local control for Ridgefield schools
• Expanding senior services and tax credits
• Protecting our environment and investing in green jobs in renewable energy generation, transportation, energy efficiency and trading, green construction and more.

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

This is undoubtedly one of the most important elections of our lifetime — our rights, values, and future are on the ballot. It’s critical that we elect leaders who will lift up working families and guide us forward with strength and dignity on our path to recovery. Throughout this campaign, I’ve released plans to provide short- and long-term relief to our small businesses, support working families who are struggling, ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, create new jobs, protect and support our seniors, and more. As a mom, a dedicated volunteer, a paraeducator, and former manager of several multi-million dollar businesses, I am committed to building a better future for our communities and I have the skills and experience to make it happen.