CT Patch Candidate Profile: Kara Rochelle For State Representative

DERBY, CT — Election Day on Nov. 3, 2026, is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot in Connecticut.

Patch reached out to candidates for office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing the state and town.

Candidate's Name:

Kara Rochelle

What office are you seeking?

State Representative

Age:

43

District:

104

Party:

Democrat

Campaign website:

https://karaforct.com

Occupation:

Union Organizer for Healthcare Workers

Family:

Big, loving Italian family.

Does anyone in your family work in government?

My father is not in politics or government, but he has served the community as a volunteer firefighter for nearly 50 years and serves a regional fire coordinator for New Haven County. My grandmother was the registrar of voters in Seymour for 43 years. They both taught me a lot about commitment, service, and civic responsibility.

Previous public office:

Derby Board of Ethics

Why are you seeking this office?

I believe in my heart that public service needs to be about making life better for others, building up our community, and creating opportunities for prosperity. If you put an honest week’s work every week, it shouldn’t be this hard to pay the bills. Good paying jobs with benefits, affordable healthcare, sane costs for your rent or mortgage, tackling corporate greed and protecting consumers against skyrocketing costs for groceries and just about everything else…these are the kitchen table, wallet and pocketbook issues I focus on. I want my neighbors to have a fair shake, some breathing room financially, and resources flowing to our community so families can afford childcare, kids can get a good education, job training options are available for adults, and seniors can retire with stability and dignity.

What do you believe is the No. 1 issue facing Connecticut, and how do you plan to address it?

Affordability. There needs to be a multi-pronged approach, from tax relief for middle and working class residents to career pathways into good paying jobs; consumer protections to crack down on price gouging (like the bill I wrote to ban surveillance pricing); increasing the housing supply across the state to alleviate demand needs (especially for young professionals, workforce housing, and seniors looking to downsize); and tackling the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, amongst other big ticket/big cost items. I hope to enact a public option for more affordable healthcare in the coming year, and to continue our investment in statewide universal pre-k and affordable childcare. We have already eliminated taxes on most retirement income as well, and I’d like to look at expanding property tax credits for seniors.

Energy costs have been soaring in Connecticut. What are your plans to help address this issue?

We need to take an “all of the above” approach with natural gas, nuclear, wind, solar, and fuel cells, etc. I’m excited that we made plug-and-use “balcony solar” legal and the technology should be rolling out soon for consumers to use to reduce energy bills. I also think the state needs to get tougher with the energy companies and look at additional avenues to maximize our service while eliminating excess fees or ratepayer burdens. For example, we banned utility companies from using ratepayer money to lobby. I’d also like to see utility companies have to foot the bill more for certain costs, instead of relying on ratepayers or taxpayers.

Affordability has been a major topic across the country and here in Connecticut. How do you plan to address this issue?

I did touch on this in an earlier question. I did just write and pass a law to ban surveillance pricing price gouging, as one example. We need to do a public option for healthcare as soon as possible, to help drive down costs for all who choose to participate. We also need to address private equity, which has acted as a private profits driven middleman driving up profits for shareholders while often diminishing quality of service and care, very concerningly in sectors like hospitals, healthcare clinics, nursing homes, some daycares, the housing rental market of large conglomerate landlords, even some special education programs. We have to put people first, regarding quality of service and cost, before shareholders. In the coming session I have a few bill ideas regarding regulation on this front to protect consumers. We also need to address the supply/demand imbalance that has spurred the housing crisis, and keep building CT’s early childhood endowment so we can realize universal pre-K and affordable early childhood education for all. Last, I’d like to look at additional property tax breaks for seniors, and explore the state producing affordable generic prescription drug options to drive down costs.

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

I have passed numerous bills spanning a wide range of topics, serve as Vice Chair of the Higher Education & Employment Advancement Committee, and have been tapped to serve as a Deputy Majority Leader. I also founded and co-chair the bipartisan Blue Collar Caucus in the legislature, to really focus on working class and middle class issues, good paying jobs, training opportunites, worker protections, and bolstering growing industries. I’ve written and passed several bills to support the fire service, particularly for volunteer firefighters, as well as bills up support police and EMS as well. Fire bills include the state-funded highway call response reimbursement program, reduced cost classes and live burn training for volunteer departments, free Fire I & Fire II training for Ansonia, Derby, and towns like ours, a grant program for junior firefighter programs in volunteer departments, and more. I’ve also written and passed multiple pieces of legislation to support the manufacturing industry. This year, co-authored a large priority bill for workers spanning 76 sections addressing everything from educators to the building trades, healthcare workers to first responders, service workers and more. Finally, I have also written and passed bills regarding early childhood educational supports, regarding supports for those on the autism spectrum, and a bill to require insurance companies to cover all out of pocket costs for medical surveillance for ovarian cancer (the hardest to find and deadliest of women’s cancers due to often late diagnosis).

Locally, I have brought home to our district millions in new education funds, town aid, and hundreds of millions of dollars for special projects and economic development. Some examples include two new train stations, increased service on the rail line and new rail cars ordered; $24m to clean up and redevelop Ansonia Brass/Farrell; millions for downtown Derby improvements and economic redevelopment, $100k annually for free teen programming for all Ansonia & Derby high schoolers at the Boys & Girls Club, funding to improve our riverwalk in both towns, elevator improvements at the Derby Senior Center & at the Team building, and so much more.

My policy work has earned me awards from the CT State Firefighters Association, ManufactureCT, and EmergeCT. I was named a 2026 Council of State Governments Robert J. Thompson Eastern Leadership Fellow.

I host monthly coffee events to listen to my constituents/neighbors of Ansonia & Derby, host a large annual Jobs Fair every June, and annual Senior Fair each fall, and an low-cost pop-up vet clinic for pet owners as well, amongst other events.

I take this work very seriously and work hard to be a true public servant.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I love hearing from constituents, whether it’s to get feedback on policy, answer questions, hear your ideas, help with a state agency, or connect you to another resource. I love working for all of you, so please always feel welcome to reach out. I’m your neighbor and I’m in your corner.