Republican Morrison Seeks Southington's 81st House Seat

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The 2022 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 gubernatorial 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 over Republicans in the House, 97-54, and in the Senate, 24-12.

Connecticut Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Tony Morrison, a Southington resident, is running for the House of Representatives in the 81st District, representing most of Southington.

It is an open seat, as state Rep. John Fusco, R-Southington, is not seeking a new term and has endorsed Morrison.

Age: "Old Enough"

Party affiliation: Republican

Occupation: High-tech business executive for 30 years, now retired

Education: M.A. English Literature

Previous elected experience: Southington Board Of Finance, three terms 2017-Present

Family: Wife Mindy, Daughter Sara, Son Ryan, Grandson Finn, Granddaughter June

Campaign website: https://morrisonforct.com

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No

Why are you seeking this office?
I am running because we need to reverse the disastrous course set for us by legislation passed by the majority Democrat Party.

Our state used to be a model for others — recognized for low taxes, career opportunities, low crime and responsive state fiscal management.

Now, after 40 years of Democrat rule of our Legislature, we are among the highest taxed states in the country and yet among the worst in terms of services provided for that money.

Businesses are relocating from a highly taxed over-regulated state and we have difficulty attracting replacements.

And we are the worst state in the nation in terms of fiscal management – utterly broke with an estimated $67 Billion of pension and healthcare benefits that we cannot afford to pay.

Not content with crashing our economy, Democrats in Hartford are also busy passing laws handcuffing police not criminals and destroying local control over our schools and planning and zoning.

Connecticut urgently needs lawmakers that believe in an aspirational culture, a solid foundation of law and order and dedicated to providing all of us with the ability to succeed in a flourishing economy.

Lawmakers like myself will drive a new vision for the role of state government; one focused on enabling our freedoms, not dictating how we should live.

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

Two major differences.

1. In my campaign I have laid out clearly why Connecticut is suffering economically and culturally, and why we are struggling with serious law and order issues. I have outlined a vision of how to fix along with legislation that I propose to implement. This provides voters with a clear view as to exactly what I will do, as well as giving them a scorecard by which they can measure my effectiveness when elected. Not so my opponent. He has provided only platitudes in his campaign about how he will "collaborate" and "see both sides" and only generic "do good stuff" statements as to what he wishes to do. It is no accident that I have been endorsed by both local (Southington Police Union) and State (CT Fraternal Order Of Police) police organizations for specific views on law and order problems and what we need to do to fix.

2. I am open and honest about what I stand for and why. I am a Republican and believe in the free market, free speech, that all are born equal, that law and order has to be applied to all in the same way and that folks leading free lives with little interference from government offer the best way to become healthy, wealthy and wise. In contrast, my opponent is deliberately hiding his beliefs. His campaign literature and signs are strangely free of any mention of the fact that he is even a Democrat.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

In addition, to inflation, taxes and crime, I am addressing three other serious problems:

1. The fight against the State taking over Southington's control of our planning and zoning.

2. The dangers posed by the ever-increasing tide of woke nonsense that is threatening to overwhelm our culture.

3. The urgent need to put our state energy policies back on track beginning with new natural gas pipelines.

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

In my business career I have developed and ran large global businesses which streamlined large organization's operations using technology. The largest business I ran was $400 Million in annual revenues.

I was very successful, but not without incident along the way, and to paraphrase a famous quote "met with triumph and disaster and treated both imposters the same."

This work was exceptionally hard — come up with new products and services each year, work to understand a customer base spread across all countries, creeds and cultures, meet budgets, hire hundreds of people across continents and get them working as a team, build support infrastructure, and travel travel travel.

The pace of high tech demands constant building of a knowledge base and the development of an analytical view to make sense of it all.

And as always there are problems to solve, not least of which are financial ones; one example - how to make $10 Million in the first year on a brand new service on a budget of less than $1 million.

The work though gave me much - an ability to break problems down to their essence so they can be addressed, the ability to understand and work with anyone, and a keen understanding that if you get the finances right much else falls into place. An ideal training for many things, not least of which is understanding and working on the huge problems facing our state.

In addition to my work experience, I have been an elected official in Southington since 2017. I ran for the board of finance once I had retired and at a time when the state was threatening to cut our education grant money (they did by $5 Million so it was an interesting first year), and I believed I could add something at such a critical time. Since 2017 we have kept tax increases at zero apart from property revaluations, while funding key infrastructure improvements.

I have also gained a detailed understanding of much of the state operations, especially as regards key issues with Southington such as infrastructure development. So I will be able to hit the ground running as a state representative and will be effective from day one.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Keep on rocking in the free world.

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

My career was based on the need to support a family and the admittedly selfish desire to prove myself. But my political work is based far more on empathy. The best way to help people is to better the environment in which they live. If the state can be put back on track the way it once was we will all benefit.