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My name is Don Mastronardi and I am the Republican Nominee for State Representative for the 142nd District representing Norwalk and New Canaan. I am running because the people of Connecticut deserve to have leadership who believes that the government should work for them. The people of this State deserve to have their personal finances put above the politically connected, who continue to get generous giveaways at the expense of the taxpayer. We deserve leadership that understands that personal liberties and freedoms are absolute, even during a pandemic. We need leadership that prioritizes the needs of the people over a “woke” ideology that only serves to divide for their own political gain. Most importantly, we need leadership that understands parental rights and decisions that affect a child’s schooling and medical decisions belong to the parents’, not the politicians of this State. The people of Norwalk deserve to have a representative that understands their hardships, understands their values, and does not waste their tax dollars on giveaways to special interests. The people of Norwalk need a representative that has lived here, had children in our schools, and created private sector jobs in this city.
Make Connecticut Affordable
One party rule in this State has put us on a path of economic ruin and bankruptcy. CT has the second highest unfunded liabilities per capita in the entire country. Under the government of Hartford Democrats and Lucy Dathan, Connecticut has accumulated $94 billion in unfunded liabilities, or an average of ~$62,000 that each taxpayer owes the government. For what? While 300,000 of our fellow residents lost their jobs during the pandemic, government workers not only maintained their jobs but received bonuses and raises. On top of these raises and bonuses, they received another $3,500 “retention” bonus this Spring and will get 2.5% raises each year for the next 4 years. This is going to cost us, the taxpayer, another $1.9 billion over 4 years. We are coming out of a pandemic that saw CT businesses devastated or closed forever. Facing double digit inflation and $5+ gas, what did my opponent Lucy Dathan think was the correct course of action? Reject plans to provide meaningful income, sales, energy, and property tax relief to residents. She is a supporter of highway tolls and voted for taxes on trucks whose costs are passed on to consumers in higher grocery prices. She did nothing to help small businesses. Instead, she voted to increase the costs small businesses pay to cover the hole created by her Party’s lockdowns and business closures. Lucy cannot point to a single bill she has introduced that would significantly cut expenses for our residents. In her own campaign literature, her definition of meaningful tax cut is eliminating the admission tax when attending a movie, thanks Lucy. Everything she supports, and everything she votes against, increases your cost of living. She claims to be a moderate to appeal to residents, but her record is of a far left liberal that is always reaching into your wallet or purse, while trying to replace parents’ voices with that of a centralized government.
We must make Connecticut attractive to residents and businesses by making the government small and more efficient. As a business owner and employer, I know firsthand the inflated costs our residents and small businesses face just to make ends meet. I will push for cutting the sales taxes on goods and services. I will work with businesses to cut their payroll taxes and insurance costs, fight to lower property taxes, and make sure big developers don’t get special treatment just because they donate to a campaign. I will reduce the influence of the State unions and reduce unfunded mandates that cost towns and taxpayers millions of dollars every year. I will make child tax credits permanent and fight to make retirement savings non-taxable. Most importantly, I will ensure that government workers are compensated similarly to private sector workers, not as a privileged class. We need to run our State like I run my businesses: reward those whose hard work adds value, ignore special interests, and find ways to efficiently run operations and cut expenses to ensure long term, sustainable success.
Norwalk needs a leader who has lived in Norwalk, had children who attended Norwalk schools, and started businesses in this community. I am that leader. Lucy only knows Norwalk as a politician. She is a disconnected outsider, having chosen to never live in this community. I work among you and will fight every day to earn your vote.
Don Mastronardi
New Canaan, CT
Mastronardi is the Republican Nominee for State Representative for the 142nd District representing Norwalk and New Canaan.