ROCKY HILL - Candidate: Matt Lesser

       Running for: 9th State Senate District

       District towns: Middletown/Rocky Hill/Cromwell/Wethersfield/Newington

       Lives in: Middletown

       Party: Democrat

       Status: Incumbent

      

       1. For those unfamiliar with your journey, what first inspired you to get involved in politics? How has your as background guided your legislative vision?

      

       Matt: I’m a husband and a new father and I’ve served in the State Senate for the last four years. As a cancer survivor, I am particularly focused on health care, making sure that we expand coverage and address the outrageous cost of care. And I am a relentless optimist - I think with smart investments and the right reforms, Connecticut’s best days are ahead of us. As your senator, I always look first at how any proposal affects the five towns I represent - that’s why, even though I’m a proud Democrat, I’ve also been endorsed by the Connecticut Independent Party as well as by a number of Republican constituents.

      

      

       2. Despite tax relief included in the latest state budget, affordability remains a hot topic this election cycle -- where might there be opportunities for Connecticut to continue pushing toward this goal?

      

       Matt: There’s a lot we need to tackle to make Connecticut affordable. Property taxes, housing costs and electric prices are all big problems, particularly for young people and seniors.

      

       Here’s the good news -- this year we were able to balance the budget and cut taxes by more than $600 million, the largest tax cut in state history. We cut the gas tax, created a new child tax credit, and exempted pension and annuity and Social Security income from the state income tax. But unfortunately, some area towns like Rocky Hill keep raising taxes. We need real property tax reform, and we need strong regulations to hold companies like Eversource accountable for high prices and lousy service.

      

       Also, even though we sometimes think of the housing crisis as a New York City or West Coast problem, Connecticut currently has the lowest home vacancy rate in the country, a sign that supply has not been keeping up with demand. Renters in our area are seeing massive rent increases that are creating significant hardship. That’s a major issue that affects not only quality of life, but also limits our ability to attract the workforce we need to grow our economy.

      

      

      

      

       3. A large piece of the affordability question is how to lower healthcare costs for Connecticut consumers. How would you look to tackle this problem?

      

       Matt: It’s ridiculous that Americans pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world. I’m trying to do something about it, which is why I wrote Connecticut’s law that caps insulin at $25 a month, the lowest cap in the country. Now that Congress has authorized Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, Connecticut should piggyback on those new lower prices - passing on the savings to anyone in Connecticut with insurance.

      

       I believe in competition. As a state we need to admit that the growth of health care monopolies - particularly hospital chains -- is a big problem that is raising prices and limiting consumer choice. We should fight monopolies with multiple tools, holding regulators like the Office of Health Strategy accountable for approving bad mergers -- but also limiting the ability of monopolies to use their market position to force customers and insurance companies to pay outrageous prices. Senate Bill 416, which I passed through the Senate this year, but has yet to pass the House, would do just that.

      

      

       4. Over the past couple of years, current lawmakers have passed legislation to address motor vehicle property crime â€" with newer policies including the streamlining of officer access to juvenile records, harsher penalties on adults who entice minors to commit car thefts, GPS ankle bracelet monitoring for juvenile repeat offenders, and expedited arraignments. Given that public safety is still a concern for Connecticut residents, what else do you feel needs to be done?

      

       Matt: We need to make our communities safer. This year I focused on actions, not politics. I sat down and worked across party lines, and we passed a massive, bipartisan juvenile crime bill that gives police and prosecutors more tools to address crime and keep kids safe.

      

       We also passed a separate law cracking down on the theft of catalytic converters. I also know you can’t talk about violent crime without tackling gun violence in a serious way -- with strong laws and serious enforcement. Unfortunately, some politicians are much more interested in scoring political points and bragging about how much they support the police or the NRA than they are in doing anything serious to improve public safety.

      

      

       5. Educators say the pandemic has put a spotlight on preexisting achievement gaps, mental health challenges, and equity issues in schools â€" what else can the state do to support local districts in these areas, and what might that look like from a legislative policy standpoint?

      

       Matt: Kids’ mental health is our top priority this year, and we just made a record investment, putting social workers and counselors in schools across the district and supporting the social and emotional needs of our young people. I am really focused on mental health coverage because I’ve heard from too many families affected by mental health and substance abuse. And that’s why I wrote the laws bringing Telehealth to Connecticut and requiring Mental Health Parity in insurance that are already changing how people access care. We already had a mental health crisis before the pandemic, but the pandemic has been really hard on a lot of people, particularly kids, and I know this is going to continue to be a huge issue going forward.

      

      

       6. What is Connecticut doing well when it comes to the climate and the environment, and what improvements would you look to make going forward?

      

       Matt: We just passed the Connecticut Clean Air Act, which moves us ahead of much of the country in building electric vehicle infrastructure, including rolling out electric school buses. But that’s just a start. There’s a lot more we can do to protect residents from high oil and gas and electric prices, including for home heating -- and protect our environment as well. One of our big projects involves building a lot of off-shore wind turbines, which has the potential to secure affordable, clean electricity for Connecticut for generations to come. I am excited about some major investments we are making in access to the Connecticut River, including the Middletown Riverfront. And we shouldn’t ignore small improvements that improve our quality of life while reducing carbon emissions -- I was able to secure funding for sidewalks and bikeways in Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Newington, Middletown and Wethersfield and there’s a lot more we can do.

      

       7. We’ve heard that reproductive rights are on the ballot this year, with the SCOTUS overturning of Roe v. Wade â€" what is your view on Connecticut’s current policies concerning abortion, and what’s the legislature’s role going forward?

      

       Matt: I am pro-choice. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe, Republican legislators all around the country are passing extreme laws trying to make criminals out of women seeking health care. I’m not afraid to stand up for reproductive freedom. The first step was passing a strong law this summer to protect health care providers in Connecticut from vigilante laws in Republican states, but we have to stay one step ahead of them. Recently members of Congress have announced a new effort to ban abortion in Connecticut, striking down our laws, if Republicans win control of Congress.

      

       We should be careful about what Republicans say about reproductive freedom in election years. Some claim they are pro-choice, but three Republican appointees on the Supreme Court lied and told the public they thought Roe was settled law right before they voted to strike it down.