To say Monday was a busy one for Tony Scott would be an understatement.

Scott, the new Republican 112th District state representative who won the vacant house seat in a recent special election, was sworn in April 19 and was immediately called to weigh in on one of the more controversial pieces of legislation proposed in recent years.

Scott, who checked in with The Newtown Bee just a few hours after taking the oath of office, said the day was already shaping up to be a whirlwind of activity, and that was before he sat in on a marathon session prepared to represent his constituents on the highly anticipated and decidedly controversial bill regarding repealing nonmedical exemptions for certain vaccines for state public school students.

“Right now I’m still sort of trying to find out where the bathrooms are and all that,” Scott joked, saying his swearing-in day provided an optimal situation for getting to know his colleagues and the lay of the land in the Capitol and Legislative Office complex, as many fellow lawmakers were on the premises rather than attending virtually.

“But day one is also going to give me a chance to get some of the people’s work done, that’s for sure,” he said.

Scott said the repeal of the religious exemption for a raft of vaccinations, “was the number one topic among my constituents as I was campaigning — by a landslide.”

“They were definitely against it,” he said. “In fact, I got five or six calls on election day asking my stance on the issue before they went to the polls to vote. And on day one, I’m looking forward to standing up on their behalf so their voices can be heard.”

Ultimately, the house bill repealing the exemption passed, and was likely to see the same action in the Senate before month’s end. But that did not damper Scott’s enthusiasm for his new post as he dropped in the following day along with Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to celebrate Newtown winning the state’s “Democracy Cup” for top voter turnout last November. (See separate coverage in this week’s issue.)

A Family Affair

Monday morning at the state capitol saw Scott being sworn in, with his wife, Jennifer, and daughters Lauren and Addison beside him. Scott, who joined his 150 colleagues in the House of Representatives at the halfway point of the 2021 legislative session, said he was eager to get to work for the residents of Monroe and Newtown.

While the legislature was also entertaining proposals to implement a new gas tax, place tolls on commercial shipping, and double the existing deposit on bottles and cans, Connecticut workers were already seeing less take-home pay in their wages due to a new payroll tax used to fund the state’s new Paid Family Medical Leave Program.

Scott, a longtime resident of Monroe, said he was concerned about the impact of new taxes on his district as the state’s economy recovers from the pandemic.

“Our House Republican caucus has been vocal in speaking out against policies and new proposals at the state level that raise the cost of living for our residents, instead putting forward an alternative vision that promotes fiscal responsibility and will position Connecticut for future growth,” he said in a release.

“While a popular selling point for every new tax is that they may sound small on paper, the reality is that they all add up quickly and make it vastly more expensive to live and do business here,” Scott said. “The cost of government should not be a burden on those it serves, and I stand ready to represent the hardworking residents of Monroe and Newtown in this ongoing debate in Hartford.”

Scott said immediately after the special election that seated him, he began having calls and meetings with legislative minority leadership, “and there was a caucus meeting I was able to join late last week.”

“It was a chance to get my feet wet and to begin understanding some of the big topics coming up over the next week or two,” he said.

Scott said he was as interested in making as much time as possible to meet fellow GOP lawmakers as he was to greet his Democratic colleagues.

“Meeting them face-to-face was a huge win for me,” he said. “To make those kinds of personal connections and build relationships over Zoom is much more difficult. And a lot of what goes on up here is about relationships. I understand the situation the Republicans are in, so it’s important to build those relationships across the aisle.”

Relationship Building

Scott said he was already looking forward to more relationship building in person when the house is in session again early next week.

He was also assigned an aide, who helped showing Scott around the Capitol complex, and he had some time to get familiar with his cozy office.

“I’m in my office, and some folks are already coming through making note of the fact I don’t have anything on the walls,” he said. “It’s a little bigger than a closet, but I know I’ve got to get some stuff for the walls.”

Scott said he felt good to be on the job for his 112th District constituents.

“I know after JP [Sredzinski, the former state rep] resigned, there was a gap of eight to ten weeks when nobody was representing them, so I’m glad to be here now and am looking forward to being there for them during the rest of the session,” he said.

Scott mentioned he was able to meet fellow Newtown delegation member Raghib Allie-Brennan (D-2), as well as House Speaker Thomas Ritter, and Merrill.

As debate at the Capitol continues and the legislature moves forward in the process of setting the state’s budget, Rep Scott encourages his constituents to keep in touch by calling his office at 800-842-1423 or by e-mail at tony.scott@housegop.ct.gov.

Constituents can also visit repscott.com to sign up for regular legislative updates throughout the session, which is scheduled to run until June 9.