Newtown’s State Legislators Announce Their Reelection Bids

By Steve Bigham

Fresh off a difficult budget season, Julia Wasserman and John McKinney stopped by The Bee’s offices Tuesday to announce their respective plans to seek reelection.

Representative Wasserman (106th District) seeks her seventh term in office, while Senator McKinney is seeking a third two-year term.

Mrs Wasserman lives in Newtown, and Mr McKinney resides in Fairfield with his wife and three children.

Their simultaneous announcement was evidence that these two Republican legislators have built a solid working relationship in Hartford.

“I talk to other senators and they’re always talking about how state representatives in their district are working against them or behind their backs,” Sen McKinney said. “Whenever Julia and I get something done for the town, we do it together.”

“I’ve never had that before,” Rep Wasserman admits. “We work in collaboration and it works wonderfully.”

Teamwork has never been so important, especially as the state addresses its budget woes, according to the candidates. Just this week, state legislators finally approved a $13.2 billion budget, which neither Mrs Wasserman nor Mr McKinney liked very much. The budget cuts aid to cities and towns by $28 million and imposes a five percent cut across-the-board to state universities and colleges.

Facing an $800 million shortfall, Republicans and Democrats struggled with how they were going to fill the gap. Democrats favored some new taxes, most notably a tax on Connecticut’s millionaires, and the GOP favored a range spending cutbacks. In the end, the compromise spending plan left most legislators agreeing on one thing –– they had passed a bad budget.

 Sen McKinney noted this week that a large percentage of revenues are going to be one-time revenues, so without significant cuts in the level of state spending, the deficit will continue, making the next budget deal even harder to achieve.

The problems are not going to go away unless the economy turns around and floods the state coffers with income and state sales tax, he said.

These are contentious times in the state capital, with the Democrats controlling the house and Republican John Rowland in the governor’s mansion. A slow economy has not helped bring harmony to Hartford.

As a legislator, Rep Wasserman, now 78, says she has relied on her experience and ability to relate with those on the other side of the aisle. Much of what goes on in Hartford is based on who you know and Mrs Wasserman says she has dedicated herself to building relationships with the Democrats who control the House.

“It’s extremely difficult during session to accomplish something. It’s a real struggle to even get a bill on the agenda, especially for us in the minority. But I’ve found over the years that I’ve worked with the opposite side through my relationships. I know how they respond to things. You only ask for things you can really justify. Much of the time, if they know you and think you have something sensible, they’ll listen to you,” she explained.

As the son of the late Congressman Stewart B. McKinney, who represented Connecticut’s Fourth District from 1971 to 1987, John McKinney, 38, had instant name recognition in the State Senate, and in his four years in office he has earned a reputation for leadership. From his father, Mr McKinney said he learned “the importance of public service and of giving back to your community.” Stewart McKinney died in 1987.

“The dynamics [in Hartford] have changed simply because we have a bad economy. Sixty percent of the legislators were not around in 1991 when we had a budget deficit and the onset of the income tax. Most were there only with budget surpluses,” he explained. “But now we’re faced with budget deficits and the ability to compromise is much harder.”

And that makes the job much harder, too. But Sen McKinney says he has found a job that he loves. The licensed attorney is not currently practicing law, mainly because of his work in Hartford. He does own a gourmet food shop, which helps pay the bills, however.

Senator McKinney was first elected back in 1998 when he defeated Democrat Tom Ganim. Two years ago, he coasted to victory over Felix Giannini, a relative unknown.

In seeking reelection, the senator pointed to his two-year record of accomplishments: controlling the growth of state spending, lowering taxes, paying down the state debt, protecting the environment, preserving open space, and working for education.

Sen McKinney is currently the ranking member of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Environment Committee. He also serves on the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee and the Transportation Committee.

Sen McKinney often reverts back to advice given to him by Gov Rowland when he first took office four years ago.

“I wanted to offer some amendments to the budgets. He told me that I wouldn’t be able to get everything done, but he said if people know that you’re working hard and they like you, you’ll get reelected,” he said.

Sen McKinney earned a BA from Yale University in 1986 and his JD from the University of Connecticut with honors in 1994.

Rep Wasserman has run largely unopposed over the years and is expected to do the same this year. People recognize that she has become a bit of a juggernaut at home and in Hartford.

“I’ve made relationships. I have a foundation of friendships where we can work together. Without that, we don’t get thing done,” she said.

Sen McKinney represents the 28th District, which includes Newtown, Easton, Monroe, and Fairfield. Mrs Wasserman represents the 106th District, which now lies entirely within Newtown after re-districting removed Bethel from her constituency.