Steve's Policy Platform
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As state rep, I will advocate for:
Read more about my policy ideas below.
*General election*
Vote Tuesday November 5
Safe, walkable streets, vibrant commercial districts, and public park spaces serving our needs.
Small businesses and park spaces are the backbone of our neighborhoods, serving as job creators, community gathering spaces, and drivers of economic growth. Uplifting our commercial districts and parks improves public and economic health, and they can also serve as important vehicles for addressing environmental issues.
As state rep, I will advocate for:
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Improvements to our Newhallville/Highwood commercial district such as pedestrian-level lighting, tree plantings, improved bus shelters, and investments in local commercial spaces’ appearances and energy efficiency.
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State investment for park spaces along the Farmington Canal, including continued testing and remediation of the Olin Powder Farm to convert it into a public park and open space, Six Lakes Park, in accordance with community priorities.
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Funding to help the commercial districts invest in food rescue operations, which would reduce food waste by diverting food to residents in need. Food insecurity affects thousands of families across New Haven and Hamden, and commercial districts can play a role in stemming food insecurity.
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Investment in safer, walkable, and bikeable streets. Traffic calming improvements such as speed bumps make it safer for residents of all ages to get to school, work, or local businesses, whether they walk, bike, or drive.
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Expansion of technical assistance and grant funding to small businesses, especially black, Latino, and woman-owned businesses.
Increase and expand housing that’s affordable, safe, and energy efficient.
Despite being one of the richest states in the country, Connecticut is consistently ranked as one of the least affordable places to live, whether as a renter or as a homeowner. A big driver of this is our state’s deficit of over 90,000 affordable housing units, as well as our regressive tax policy that continues to impose high costs on working class residents in places like New Haven and Hamden.
As a state rep, I will advocate for:
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Incentives for municipalities like New Haven that modify their zoning regulations to promote affordable housing.
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New models of financing and constructing many more units of housing so that Connecticut can not only provide more affordable units, but also create new structures that are energy efficient and built sustainably to help reduce utility bills and environmental impacts.
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Montgomery County, MD’s housing production fund, a revolving loan which lowers the cost of constructing new mixed income developments, provides a potential model for financing mixed income development. Here in New Haven Beulah Land Development’s 340 Dixwell mass timber project provides a model of sustainable, deeply affordable housing development.
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Protections for renters by expanding “just cause” protections to all renters in buildings of 5 or more units, which would limit these renters from being evicted without a legal reason, and limits on rent increases that protect renters from exorbitant rent increases, but balance the need for small landlords keep up with tax increases and maintenance increases.
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State support for local efforts to improve local housing code enforcement and oversight of large property management companies.
Bold action on climate change that creates jobs and improves public health.
Climate change is real, here, and now. It has already affected and will continue to affect us in a multitude of ways, including flooding and intense heat waves. This issue requires a multi-pronged approach by the state in order to effectively tackle the issue.
As state rep, I will advocate for:
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Setting a more ambitious Global Warming Solutions Act with target for economy-wide net zero emissions of at least 2050, interim targets, sector specific subtargets, and legal enforceability, as well as targets for the deployment of heat pumps and energy storage.
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Investing in neighborhood scale solutions to decarbonization, such as thermal energy networks using district geothermal energy.
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Creating an incentive-based program for municipalities that take action to address climate change, such as implementing a more stringent building code to require energy efficiency and electrification of new construction.
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Returning CTTransit to free bus fares. Many of the district’s residents use public transit to get to work, pick up kids from school, do grocery shopping, and to get around. Free bus fares would not only save residents money, but it would also reduce emissions from less cars on the street.
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Increasing funding for energy efficiency programs and as well as state bond funds to serve income-eligible residents, with a focus on electrification of heating and hot water systems, to lower residents’ bills and reduce climate pollution.
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Implementing extended producer responsibility to shift the costs of disposal of packaging materials to the producers of packaging and supporting municipal food scrap diversion programs and infrastructure to turn organic material into soil-enriching compost.
Invest in childcare, public education, technical schools, and youth services.
Investment in our youth is critical to our state’s success, and is even more urgent in light of the pandemic. Supporting Connecticut’s youth from childhood through adulthood, means a stronger workforce and vibrant economy, safer communities, and a more attractive Connecticut.
As state rep, I will advocate for:
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Investments in childcare and early childhood education. Having access to stable childcare and early childhood education are strongly linked to positive educational outcomes!
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Increased funding for education grant programs (such as the Alliance Grant) that help students most in need, as well as education cost sharing (ECS) that would benefit Hamden and New Haven’s school districts.
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Creating new safe spaces for youth programming such as the planned community space at 188 Bassett St and the proposed Hamden Community Campus, while also sustaining youth programming at existing community centers like the Q House.
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Additional state support to programs that provide youth with jobs such as Youth @ Work, vocational training programs, and supporting our state’s community colleges.