nothin New Haven Independent | Lonnie Reed Runs On Her Record

Lonnie Reed Runs On Her Record

Reed, Matt Schell and Joe Gordon

As the 2014 election comes into the stretch, State Rep. Lonnie Reed, (D‑102nd) says that if she has the honor of returning to Hartford,” she knows exactly what her goals are going forward.

If re-elected, she says she has a crowded agenda before her, one that invigorates the biotech, technology, manufacturing, energy and aerospace industries for Branford and for the state. I will also look for programs that are essential for encouraging and growing our small businesses and attracting more tourism.”

She is also ready to take on Connecticut Light & Power’s (CL&P) “moribund” economic model and to fight their demand for bill increases. A strong environmentalist – Reed co-chairs the Energy and Technology Committee – she said CL& P needs to stop punishing consumers and companies for using less electricity…. The existing economic model is moribund and infuriating.”

Reed Sends $20 million to Branford

In her six years in the legislature she has become an accomplished negotiator and leader, and typically her bills pass with overwhelming bi-partisan support.

In a recent mailer to the town’s residents, she said she has brought more than $20 million back to Branford for town services, schools, housing, recreation and jobs.
 
If re-elected, she said she would work closely as well with a new legislative tax task force to overhaul Connecticut’s tax and school revenue distribution system. (She also serves on the powerful Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee.)

Reed, a Democrat raised in a Republican family, is now seeking her fourth term in office. Her opponent, Paul Cianci, 28, a civil engineer, is new to politics. This is his first campaign. Click here to read about him.

In an interview, Reed said that one of her top priorities will “continue to be jobs and economic development. They are foundational to achieving anything and everything else we need to accomplish.”

Joe Gordon’s Story

Joe Gordon, former head of Branford’s Economic Development Commission, (pictured above) says in the mailer: “China is now buying our gauges. We are showing growth in sales and jobs as a direct result of Lonnie’s efforts.” Gordon and his assembly team at his Branford factory manufacture precision gauges.

Reed lists the six new businesses she helped bring to town, including Durata Therapueutics, Icahn Genomic, CORE Informatics, the Stony Creek Brewery and the expansion of Wilson Arms. And there are many more that have benefited from the “Small Business Express Assistance” program in town, the mailer says. Overall, her efforts are resulting in more than 800 jobs for Branford and there are more in the pipeline, she says.

So how did Joe Gordon’s Branford business wind up with clients in China? 

The China market opened up for his business, Differential Pressure Plus, Inc., of Branford, when Gordon received a grant to travel to Beijing with a world class booth for an international trade show. It didn’t take long for China to respond.

Gordon also hired a young engineer, Matt Schell (pictured above), who graduated from Branford High and Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Going Door-To-Door


In recent weeks Reed has been out and about in Branford, taking its pulse, going door to door, often with Ted Kennedy Jr., who in seeking to win the open 12th District state Senate seat. 

As she and Kennedy went door-to-door to converse with voters, they met several Branford families whose lives reflect the issues confronting the district. 

According to Will Kampfman, one of the field directors for the 12th District’s race, about 30 people showed up one weekend to help on a planned Weekend of Action,” an event in which a House candidate in the state senate district walks with Kennedy. 

Lonnie talked with the volunteers before they headed out. 

This is an election we can’t stay at home for,” she told them. What we have done and what we are going to do is to tell our story.”

By summer’s end interns for the Kennedy campaign had knocked on 15,000 doors and made 22,000 phone calls.

At one point on their walk, Kennedy and Reed began a conversation with a family who was working out in their yard. They have three children. We appreciate everything you do for us,” the father said.

His wife added: The conversation we are having regularly in our house focuses on the rising cost of food and fuel.” The couple explained that they had reached the point where they are trying to figure out if they should make a garden in their front yard for vegetables and fruit, and the woman half-jokingly said they were considering a chicken coop.

To reduce the cost of gasoline for their cars, the husband suggested putting tolls at Connecticut’s borders, an idea both Kennedy and Reed have discussed. 

Reed said that farmers markets are part of the solution to the food problem but the wife said, My salary is not inflating to compensate for the rising cost of food.”

After talking with that family, Reed turned to Kennedy and said, Talk about the pressure on the middle class. That’s it.”

Helping Voices for Branford Seniors

Reed stressed that her commitment is to helping the people she represents, and that aiding the constituents who come to her is one of the most rewarding parts of being a representative.

In the past year, she has been deeply involved with Voices for Branford Seniors, a grass roots organization seeking a senior center to meet their needs. She has met with them many times as they set goals. Reed also rescued the senior center’s lunch program when it was under threat of being shut down by a state agency, the founders of Voices said. 

Reed said she is also deeply involved in the issue of rising seas and the economic impact on homeowners and businesses on the shoreline, especially in the aftermath of recent storms. This week was the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Click here to read about that.

I will continue helping to lead the Shoreline Preservation Task Force and to work with my fellow legislators from other East Coast states on regional approaches that help us all. That includes the elevation of critical, vulnerable infrastructure such as rails, roads and sewage treatment plants.” Reed also co-chairs the Bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus, the Bipartisan Life Sciences Caucus, and is a member of the Manufacturers Caucus.

She has long been active in laying the groundwork for property tax reform and regional cost sharing of services like healthcare and school transportation. She says a new tax task force is now in place to examine how Connecticut’s financial system works – or doesn’t work. Her colleague, State Rep. Pat Widlitz, who is retiring this year helped put the new tax task force in place.

As a legislator she has piled up top endorsements in the areas of business, real estate, education and the environment, earning a perfect environmental score from the non-partisan Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. She has also won the endorsements of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, Connecticut Realtors, the Connecticut Education Association, the Branford Teachers Association and the New England Clean Energy Council.
 
In July Reed and Widlitz announced state funding for BHcare, a regional safe house in Branford for women and children who are the victims of domestic violence. The safe house received $500,000 in state bonding for plumbing renovations and reconstruction of kitchens in a facility long in need of repairs. Widlitz is the outgoing co-chair of the state Bonding Commission and co-chairs the legislature’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, the committee Reed now serves on.

Reed has also been instrumental in getting more than $3 million in additional state funding for education, school transportation and town road aid. She and the other Branford legislators were also instrumental in obtaining $1 million to enlarge the Soundview Family YMCA in order to meet a growing demand for its services.

As part of her plan to aid local businesses, she said on her mailer that she stands ready to help bring Costco and other new businesses to Branford. 

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