George Logan submitted the following article in response to this opinion article written by his opponent in the Nov. 3 election for the 17th State Senate District seat.
I think it is important when one runs for political office that one knows what one is talking about.
I am State Senator George Logan of the 17th District, which covers all or parts of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck and Woodbridge. I read with disbelief paid union boss Jorge Cabrera’s September 2020 op-ed piece regarding the recent rate increase from our local electric utilities.
We can actually thank the Democrat leadership in Hartford (who are among Mr. Cabrera’s biggest supporters) for the continued “assault” (his word, not mine) on everyday people when it comes to recent rate increases.
It was the Democrat majority that pushed through legislation two years ago that forced the utilities to buy energy from more expensive sources. Contrary to Mr. Cabrera’s hyperbole, the recent rate hike is not a senseless financial attack on a “mother with two jobs,” but an intentional increase in cost choreographed by Mr. Cabrera’s Democrat supporters in Hartford. The Democrat leadership should have thought about that mother with two jobs before they passed the 2018 law that resulted in this year’s drastic increase in electric rates.
Just to be clear, on October 1st I was part of an overwhelming vote in the State Senate to put tight requirements regarding power restoration after storms and cash compensation to customers who suffer out-of-pocket losses for spoiled food and medicine — which is consistent with a letter that I signed onto weeks before.
Thus ends my opponent’s baseless statement that I do not “stand up” to the utilities.
I suggest Mr. Cabrera should focus more on issues like making Connecticut more affordable, investing in education and bringing good paying jobs to Connecticut.
Regarding Mr. Cabrera’s claim that I “refused” to vote against the “2017” bill that ultimately resulted in higher rates is political spin-manship at its finest – or worst — the facts are:
1) the bill was actually voted on in May 2018, not 2017 as he incorrectly indicated in his op-ed piece. That’s an important detail because my employer, Aquarion Water Company, was acquired by Eversource after the 2017 legislative session ended.
2) I did not refuse, I recused -– an important difference. In an abundance of caution, at that point in time, I did not vote on energy bills.
Even if I had voted no, Mr. Cabrera’s Democrats in Hartford had the votes to railroad this bill through – which they did – and now we are all paying the price.
