Greenberg Promises Focus on Economy, Balancing the Budget

This is the fourth in our series of interviews with the candidates running for state representative and state senate.

Republican Adam Greenberg of Branford and Democrat Christine Cohen, a resident of Guilford, are running for the 12th District Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy Jr. since 2015. The 12th District represents Branford, Guilford, Madison, North Branford, Durham, and Killingworth.

Raised in Guilford and now a resident of Branford, Greenberg was a star baseball player at Guilford High School and went on to play at the University of North Carolina, then the Chicago Cubs, where he was hit by a fastball and suffered a fractured skull during the first pitch. He then played for various minor leagues and struck out in three pitches in a one-day game for the Marlins. He is now CEO of Lurong Living, a company he founded that offers healthy living lifestyle tips and sells nutritional products.

What are three main concerns voiced by residents when you go door-to-door?

Residents are concerned about the economic state of Connecticut. They’re worried that their taxes are going to continue to go up and push them out of their homes. I have had people tell me time and again that they cannot afford a commute to work that includes tolls. Other residents have told me that they have to put their home up for sale due to the high cost of their property taxes, even with their home mortgage having been paid off. Residents want job growth, and for that we desperately need business growth. As a business owner, my employees rely on my strategic decisions to spur company growth and reinforce their job security. I will take this same pro-business approach to Hartford as our community’s voice. 

Do you think it’s possible to eliminate the state income tax?

I think that our state income tax needs to be reduced. We must work toward bringing relief to our taxpayers. I think there’s a lot of room where we can reduce taxes and continue cutting back. We know that just this past summer, we had a 40 percent increase in boat sales because the boat sales tax was cut in half, bringing relief to the local industry. This tax cut spurred growth; we can do this again with many other taxes. 

What steps do you recommend to help balance the budget?

It’s crucial that we begin session with a zero-based budgeting approach to how our government is run. We also need to look into competing and duplicate services, and try to streamline processes when possible.

How do you think funds should be raised to improve infrastructure?

A balanced budget will enable us to prioritize the funds Connecticut already has at its disposal. We need to rid our government of wasteful spending. We already know that Connecticut paid for a $700 million bus line that no one uses ($350 million came from our own state and the other $350 million was paid by the federal government). It will take more than 100 years to turn a profit – we have more than 300 bridges that are in terrible shape. That $350 million could have been put to good use by repairing numerous bridges throughout Connecticut. It is imperative that we have an official lock box on the Special Transportation Fund (STF). Our current governor and his supportive legislators have allowed the STF to be raided in the last eight years alone between $700 million – $1 billion. That money was supposed to fund our infrastructure – this is why we are in need of money, because the STF has been repeatedly raided!

What is your position on bringing back tolls?

This is a terrible idea, one that the majority of households in Connecticut cannot afford. People throughout Branford, North Branford, Killingworth, Madison, Guilford, and Durham have all said they do not want tolls. They do not understand why Gov. Malloy vetoed the legislature and this August bonded $10 million to study the prospect of putting in tolls in Connecticut. Our own DOT found that it would take up to 77 tolls throughout the state to generate the possible $600 million, making us the number one tolled state in the country. Seventy-five percent of the revenue generated would come from Connecticut drivers, while only 25 percent would come from out-of-state drivers. People compare the idea of tolls to the tolls and drivers traveling to New York and Massachusetts, but there you are traveling to Manhattan and Boston. We have Hartford, where there are no cranes, no new buildings, and no major influx of out-of-state workers or travelers on a daily basis. 

How does the political atmosphere in Washington affect Branford?

It has created a degree of divisiveness and served as a distraction to what is going on in Connecticut. The political climate in Hartford has destroyed the state of Connecticut. We need to focus on Connecticut and what must be done to bring it back to prosperity.

Do you support the policies of Donald Trump?

I believe we need to focus on the policies that we’ve had to endure under Malloy. The fact that there has been a majority of the opposing party for nearly 40 years, a super-majority that has not allowed a bipartisan budget until just this past session speaks volumes. There isn’t much else to discuss outside of what we are going to do today to make sure Connecticut has a better and brighter tomorrow.

Greenberg’s website is http://greenberg2018.com.