Emily Patton Photo
Lured out of retirement by a mixture of boredom and curiosity, Bruce R. Wilson, Jr. arrived at New Haven’s H. Krevit and Co. in June 2015 on a rescue mission: the local manufacturing company was floundering in debt, and Wilson was tasked with keeping it afloat.
Having succeeded at the latter assignment — the company resurfaced from bankruptcy in the course of four months, adding 30 employees to its original roster of 40 — Wilson set his sights on another project: the Connecticut State Senate.
“I come and I solve problems,” said the Republican candidate for the 12th District senate seat, from his desk in his wood-paneled office.
This year’s state senate campaign will mark Wilson’s second bid for the office, as well as his second time running against the now-incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy, Jr. The two candidates will be vying to represent Connecticut’s 12th district, which includes Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, and North Branford.
Their first debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the East Shore and AARP CT, takes place Tuesday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Guilford Community Center, 32 Church St.
On the SEEC Complaint Against Kennedy Campaign
Wilson raised a number of issues in his 2014 campaign against Kennedy, including whether Kennedy violated election law when Kennedy’s family and colleagues donated roughly $40,000 to the Democratic State Central Committee, which in turn funneled a similar amount back to Kennedy 2014 campaign for staff wages and other costs. Kennedy’s campaign officials maintain the donations were legal.
In October 2014, shortly before the last election, Wilson’s campaign manager filed a complaint with the State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) against the Kennedy campaign’s method of funding. The SEEC has yet to act.
“If we inquire, they’ll say it is ongoing,” said Wilson. He added that the committee has not given him any information regarding the progress of the investigation.
Wilson is seeking this year to participate in the SEEC’s public financing program, which allows candidates to compete in a legislative race without relying on outside special interest contributions. Those participating must raise a specific amount of money in small donations in order to receive a substantial grant from the Citizens Election Program (CEP). On October 5, Wilson’s grant application for funding was approved by the SEEC. Kennedy’s grant had previously been approved .
A businessman, father, and native of Madison, Wilson believes that his experience living and working in his community has given him an intimate understanding of his district’s needs. He currently serves on the town’s Board of Selectmen.
Like many Connecticut residents, one of his main concerns is the state’s economy.
“I grew up here, I have been very successful here, and this community has afforded me the ability to have that success,” he said. “I’m not sure if I was moving back, that I could recreate what I did.”
Though he claims to have no “30-point plan for turning the state around,” he firmly believes that the state’s borrowing practices are “unsustainable,” and proposes a reduction in both spending and taxes.
In addition to his work in the private sector, Wilson also has experience in the public sector through his work with Madison’s Rock Preserve Commission, its Nature Preserve Commission, its Board of Education.
On the Economy
Given his desire to reduce state spending, it may seem peculiar that Wilson’s decision to run for office was motivated by a personal opposition to the state’s recent budget cuts — but this was precisely the case.
For Wilson, the tipping point came in March, when Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that, as a part of his last-minute adjustments to the state budget, he would be cutting the educational cost sharing funding to the town of Madison, leaving a $1.8 million shortfall.
“In a 24-hour period I went, I have to run again, I can’t sit this one out, just because of this… this just isn’t fair,” he recalled.
According to Wilson, cuts to public programs such as addiction services, education, and parole offices produce “very short sighted savings,” the consequences of which may cost the state more in the long run.
What Wilson would rather see is a government spending strategy targeted at eliminating inefficient and unnecessary spending. His favorite examples of inefficient government spending are the state’s funding of public Wi-Fi in West Hartford, and a renovation of the Connecticut Tennis Center.
Wilson is also highly critical of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). He cited the example of an independent contractor he had met in Killingworth who had to go to the DMV six times to register his vehicle. To Wilson, inefficiencies such as these are not just an inconvenience — they’re an expense. In this man’s case, the cost of bureaucracy was six days of wages.
“The state’s job is to pave the road for business,” said Wilson, nodding to the literal and figurative literal implications of the phrase. This is something where he believes that he could do a better job.
On Kennedy, Malloy, and the Democratic Majority
In an earlier interview with the Eagle, Kennedy pointed to his record as a strength of his campaign. Wilson, however, believes the opposite.
“He agrees with Malloy to the extent that he’s not even voting with his caucus in the district,” said Wilson, adding that the state senator has voted in agreement with the Governor 100 percent of the time, and was even one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of the very budget cuts that provoked Wilson to re-enter politics.
In Wilson’s mind, Kennedy’s loyalty to Malloy’s agenda is both a symptom and a cause of an unbalanced state legislature, where Democrats hold a strong majority.
“It wouldn’t be healthy if it went the other way,“ he conceded. “If Republicans controlled all three branches, I have no faith that they’d do a better job.” He believes that a diversification of party affiliation in the General Assembly would promote healthy debate and produce better policies.
On the Upcoming Election(s)
In September, a poll released by Morning Consult showed Malloy with an approval rating of 26 percent, making him the second least popular governor in the United States. In June, a Quinnipiac University poll made a similar finding of the General Assembly, which had received the same 24 percent approval rating as the Governor.
When asked whether he thought that the unpopularity of the largely democratic state government might affect his chances, Wilson said he did not know, though he feels optimistic about his chances of winning.
Meanwhile, when asked some weeks ago for his thoughts on the general election, the Republican candidate was evasive.
“I know I can’t support Hillary,” he said, “and I don’t know what to make of Trump.” When asked whether he would vote at all for the office of president, he said that this was an option he would consider.
His ambivalence was at odds with a comment he made earlier, which was that “nothing’s going to happen between today and Election Day that’s going to change anyone’s presidential preference.” (Wilson made this comment before Trump’s lewd videotape became public.)
According to Wilson, the job of a state senator is meant to be part time, as its salary suggests. If (or “when,” as he jokingly interjected) Wilson is elected to the state senate, he plans to keep his job at the company. “We would make it work,” he said.
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