Candidate Name
Jill Oberlander
You Tube Video
Campaign Website
www.jilloberlander.com
Campaign Email
jill@jilloberlander.com
Campaign Phone
475-303-7303
Instagram
www.instagram.com/jilloberlander2026/
Facebook
www.facebook.com/Oberlander2026
I am an attorney and longtime Greenwich resident with extensive experience in municipal and local government. In Greenwich, I’ve served on the town legislature (RTM), Board of Selectmen, and Board of Estimate and Taxation, where I was unanimously elected the first Democratic chair in Greenwich history. My husband Larry and I raised our three children in Greenwich and we are deeply invested in the community. I currently serve on the board of a senior care facility, the Horizons at Brunswick program, and the UJA-JCC, and have supported many other local organizations over our decades in town.
We need to make sure that Connecticut (CT) remains economically competitive, well run, and a place that we all want to live. Governor Lamont has done a great job stabilizing CT’s finances while also ensuring that residents are safe and have opportunities to work, learn, and live healthfully. I will partner with Governor Lamont to further these goals by:
1) lowering utility and healthcare costs (see answer below);
2) supporting business growth (cut red tape and make CT competitive with surrounding states);
3) reducing the burden on local governments by bringing back more funds to our district;
4) maintaining the fiscal guardrails and sending a message that CT is serious about controlling spending and paying down its pension debt;
5) strengthening support for schools and special education to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive; and
6) improving transportation options and protecting environmental resources.
I am most interested in serving on the Finance Revenue & Bonding; Energy; and Transportation Committees, where I know I can have a significant impact.
As an attorney with experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, I will bring expertise in law, negotiation, drafting and reviewing legislation and working with others to my committee assignments.
As former chair of Greenwich’s Board of Estimate and Taxation and vice chair of the RTM Finance Committee, I know how to scrutinize budgets, balance competing priorities, and protect taxpayers while funding essential services. On Finance Revenue & Bonding, I will bring that fiscal discipline to state spending, taxes, and bonding and advocate for our district.
My priorities will be limiting spending, lowering electric rates, reducing traffic and improving transportation, and finding solutions to state challenges.
My experience as chair of Greenwich’s finance board taught me that responsible budgeting and strong public investment are not conflicting goals. We can protect taxpayers while securing state support for projects our communities genuinely need.
Our district sends substantial revenue to Hartford, and I will work to make sure our communities are strong competitors for state investment in schools and infrastructure. That means engaging early with municipal and school leaders in Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan, identifying priority projects and working with the administration and legislative colleagues to pursue available grants and reimbursements. I will advocate for state support based on demonstrated need, sound planning and long-term value to taxpayers. I also support maintaining Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails and carefully prioritizing capital investments statewide.
I support protecting local control over zoning decisions because local officials understand our needs best. Towns should take the lead in identifying where new housing should be built based on existing density, utility capacity, and impact on community resources (existing infrastructure, open space, environmental concerns, traffic, and public safety).
The state should be a partner in this effort by providing resources (data and funding) to help with planning and utility infrastructure investment. In Hartford, I will pursue practical reforms that expand senior and workforce housing while respecting community decision-making. I will work closely with local officials to design and implement solutions that work for our district.
To evaluate statewide needs, an independent commission that includes meaningful local representation should be empowered to compile an updated housing needs assessment.
Affordability is what I hear about most - from electricity and healthcare to gas prices and local property taxes. We need to lower costs without sacrificing the services and quality of life that makes our state and communities strong.
To lower electricity costs we need both immediate accountability and long-term solutions. I would strengthen oversight of the utilities and rate-setting, audit ratepayer-funded programs to ensure they are effective, and examine whether appropriate public-policy costs should be funded through the state budget rather than electric bills. Longer-term, I support expanding renewable energy supply (through residential and community solar), exploring other cost-effective sources, improving storage options, and demand management.
I will also focus on lowering prescription drug costs, capping premium increases, allowing for health care pooling arrangements, and reducing or eliminating the gas tax.
Candidate Name
Joe Kelly
Campaign Website
joekellyforsenate.com
Campaign Email
joekellyforsenate@gmail.com
Campaign Phone
2035360025
Instagram
votejoekellyct
Facebook
joe kelly for senate
Joe Kelly was born and raised in Queens and has called Greenwich home for 30 years. After 25 years in fixed income in New York, Tokyo, and London, he built businesses in power generation, uranium, and property development. Joe serves on the Board of Estimate and Taxation and previously served on the RTM and the Board of Education, including a year as Chairman. He chaired the Cardinal Stadium Building Committee, is a Havemeyer Building trustee, and coached GHS rugby to nine championships. Joe and his wife Jill have been married 37 years and have four children.
The key issue is affordability. Connecticut has some of the highest electricity costs in the country, a heavy tax burden, and housing that is out of reach for too many families. Businesses and young people are leaving, and our labor force is shrinking.
If elected, I would:
Remove the public benefits charges from electric bills and support new nuclear and hydro power. I have worked in the energy business for almost 20 years.
Lower the state income tax rate so we keep the businesses we have and attract new ones. Connecticut should be a top 10 state for business.
Return zoning control to our towns, so local residents decide how their communities grow.
Bring balance to Hartford. A one-party supermajority is not healthy for any state.
I have run businesses in Connecticut for 25 years. I know what businesses need to stay here and what they need to move here. I have a record of showing up, working together, and delivering.
I have not yet served in the legislature, but I have served Greenwich on the RTM, the Board of Education (including a year as Chairman), and now the Board of Estimate and Taxation, where I sit on the Budget Committee. I also chaired the Cardinal Stadium Building Committee from planning through construction.
If elected, I would seek to serve on:
Energy and Technology: With almost 20 years in the power generation business, I would work to remove the public benefits charges from electric bills and expand nuclear and hydro power.
Finance, Revenue and Bonding: My BET budget experience and 25 years in finance would help me push for lower income tax rates and responsible spending.
Commerce: As a business owner and employer, I would work to keep CT businesses here and attract new ones.
Planning and Development: As a home builder and former local official, I would work to return zoning control to our towns.
I have seen firsthand how much state school construction grants matter. I worked on the new Central Middle School from the engineer's report through construction, attending more than 550 meetings, and served on the Julian Curtiss and Cardinal Stadium building committees. Those projects succeeded because local volunteers did the homework and made a strong case.
In Hartford I would:
Advocate early and directly with the Office of School Construction Grants so our projects are ready and well documented when funding decisions are made.
Push for a fair reimbursement formula. Towns like ours send far more to Hartford than they receive back.
Support capital spending on projects that last decades, not on short-term programs.
Keep the state's fiscal guardrails and spending cap in place. A state that controls its budget can keep its promises to towns.
Strong local support starts with a responsible state budget.
Connecticut needs more housing, and as a home builder for several decades I know how hard and costly it is to build here. But mandates from Hartford are the wrong answer. Towns know their roads, schools, sewers, and neighborhoods better than anyone in the state capital.
I would:
Return zoning control to our towns and reform 8-30g, which lets developers override local planning with projects that often strain infrastructure.
Reward towns that add housing with incentives such as infrastructure grants, rather than punishing them with mandates.
Cut the costs that make building so expensive: slow permitting, layers of regulation, and high energy and tax costs.
Encourage workforce housing near transit and downtowns, and make it easier to convert older commercial buildings into apartments.
Local communities that are trusted as partners will build more housing, and build it in a way that fits.
I have worked in the power generation business for almost 20 years, and Connecticut families pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country. Much of that cost has nothing to do with the power itself.
I would support:
Removing the public benefits charges from electric bills and funding worthwhile programs through the state budget, where they get an open vote.
Building reliable, affordable power, including new nuclear and hydro, so we are less exposed to price spikes.
Lowering the state income tax rate so families keep more of what they earn and businesses stay and grow here.
Cutting regulations that drive up the cost of housing and everyday goods.
Protecting core services by setting priorities and holding the line on spending, using the fiscal guardrails that have stabilized our budget.
As a BET member I help balance a budget every year. We can lower costs and still deliver the services residents count on.
