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Candidate Name
Amy Romano
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My name is Amy Romano, and I am a married mom of three who has raised my family and built my small business in Shelton. I have a degree in Interior Design and have spent the last two decades in the real estate, business development and construction industries. Since 2019, I have served on the Board of Education and was appointed Chairman for my work in improving our curriculum, balancing stable budgets, and investing in our students. From these experiences, I have looked forward to bringing my leadership skills and commitment to bipartisanship to Hartford as the next voice for Shelton.
Shelton residents value affordability and my top priority is bringing down the cost of living in our state. This begins by addressing high utility rates, eliminating unnecessary taxes on social security, rolling back the Sales Tax, Gas Tax, and Highway Use Tax, and reevaluating our spending habits to maintain fiscal sustainability. Tackling these issues cannot be done without engaging in bipartisan conversations that put the interests of our residents first. While proposing legislation to reduce the tax burdens from our residents, promoting affordability also means defending against unreasonable unfunded mandates and new tax proposals such as the Mileage and Delivery Taxes that were proposed by the majority party this session. When elected, I will fight to maintain the fiscal guardrails that balance our state budget, keep spending in check, and make our state an attractive place for folks to live, retire, and do business.
The legislature should be responsible for providing affordable housing across our state in collaboration with the interests of our municipalities. Unfortunately, the state’s outdated 8-30g affordable housing statute has granted excess authority to our state government, without allowing a voice from local governments. As someone in the real estate industry, I know how hard it is to find a home in our state, but that shouldn’t encourage our state to overdevelop and leave out local control. The housing shortage is an issue that can also be remedied by investing in career pipelines in the skilled labor workforce, growing our economy and giving residents a better opportunity to afford housing. Additionally, the lack of affordable housing is a byproduct of inflation, unfunded mandates, and unnecessary taxes (as previously mentioned) which if addressed, could help folks live and stay in Connecticut.
As a small business owner who built her business while raising a family, my goal is to help small businesses flourish in our state. Sadly, Connecticut is the third highest taxed state in the country, making it an unattractive place to start a business. Additionally, in the past five years, we have seen countless businesses leave due to these high taxes. If we want to support our local business owners, we need to start by removing burdensome taxes to help businesses thrive. Right now, there are also proposals being discussed about demanding small business owners pay workers that strike against them or provide full benefits, despite their size and structure. For the average small business, these mandates hinder success and restrict our overall economic development. To make CT affordable, we need to reduce these taxes, help businesses attract consumers, and invest the revenue back in our communities.
After this summer’s horrific flash flooding in the upper valley, one of the greatest environmental concerns is investing in storm resilience to avoid another domestic tragedy. Whether it was homes, businesses, or farms, our communities deserve confidence in their government to support their needs in the case of a disaster. When elected, I would continue to advocate for local support from the state and federal governments as well as research into what areas in my district are the most prone to potential weather disasters. The second problem ties in with the first as I look forward to working hard for our local farmers, especially after they experienced significant crop loss. Our farmers serve our communities every day with necessary nutritious ingredients that must be protected. Specifically, I would support House Bill 6273 which directly responds to our farmers’ needs after the recent storm.
When elected, I will fight to transfer the Public Benefits charge costs into the state budget process. This will allow for costs to be paid through our state budget, supporting ratepayers, while still aiding residents who rely on these benefits. Next, I would ensure that what we pay for energy reflects the actual market value. Sadly, we have been overpaying for energy and putting the burden on ratepayers without them knowing. Third, we need to explore alternative sources of energy that are both clean and affordable. This includes nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, and natural gas which could help reduce overall cost. Last, we must eliminate any electric vehicle mandates that place significant limits on consumers and economic development.
Our state’s tax burdens on middle class residents, small businesses, and seniors need to be reevaluated. By reducing Sales and Gas taxes and sunsetting the Highway Use Tax, we can chip away at taxes that make CT unaffordable. During this session, we will be finalizing a state budget agreement where I will fight to maintain the bipartisan fiscal guardrails that Democrats and Republicans agreed have played a positive role in paying down long term debt and balancing our budget. My campaign platform also addresses how CT is one of the only states that still taxes Social Security and I will work to end that. Finally, lawmakers failed to meet the needs of our municipalities on special education and nonprofit funding, forcing property tax increases. If you’re from Shelton, you know that our low taxes need to stay low. That’s why I am committed to securing state funding and putting the interests of our town first.
