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Crawford's Primary Concerns Are Jobs, Job Creation

Democrat Jim Crawford has been out and about in the 33rd State Senate District knocking on doors and listening to voters since May. Faced with a primary challenge from fellow Democrat Mary Ellen Klinck of East Haddam, he hit the campaign trail earlier than most candidates. Whether it’s May or October, however, Crawford is hearing the same concerns from voters. They are worried about jobs and the state’s business climate.

“Job creation is the key to any successful recovery,” Crawford said. “We need to create an environment that is attractive to job creators.”

In Connecticut, a great many jobs come from the small- business sector, and last year the state legislature passed a jobs bill.

“I was proud to be part of that bipartisan bill, which addresses a lot of concerns of small businesses and provides programs for employers and employees, such as veterans,” Crawford said.

Crawford is completing his first two-year term as a state representative from a district that covers Clinton, Killingworth, and part of Westbrook. This election he is running for the State Senate in a district that represents 12 towns. At 62, he is a retired Westbrook Public Schools teacher whose background includes community service, two terms on Westbrook’s Board of Selectmen, and one term in the General Assembly as a state representative.

Connecticut’s business climate is not as negative as some seem to believe, he said.

“I don’t see that. For instance, we have one of the least punitive corporate taxes in the country,” he said. “I don’t find the business climate so unattractive, but rather, I think it reflects what’s happening in the national economy.”

With many traditional forms of employment disappearing, Connecticut needs to emphasize investment in and training for emerging fields, Crawford believes.

“One thing that bothers me is that literally hundreds of jobs in this state are going begging and can’t be filled. We have done a poor job in our technical schools and suffered from poor communication between our secondary schools, community colleges, and employers,” Crawford said. “We are not training people to fill necessary, well-paying jobs, jobs that do not require a four-year college degree.”

Crawford said with all this in mind—jobs, the economy, the state’s business climate, and job training—job creation will be at the top of his priority list for the next legislative session, if elected.

“We have ignored a significant part of our student population with this mantra about the need for a four-year degree. We have ignored or downplayed the talents of innumerable kids because we did not see them as academically achieving,” he said.

That is wrong, he believes, and is leaving students without the education they need to find employment, leaving jobs unfilled and hurting the state’s economy.

The past legislative session, with its record tax increase, did not fully fix the state’s record $3.5 billion deficit.

“I understand the desire to fix things quickly. In this case it was just not a reality, however, we are on the road to recovery…We cut nearly $1 billion from services and $1.6 billion through agreements with state employees. That’s nothing to sneeze at. We did it without shredding the safety net for our citizens,” Crawford explained. “We also did it without throwing tax increases back onto local governments, which is what they did in New York and New Jersey.”

Also at the top of Crawford’s priority list is introduction of proposed legislation that would begin to increase the state’s financial commitment to special education.

“Too much of that funding burden now falls to municipalities. Too often school district budgets can be overwhelmed by unexpected special education costs,” Crawford said. “These are our most vulnerable kids. The state and federal government should shoulder more of this burden to relieve local property taxes.”

The 33rd State Senate District consists of 12 towns and only one, Colchester, does not sit on the Connecticut River or Long Island Sound, Crawford pointed out.

“Like everyone in this district, I am very concerned about the environment and our quality of life. This is such a beautiful area; we have to be careful to protect what we have,” Crawford said.

His voting record on environmental issues has led to an endorsement from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.