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Cynthia Cartier

Republican challenger Cynthia Cartier has served on the Guilford Board of Selectmen since 2007. An attorney and co-owner of New England Car Wash in Branford and Waterford, she has served on the Guilford Board of Education for two years, as chairman of the Guilford Planning & Zoning Commission for four years, and on the Hamden Legislative Council for one year. Cartier also has been a liaison to the Guilford High School Building Committee since 2011 and was a liaison to the Guilford Energy Task Force until 2010.

“I have had the honor of serving the residents of Guilford for the last 13 years,” Cartier said.

The Guilford resident also volunteers in town with a number of groups including as a lector and CCD teacher at St. George’s Church, on the board of governors for the American School for the Deaf, as a board member for the Women & Family Life Center, and on the Guilford High School debate team coach.

Cartier and her husband, Rich, have two children, Joseph, 10, and Samantha, 1.

In The Sound’s online voter guide, Cartier stated that the top three challenges the 12th District faces include significantly reducing taxes and government spending to ensure residents can continue to live and retire in Connecticut, ensuring jobs for the present and future population, and ensuring students receive a high-quality education that won’t fiscally overburden a community.

When it comes to economic development and assisting businesses in her district, Cartier said, “As a business owner, I’m acutely aware of the challenges businesses face in Connecticut and my district.”

On the town level, Cartier wants to “continue to meet and partner with businesses conducting forums as we have done in Guilford, but implement throughout the district and work with the economic directors and/or first selectman in each town to nurture existing businesses and assist them in supporting new business.” On the state level, Cartier said, “Individual business owners know what markets they face, but are also affected by the overall business climate in the state, including the tax and regulatory environment. We need to change the culture of how the state views businesses.”

Cartier said that the state’s economy is recovering at a slower rate than others in the country. In order to tackle this problem, she has proposed taking a closer look at administrative and purchasing costs, implementing proper accounting principles including zero-based budgeting, and reducing duplicate areas of services and agencies.

For education, she said her focus would be on representing schools in the 12th District, versus urban communities, to ensure 12th District communities obtain their fair share of state Educational Cost Sharing funds.

Cartier explained her plans to assist seniors in a struggling economy: “I am acutely aware of the challenges they face in continuing to afford to live each day including paying for the basis necessities. I have formally proposed eliminating all taxes on Social Security and pensions. Further, by reducing taxes and spending in the state budget, lower costs will be realized in gas, oil, food, and other areas,” she said. “We also need to fully explore all areas pertaining to nursing home, assisted living, and home healthcare to ensure that we’re not only taking care of this population of seniors, but folks who will be in need of these services in the future.”

Based on her background as an insurance company attorney, her plans to cope with strong storms like Tropical Storm Irene include encouraging residents to be educated on what’s needed from an insurance perspective and working to create regulations that make insurance more affordable closer to the coast.

“My firsthand experience in this regard will be an asset to the homeowners and businesses in my district,” Cartier said.