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05/31/2016 12:00 AMRepublican candidate Bruce Wilson of Madison will challenge Democratic incumbent Ted Kennedy, Jr., for the 12th District State Senate seat, representing Madison, Killingworth, Branford, North Branford, Durham, and Guilford, in November.
After recently securing both of their party’s respective nominations, the two candidates have begun to outline their campaign platforms as they prepare to square off for the second time. Kennedy defeated Wilson in the first race for the seat in 2014, taking in 57 percent of the vote according to the Associated Press.
Wilson, who currently serves on the Board of Selectmen, said his business experience and connection to the community make him the right candidate.
“I grew up here, raised my family here, and served my community here,” he said. “Professionally, my experience is turning around troubled organizations and creating jobs in the process. In 2015, I joined a manufacturing business already in distress and successfully guided it through the bankruptcy process, all the while keeping and even adding jobs. If ever there was time where the state needs my skill set, it is now.”
If elected, Wilson said he hopes to play a role in the state’s continuing budget crisis.
“Our state is a financial wreck, there is no way to sugar-coat it,” he said. “Until we have the strength and resolve to change the tax and spend paradigm, our situation cannot and will not change. It is inexcusable that the Democratic majority in the General Assembly waits until, quite literally, the 11th hour of the legislative session to present a budget for vote. This needs to be the very first thing settled in any session.”
In this second campaign Wilson said he will again be out listening to the concerns and needs of residents, but will also be more aware of issues he may have overlooked in his first run.
“The biggest thing I took away from the first campaign was how important money is in an election,” he said. “We hear this all the time in the press, but until you actually go through it, it is hard to appreciate. Maybe I was naive, but I totally discounted the campaign budget as a variable in the election because of the Citizen’s Election Program.”
Since announcing his second bid, Kennedy said, “I am going to run a serious campaign like I did before”.
Kennedy, a healthcare lawyer, who is currently serving his first term in the State Senate, said he is pleased with the work he has accomplished so far and hopes to continue serving his constituents.
“I am seeking re-election in November because I believe in public service and I think I am the best person to represent the people of the 12th district,” he said. “I believe I can continue to make a difference in peoples lives and I want to make the state an ever better place to live and grow and work.”
In Hartford, Kennedy serves as chair of the Senate Environment Committee and oversaw the signing of 22 environmental bills into law in 2015. Kennedy said he will continue to focus on environmental issues, services for seniors, and the economy.
“The number-one issue facing our state is jobs and the economy,” he said. “Since the global recession, Connecticut has faced significant economic setbacks. There has been slow job growth and a structural shift in our economy, which has created a budget crisis and a lot of financial uncertainties for many of our districts families and businesses. In order for the shoreline to thrive, public officials need to listen and respond to the concerns and needs of our local business.”
While the election is six months away, Wilson said he has considered how serving in the State Senate might impact his role as a selectman.
“There are other legislators serving in Hartford and their town at the same time—there is even one First Selectwoman serving in the legislature,” he said. “So it can be done. I think that my first obligation is to bring value and contribute wherever I serve. If the time came that I was not, I would need to choose.”