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01/25/2024 01:15 PMPress release from Zullo Campaign
On Jan. 24, East Haven State Representative Joe Zullo (R, 99) announced that he has filed the official paperwork with the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission to seek re-election in the Nov. 5 election for the 99th assembly district seat representing the majority of the Town of East Haven.
“I continue to be grateful for the unique opportunities this job presents each day to make a real difference in people’s lives and remain energized and enthusiastic about continuing to serve as a strong voice for our community in our State Capitol,” Zullo announced.
“I was proud, this past session, to join many of my colleagues in supporting the biennial budget, which included much-deserved middle class tax relief. However, there is so much more our state can and should be doing to help residents,” Zullo added. “The rampant inflation of the past two years has left families, seniors, and small businesses struggling to make every dollar go further than ever. Sadly, many are falling short. I am seeking re-election so that I can continue fighting for common sense solutions to eliminate wasteful spending, reduce taxes, and create meaningful opportunities for all of our state’s residents to thrive and get ahead.”
Zullo, who was elected in a special election in February of 2019, won re-election to his first full term in the 2020 election cycle, taking 58.5% of the vote by a margin of 6,775 to 4,795. He ran unopposed during the 2022 cycle, garnering 5,450 votes, leading all vote-getters in the 99th assembly district. When session reconvened in 2023, he was reappointed by his caucus to serve as Ranking Member on the state's Planning and Development Committee, where his vigorous advocacy for the preservation and expansion of local control of housing and zoning matters earned him recognition from numerous state organizations.
In 2022, shortly after his re-election, Zullo was recognized by the Connecticut Conference of Small Towns with the Town Crier Award for his “balanced approach to housing and development issues,” support for policies promoting homeownership, and “efforts…defeating proposals that would have imposed rigid land use mandates on municipalities without consideration of local concerns.” Just a year earlier, he was recognized by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities—the state’s largest non-partisan organization of municipal leaders—as one of its 2021 “legislative champions” for his advocacy in helping to build stronger and more vibrant communities.
Looking ahead to the 2024 session and beyond, Zullo identified several legislative priorities.
“I remain committed to working across the aisle to craft policies to address the state’s housing shortage. However, we need to take a comprehensive approach to making our towns and cities strong and vibrant,” Zullo said. “Residents across the state continue to report increasing crime, including property crimes. Our towns and cities can’t shine if they’re not safe, and we need to reform our criminal justice policies to better equip police to do their jobs, to allow courts to hold those that break the law accountable, and to intervene meaningfully to prevent and discourage juvenile crime. We also need to ensure those that truly want help can get it, in all contexts. I remain committed to working to expand resources to fight the opioid epidemic and to help those battling addiction—a fight which I firmly believe begins with putting meaningful resources in place to prevent relapse and empower recovery.”
“We also have unfinished business when it comes to students, seniors, and veterans,” he continued. “In prior sessions, I’ve joined colleagues in supporting initiatives to enact tax relief to help offset the crippling costs of student loan debt and to expand tax benefits for our seniors and veterans. These will remain priorities for me as we head into the 2024 session and if I am privileged to be re-elected in November.”
While addressing a myriad of statewide policy proposals, Zullo also expressed a renewed commitment to addressing quality-of-life issues in East Haven, including the proposed expansion of Tweed New Haven Airport.
“The proposed expansion of Tweed New Haven Airport is of generational import to my community,” Zullo said. “I recognize that many people see the airport’s proposal as an economic driver for greater New Haven and for the state. However, I maintain that a ‘fair outcome’ on the future of Tweed means a fair outcome for all stakeholders, and I have yet to see a proposal that benefits and protects the Town of East Haven. If re-elected, I will continue working across the aisle and with leaders at all levels to advocate for a commonsense outcome at Tweed that, above all things, protects the quality of life of our residents.”
Zullo, who was born and raised in East Haven, is newly married to his wife Danelle and resides in the town’s central district. He is a partner with his father Alfred Zullo in the law firm of Zullo, Zullo and Jacks, LLC, where he has worked for the past 11 years as a legal advocate for a diverse clientele. He has been recognized for five successive years, since 2019, as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and as one of the top 2.5% of attorneys under age 40 in Connecticut in the field of real estate. He served as East Haven's town attorney from 2011 to 2019. In 2022, he joined the ranks of the adjunct faculty at Quinnipiac University, where he teaches on the topic of business law. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Town's Chamber of Commerce, as the treasurer for the East Haven Fall Festival Committee, and as a member of the Town's Community Classic 5K Road Race Committee.
Zullo's campaign wasted no time in beginning to make its pitch to the residents of East Haven. In conjunction with his re-election announcement, Zullo announced the launch of a full website at www.joezullo.com, along with updated Facebook and Instagram accounts under the handle @staterepzullo.
“I’m energized and enthusiastic about this campaign and about earning the confidence and support of my fellow residents to return to our State Capitol for another term,” said Zullo. “I’m hopeful supporters will head online and register for lawn signs and to volunteer.”
“As we continue to grapple with the consequences of soaring inflation, it’s more important than ever that we work together to enact policies to continue to reduce taxes, help families and small businesses to get ahead, and transform our state into an affordable place for our seniors to retire in,” Zullo concluded. “If re- elected, I’ll not only continue be a strong voice for these priorities in Hartford, but I’ll continue to be a resource for our residents here in our community.”