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10/08/2024 01:10 PMThe 2024 political race for Branford’s 102nd District State Representative seat is between incumbent Democrat Robin Comey and Republican candidate Ray Ingraham.
Comey is currently serving her third consecutive term as Branford’s 102nd District State Representative. For the 2024 legislative session, Comey was appointed assistant majority whip and a member of the Committee on Children; Education Committee; and the Human Services Committee. Ingraham is serving his seventh consecutive term with Branford’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM), to which he was first elected in 2011, representing the fifth district. Ingraham also served as RTM majority leader from 2013 to 2023.
The Sound recently spoke with Comey and Ingraham about key points of their campaigns, what they feel is the most pressing issue facing Connecticut and how they’ll act to address it, and their personal qualities and strengths which support issues they want to address in the upcoming legislative session.
Robin Comey
Comey said that under her leadership and the current leaders in Connecticut, real progress has been made for the state.
“I’m proud to be able to share that we’ve made some really important improvements supporting seniors in the past several years — more than in the past 30 years combined — to make Connecticut more affordable,” Comey said. “Our schools are ranked among the highest school systems in the nation. We are committed to passing laws that protect free and fair elections, and we prioritize supporting environmental policies that improve the health and the well-being of the residents of our state.”
Comey said she continues to prioritize her legislative work to improve education and to make Connecticut more affordable.
“When I knock [on] doors, the people that I meet with, whatever party they’re with, tell me they’re pretty happy with Connecticut. Of course, everyone wishes their expenses were lower, but a lot of folks choose to live here, and they love what the state has to offer,” said Comey.
Comey also noted that, over the past two years, a lot of legislation in Hartford has been enacted to benefit senior citizens, such as strengthening services for people with dementia, improving assisted living communities’ transparency, strengthening oversight with regard to nursing home negligence, and supporting family involvement.
“We’re also really encouraging policies that allow seniors to stay in their homes and the safety of our seniors when they have homecare workers. We know that [homecare] is an alternative and more cost-effective than heading into nursing home care,” Comey said.
Comey said a pressing issue facing the state today is the economy and the costs of goods and services.
“Making Connecticut more affordable is certainly a top priority of mine, and frankly, it’s the priority of every single person who serves in the legislature, or wants to serve,” said Comey. “These past couple of years, I have worked on the two largest tax cuts in state history. We are exempting more retirement income from state income tax, we’ve cut some taxes on low-wage earners with the Earned Income Tax Credit, and we also worked to zero-out property taxes for permanently disabled veterans.”
Comey said there’s more work to do, including addressing energy costs, which is a top priority. Another priority for Comey is continuing policy work to hold down costs and improve early education support, so families can work.
“I work long hours on this issue, and I want to continue to fight for the public investment in this industry, and professionalizing the industry. We should be restoring the Child Tax Credit and making home buying more affordable for first-time buyers,” said Comey.
Comey said her track record as an effective policy maker is a significant reason why she’s passionate about returning to Hartford to represent Branford.
“Year after year, I have fought for the people of Branford, both locally and in Hartford,” Comey said. “I have the experience. I have built the relationships needed to get things across the finish line, and I’ve proven that.”
She’s also proud of her responsive work in constituent services.
“While I recognize I cannot help every situation, I am responsive. I am a fierce advocate for the people who elected me,” Comey said. “I listen to our community, and I show up when it matters.”
Comey said she’s deeply proud and gratified to serve as Branford’s current 102nd State Representative.
“I ask for voters to continue supporting me, so I can represent their values in Hartford,” Comey said.
More information on Comey’s campaign is available at robincomey.com
Ray Ingraham
Ingraham said his campaign is based on four pillars: championing affordability, strengthening public safety, safeguarding local zoning decisions, and supporting parental advocacy.
“Affordability has been heading in a bad direction, and we seem to have take a much bigger spike in the last couple years, so balancing out what people pay between their taxes and what we have to do with utilities will a big driver,” of his legislative work in Hartford, Ingraham said.
Ingraham said that while studies may be showing that crime is going down nationwide, there is also a need to create safer communities in Connecticut by supporting police who provide public safety.
“In Branford, we don’t have a major crime rate — it’s mostly juvenile crime that makes it uncomfortable for all of us. We have to double-check to lock our cars; we have to double-check to lock our doors. Some of the reasons why this has happened in the last four or five years is the [CT] Police Accountability Act, which has tied the hands of police in many areas,” said Ingraham.
Ingraham said he’d work to help loosen some areas that may be contributing to the proliferation of criminal activity, such as those being experienced in Branford, so that police can better and more confidently safeguard citizens.
Ingraham said he also would work to champion local control of zoning laws, such as those that are subject to potential regional and state laws impacting affordable housing.
“Local control of zoning has been eroding to fit what the cities are about. There are only six true cities in Connecticut. The rest of us like our home rule. We’re New Englanders. We like to be able to say how we want our neighborhoods to be set up. In Branford, we have very conscientious citizens watching our inlands-wetlands, our planning and zoning,” Ingraham said.
Ingraham pointed to areas in the past state legislative session’s Fair Share Planning and Zoning bill’s discussion, such as requiring towns to act to meet their fair share of the state’s affordable housing needs (under the proposed law, should developers not want to build, municipalities would pay for fair share affordable housing construction). He noted there are also affordable housing requirements currently imposed on town zoning law, such as CT state statute (§) 8-30, which allows for projects to be situated in areas that otherwise would not meet local zoning law requirements.
“I’m not against affordable housing. We have plenty of spots where they would fit in Branford,” Ingraham said. “We just need to make sure we can make our decisions locally. We know there are state laws we have to follow, state regulations on safety, and all. But where we put certain buildings really needs to be with us.”
As a member of the state legislature, which creates public education bills, Ingraham would also focus on supporting more parental control.
“Parental control is parents having a say in how their children are educated and things that are happening in the school system,” said Ingraham. “There are things where parents should have a choice, and if we need to come up with alternative methods [then] we need to figure it out.”
Ingraham said the most pressing issue facing the state is affordability. He said the issue is exacerbated by Connecticut’s regressive property taxes, which aren’t adjusted based on a taxpayer’s income level. The issue of affordability is impacting residents who grew up here and can’t afford a first home, as well as those who are ready to retire here but feel less financially able to stay in their homes.
“At the state level, we need to be able to help the towns figure out a way to stagnate the increases in property taxes, and push to ensure that we don’t keep adding to what the towns are doing,” Ingraham said. “Every time we make a decision that we’re putting on a town, it has to be thoroughly thought out, and not just a transfer of where the revenue’s being collected.”
Ingraham said his years of experience in town legislative work and sensibilities of responsibility and leadership instilled from an early age, including his experiences in the Air Force, running Branford youth sports leagues, and community leadership involvement, prepared him to lead and succeed as an elected official.
“As I’ve gone through my RTM career, I’ve based my decisions on what was best for Branford, by taking in what constituents have told me. I’m going to take the same approach to Hartford,” Ingraham said.
More information on Ingraham’s campaign is available at ingrahamforbranford.com