Table of Contents

We understand that it’s impossible to summarize complex issues in short terms, but have tried our best to capture candidates stances on these issues. Every candidate has been contacted and offered a chance to modify or clarify their stances on issues. If a candidates description is not defined below, it is because the candidate themselves contacted us an asked us to modify the description.

Reproductive Rights

This hot button issue is tied to the right to have an abortion, with HB 5414 – Authorizes Protection for Reproductive Health to be the key indicator for a candidates stance.

  • Pro-Choice : This stance indicates the candidate voted YES to HB 5414, or has posted public comments about dissatisfaction with the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
  • Pro-Child : This stance indicates that the candidate is pro-life, and would vote to ban abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or risk of life to the mother. The candidate also supports expanded services to the adoption. The candidate also supports expanded support for new mothers.
  • Pro-Life : This stance indicates the candidate votes NO to HB 5414, or has posted public comment celebrating the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Gun Rights

This hot button issue is tied to the right to own firearms in the state of Connecticut, and the key indicators for this position are these three votes

Candidates are listed into one of these categories.

  • Anti-Gun : The candidate has publicly stated that they think all firearms should be banned.
  • Some Regulations : The candidate voted YES to the three above laws.
  • Common Sense Regulations : Candidate supports background checks and red flag laws but did not vote YES to all three of those.
  • No More Regulation : Candidate does not want any more regulations placed on firearm sales. The candidate believes this only hurts honest, hardworking citizens and not criminals.
  • Less Regulations : The candidate supports removing the ban of sales of semi-automatic rifles in Connecticut, or has voted against gun control measures in the past.
  • Limited/No Regulations : The candidate believes that the sale and ownership of guns should not be regulated.

Law and Order

This hot button issue is tied to the support of the police force, and the key indicators for this position is the bill HB 6004 – Establishes Independent Inspector General to Investigate Police Shootings and Illegal Uses of Force

Candidates are listed into one of these categories.

  • Defund the Police : The candidate has publicly stated they believe we should defund the police.
  • Police Accountability : The candidate supports the police, and believes they should be accountable for their actions. If the candidate voted YES to HB 6004 this is the stance.
  • Increased Police Protection : The candidate supports the police. The candidate voted, or would have voted, NO to HB 6004, which removed Qualified Immunity from police.

Civil Rights

This hot button issue is tied to civil rights, including LGBTQ+, racism, and sexism. The key key indicators for this position are these four votes

Candidates are listed into one of these categories.

  • Full Support – The candidate has voted YES to the above bills, and has made public statements describing their support for these issues.
  • Equality Matters – The candidate can affirm, without hesitation, that all people should be treated as equal.  We are all children of God, regardless of race, gender, or other differences.  We have different qualities, abilities, backgrounds and aptitudes, so to expect equal outcomes for all is not realistic.
  • Some Support – Some evidence has been found showing the candidates support for civil rights.
  • Mixed Support – Candidate has voted YES to some of the bills above, but NO to others.
  • No Support – The candidate has voted NO to all the bills, or has made multiple public comments showing no support for civil rights.
  • Unknown – The candidate has not expressed any comments show support for or against civil rights.

Term Limits

This hot button issue is in regards to term limits for legislatures and supreme court justices. There are no bills that can be used as a metric for this support. This support is divided into two sections

  • Legislature limits : The candidate supports a limit on the number of terms a legislator can serve in congress. For example 10 years in the house and 12 in the senate.
  • SCOTUS Limits : The candidate supports a limit on the number of years that a supreme court justice can serve.

Big Tech Censorship

This hot button issue is in regards to big tech censoring information on their platform, such as facebook or twitter. This support is divided into the following sections.

  • Corporations Choice – The candidate believes these companies are not government entities and so have a right to block as they see fit.
  • No Misinformation – The candidate believes that the company should block misinformation that is harmful to the health of citizens. An example of this would be information encouraging people to not get vaccinated.
  • No Censorship – The candidate believes that a company should not have the right to block any information posted on their platform. The nature of their platform is a town hall, and therefore freedom of speech should not be stopped.

Town Zoning 8-30g

This hot button issue is in regards to 8-30g, a bill that allows for affordable housing to ignore a town’s zoning regulations. This support is divided into the following sections.

  • Full Support – The candidate fully supports 8-30g.
  • Needs Amendments – The core idea behind the bill is good, but it needs amendments to properly address issues like the one we saw recently in Glastonbury.
  • Supports Repeal – The candidate supports the repeal of 8-30g. All zoning should be at the local level. What works in Stamford and Wilton do not necessarily work in Hebron or Bridgeport.

Student Loan Relief

This hot button issue is in regards to Student Loan Relief announced by the White House on August 24th 2022.

This support is divided into the following sections.

  • Full Support – The candidate fully supports the loan relief.
  • Mixed Support – The candidate supports the idea but thinks it could have been implemented more effectivly.
  • No Support – The candidate does not support any student loan relief.

HealthCare

This hot button issue in regards to how we should improve our health care system.

  • Single Payer – The candidate has stated support for a single payer health care system.
  • Expand ACA and Medicare – The candidate supports expanding the current systems to include more people and provide more coverage.
  • Providers Connecting with Patients – Candidate proposes to go back to creating a relationship between the service provider and the patient, and reducing burdensome administrative costs and mandates that have only driven up the cost of healthcare.
  • Value Based System – Value-based healthcare is a healthcare delivery model in which providers, including hospitals and physicians, are paid based on patient health outcomes.

Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, to explore how laws, social and political movements, and media shapes, and is shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. This hot button issue has been expanded past this, and is now used as a talking point to reflect the discussion of any race issues in classrooms.

This support is divided into the following sections.

  • High Schools – The candidate thinks CRT should be taught in high schools.
  • Teach History, not CRT – The candidate thinks that we should not shy from the racist past of the US. Slavery and Jim Crow laws were a part of our history, and we should not shy away from that past.
  • Strongly Against – The candidate has stated they are against any form of racial issues taught in schools.

End of Life Legislation

This issue in regards to aid in dying treatment for terminally ill patients.

  • Supports – The candidate supports legislation allowing this — though the candidate knows it’s not an easy choice or should not be taken lightly.
  • Against – The candidate opposes this legislation, and instead supports hospice care.

Early Voting

This issue in regards the early voting ballot measure.

  • Supports – The candidate supports early voting.
  • Questions – The candidate has not come out for or against early voting, but has raised a number of concerns with how early voting would be implemented.
  • Against – The candidate opposes early voting.