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Adams has flooded recently, and is in need of repairs, as is Guilford High School.
In his speech, Suerth said that if Adams and the other school facilities in Guilford get renovated, there are sure to be higher property taxes. He went on to say that it is not wrong for parents to want the best education for their children, nor is it wrong for property owners on fixed incomes not to want to be driven from their homes. "Hartford is wrong," he said.
Suerth has been living within the 12th district only for about a year. Born in Wilton, he went west for college and law school, did a stint in Washington D.C., and was based out of Texas and stationed in Iraq. He said that in Texas, people would say, 'I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as quick as I could,' and that is how he felt about Connecticut-that he got back here as quick as he could.
He revealed that he turned down an assignment in Hawaii to be a part of the First Cavalry Division, which took him to Baghdad. And said, "I felt a responsibility to my country, and to the men and women of the armed forces. Hopefully you'll see that I've been contributing to Connecticut, even though I have not been here."
And he offered the core of his candidacy-to change the nearly two to one imbalance of Democrats to Republicans in the State Assembly. "We've lost our voice in Hartford," he said, adding that the imbalance of Democrats to Republicans "wouldn't be tolerated on the national level, and shouldn't be tolerated in Connecticut."
On May 15, Jeanne Stevens was nominated to challenge Deb Heinrich for the 101st District seat as State Representative on the top floor of Memorial Town Hall, for which she once made cupcakes.
Stevens, a six year resident of Madison, grew up in Chappaqua, holds a law degree from Fordham University and worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan for five years.
Although she says that her law experience will help her craft legislation and makes her comfortable in a legislative atmosphere, she also touts her common sense. And indeed, on her nightstand is "The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America," by Philip Howard.
The mother of four boys, she volunteers for Madison Safe Rides and co-chairs the town's Safe Homes program, as well as volunteers at the library of Island Avenue School. She is active in her parish, St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church, also in Madison. She also enjoys playing the video game World of Warcraft.
She's planning on using public financing for her campaign, which requires 150 residents of Madison and Guilford to contribute to her war chest. Already 86 have done so.
When the Republican Town Committee didn't nominate her as a Republican candidate for the Board of Education last fall, Stevens ran as an independent candidate, collecting enough signatures to get her name on the ballot.
"I'm a bit of a bulldog once you tell me I can't do something," she said.
And though some told her that the move would earn her resentment from the Republican Town Committee, it didn't, and she now holds one of its 30 seats.
She was approached by Republican Town Committee Chairman Tom Banisch in January to talk about her role in the party. She thought he was going to ask her to sell fund raising tickets. Instead, he told her that she would make a great candidate for state representative, and that Hartford had taken notice of her when she ran for the Board of Education. After talking with her family and going up to the capitol to meet with other representatives, she decided to go for it. "I have nothing to lose," she said.
"She's a good lawyer, and she's going to work hard. We saw that last fall," said Jennifer Tung, who nominated Stevens at the convention. And in her acceptance speech, Stevens said, "Hartford needs to rediscover reasonableness and common sense."
At the Republican nominating convention for a candidate to run for the 98th district state representative seat, no nominations came forward. "There had been previously two people considering doing it," said Republican Town Committee Chairman Jim O'Keefe. "But at end of the day, they decided not to do it. It's not easy to run a campaign. Pat is a very formidable opponent, and I think that was probably the major reason." O'Keefe said that once the nominating convention is closed, a Republican candidate can not be brought forth unless Widlitz steps down or decides not to run for reelection.
Widlitz says that the Republicans keep waiting for her to retire. And her response is, "You know, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer."
Hannah Vahl can be reached at 458-5751 or hvahl@ctcentral.com
