The Milford-Orange Times is continuing its election-year tradition of asking the candidates to respond to questions about what they would do for the residents of Milford and Orange if voters elect them. This special section features the responses from the candidates. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Jeff Parkin is the Republican candidate for state representative in District 118.
Question: What do you think the greatest challenges for the district will be in the next two years, and how will you help address them?
Jeff Parkin
Milford, like most communities in Connecticut, is now dealing with many challenges: the upsurge in crime; our high cost of living; the second highest tax burden in the US; and one of the weakest business climates in the country.
Crime: The lack of support for police recently shown by local Milford Democrats is disappointing and dangerous. A similar lack of support was shown by the state legislature when they passed certain provisions of the “police accountability” legislation.
While supporting some provisions of the law, as your state representative I will work to repeal parts of the law that allow officers, even when doing nothing wrong, to be personally sued in state court under state law for the first time in Connecticut’s history. I will support assistance for local communities to improve police training and the recruitment of new officers.
As your state representative, I will always speak out in support of our police and first responders to try to influence our local officials to make the right decisions. I will not be silent.
High cost of living and our taxes: Connecticut’s economy has been slow to recover from recent economic hard times. Contributing to this is the fact that state government doesn’t do its part to live within its means. We have second highest tax burden in the country.
We must do a better job eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse – make sure that every dollar paid in taxes is being maximized. That includes tracking federal relief funds. Cost overruns, like the New London pier, cannot be tolerated.
Temporary tax relief is a gimmick and not enough. We need permanent tax reform. Taxes on hospitals, prepared foods and high taxes on gas including diesel fuel among others don’t make sense when we face record inflation.
Improving our weak business climate: Policies and regulations hostile to business have been enacted far too often in Connecticut. As a result, business are not rushing to come to our state and in fact many have closed or relocated to other states in recent years.
We must reform or eliminate regulations and taxes that are responsible for our hostile business environment. One example is taxing job training at a time when increasing our skilled workforce is so important. Another is corporate and business use taxes. Why?
Our corporate tax raises less than 5 percent of the state’s total tax revenues, but Connecticut is uncompetitive with its neighbors. Eliminating these taxes is a first step to encourage businesses to locate or expand here. That is one of the ways we can start moving in the right direction; lower residential taxes and improve your life with better job opportunities.
Should our economy strengthen it will be necessary to facilitate business growth and development in ways that differ from past strategies. Responsiveness of government will be a key to improving the attractiveness of doing business in the area. Milford’s geographic location is central to rail, sea, highway and air transportation and thus central to the flow of goods in and through the state.
As your state representative I will consider the needs of Milford, but also the needs of the entire state as well.