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. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Q: What will you do if elected to help make your district a more affordable place to live? Be as specific as possible.
State representative candidate Toni Lombardi, Democrat, District 118
Toni Lombardi
There was a time in my life when I worked three jobs as a single mother and still worried about how I was going to pay the bills. I remember stretching every paycheck, deciding which expenses could wait and wondering when working hard would finally mean getting ahead.
Years later, I’m raising two children, working in our public schools and serving on Milford’s Board of Aldermen, and I can tell you that making ends meet hasn’t gotten easier. Like many families in our community, we’re feeling the rising costs of groceries, utilities, childcare and everything else that comes with raising a family in Connecticut.
That’s why affordability isn’t just a campaign issue for me. I’m living it alongside the people I represent. I know how frustrating it is to work hard, do everything you’re supposed to do and feel like you’re falling behind. Families don’t need another elected official telling them they understand how expensive everything is. They need someone willing to do something about it.
If elected, I want to approach affordability from both sides of the household budget: reducing expenses while helping people keep more of what they earn. A fully refundable Connecticut child tax credit of up to $600 per child would put money back into families’ pockets. But that relief only goes so far when childcare can consume an enormous portion of a paycheck. I’ll work to expand Early Start CT, support childcare providers and move us toward universal access to affordable childcare. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between working and being able to afford care for their children.
And when families manage those expenses, they’re still facing costs they have very little control over. Electricity is one of the clearest examples. I’ll fight to strengthen PURA’s independent oversight of Eversource and United Illuminating, demand greater transparency about the charges passed on to customers, and support tying utility earnings more closely to reliable service. Any changes to electric bills must produce savings, not shift costs elsewhere.
Healthcare deserves that same attention. I support developing a Connecticut public insurance option that uses the state’s purchasing power to help lower costs while addressing the prescriptions, deductibles and other expenses families face even when they’re insured.
Some of the most important affordability decisions made in Hartford also show up in our local property taxes. As an alderman, I’ve seen how difficult it is to balance the services residents depend on with our responsibility to taxpayers. When the state doesn’t adequately fund education, those costs fall more heavily on municipalities. I’ll work to increase the state’s contribution so Milford can meet students’ needs without shifting more of the burden onto homeowners. I also support expanding our free breakfast program to include free lunch for all students, providing families with relief from another everyday expense while ensuring students are ready to learn.
Keeping Connecticut affordable means protecting the people who have spent decades building their lives here. Seniors shouldn’t have to leave their homes because property taxes and expenses have outpaced their retirement income. I’ll work to expand property tax relief and eliminate the remaining state income tax on Social Security benefits.
And in a coastal community, affordability also means protecting homes from flooding and the rising costs of flood insurance. As an alderman, I voted in support of Milford’s coastal resilience plan, which helps position our community to reduce flood risks and potentially lower flood insurance premiums for homeowners. In Hartford, I’ll build on that work by pursuing state funding for drainage improvements, flood mitigation and need-based assistance for homeowners who cannot afford costly protective improvements on their own.
Of course, lowering expenses only gets us so far if wages aren’t keeping pace. As a union member and steward, I’ll defend collective bargaining, minimum-wage increases, prevailing wages, paid sick leave and CT Paid Leave. I’ll also support stronger enforcement against wage theft and expand opportunities for good-paying careers through community colleges, vocational education and apprenticeships. Working people deserve the chance to build financial security, not simply survive from paycheck to paycheck.
I know these proposals require responsible funding and the ability to get things done. I’ll evaluate existing programs, pursue available federal funding and be transparent about what proposals cost and how they’re paid for. Having worked as a legislative aide and committee clerk in Hartford, I understand the legislative process and the persistence it takes to turn ideas into laws that make a difference.
When I think about affordability, I think about my own family and the families across Milford who are working hard and still wondering how they’re going to make everything work. I want our children to be able to build their futures here, our working families to have some breathing room and our seniors to remain in the community they’ve built. That’s what I’ll fight for in Hartford.