As Election Day approaches, Westport Patch is committed to keeping readers up-to-date with the latest news, announcements, and Letters to the Editor related to the town's candidates for office.
Patch sent five questions candidate's running to represent the 136th Assembly District in Westport. The following responses came from Representative Town Meeting member Stephen Rubin.
1. Why are you running for office?
I have been elected to the Westport RTM since 1993 and feel I have served the people of Westport well. Now I am sure I can bring my dedication and caring to a higher level. Hartford can not continue with tax & spend policies but needs Common Sense and Smart Spending.
2. What skills do you have that can help you represent your district in Hartford?
With my association with Parks and Recreation, extensive community work and being extremely involved with our town for 30 years, from seniors to our schools, I know Westport. I am always available to my constituents as a true Westport public servant.
3. What are the three biggest issues affecting your district? How would you address them?
Jobs, Job and Jobs! By making our state more business friendly we will have less unemployment. We have enough revenue therefore we need smart spending consequently less taxation. We must maintain our Westport Quality of Life that we have paid for, earned and deserve,
4. What is something Connecticut has done well in the past two years? What is something the state could have done better?
Barron’s reports our state as the worst in the country and our governor has been awarded a failing grade (F) and our current representative has voted with the current administration 95% of the time. The record speaks for itself. I can not say our state “has done well” in the last two years. We could have lowered taxes, remove some unfunded mandates, had more consolidation of departments and tried harder with some privatization of services for starters.
5. If elected, what would your primary focus be coming into the next term?
I would be crossing the aisle for non-partisan negotiation as I have been trained to do on the RTM. I would very clearly represent the people of Westport and not simply be following the current majority party regime. It is absolutely imperative to bring the minority voice back to Hartford instead of keeping our current one party system. To repeat – Represent the People NOT the governor.
