Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

election-profile-Wasserman

Full Text:

ELECTION PROFILE: Assembly District 106 -- Julia Wasserman

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Republican State Rep Julia Wasserman of Newtown is seeking a fifth two-year

term representing residents of the state's 106th District, which includes a

section of Newtown and a section of Bethel.

Mrs Wasserman's challenger in the race is Charles Noe of Bethel, the

Independent Party's endorsed candidate.

The Democratic Party is not fielding a candidate for the house of

representatives seat.

"Fairfield Hills is taking all my time," Mrs Wasserman said of her continuing

work to ensure that the future uses of the sprawling former state psychiatric

institution are amenable to both the town and the state.

"Seventy-five percent of the entire Fairfield Hills (complex) has been dealt

with in the best possible way," Mrs Wasserman said, noting that the state has

done a good job in deciding how to dispose of its assets there which no longer

are needed.

Mrs Wasserman said that as a town member of the Fairfield Hills Selection

Committee she is an active participant in marketing Fairfield Hills' 185-acre

core campus to some private new owner who will redevelop the property for new

uses. The state is seeking to sell the acreage, plus approximately one million

feet of enclosed space.

"There are a lot of proposals that look as if they have merit," she said.

The future uses of the 185-acre core campus are as significant as the uses

which already have been designated for the other 415 acres at Fairfield Hills,

she said. Those state-designated uses for the 415 acres include: open space

and agricultural land; transfers of land and buildings to the town; land

leased to the town for industrial use; land provided for elderly housing at

Nunnawauk Meadows, and the construction of a Fairfield Hills bypass road to

link Route 25 to Interstate-84 and Route 34.

Mrs Wasserman said she hopes some school or research facility locates at

Fairfield Hills. She said that by late next spring, the planned future uses of

the core campus at Fairfield Hills should be known. In about one year, the

town's Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) will receive a Fairfield Hills

redevelopment plan for its review, she said.

How long it takes to develop Fairfield Hills will depend on the specific plans

for the site, she said.

On another topic, Mrs Wasserman said she believes the state legislature in the

past legislative session effectively controlled government spending and

taxation.

"I think through efficiency and streamlining, you can cut down on...

duplication of programs," she said.

However, the state must keep up its commitment to social programs aimed at

helping children, veterans and the elderly, she said.

Mrs Wasserman said that while she believes in the value of state social

programs, she also believes in the value of fiscal restraint in providing such

programs.

The state must reduce the personal income tax and also cut down on superfluous

spending, she said.

Mrs Wasserman said that while serving as a member of the state legislature's

program review committee she seeks to find how the state can spend its money

effectively to achieve desired goals. The committee analyzes spending patterns

in state programs and recommends improvements.