Date: Fri 19-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

politics-conventions-GOP

Full Text:

Legislative Conventions Yield Few Surprises

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Few surprises are expected this year as local political parties hold their

conventions to pick candidates for the November elections.

Republican State Sen Fred H. Lovegrove Jr announced this week that he will

seek an eighth term in the State Senate representing the 28th District towns

of Newtown, Monroe, Fairfield, and Easton. To oppose him, the Democrats picked

Thomas G. Ganim of Easton, an attorney and brother of Bridgeport Mayor Joseph

Ganim.

"The last two years have been extraordinarily good ones for the people of

Connecticut," Sen Lovegrove said. "A Republican-led Senate has joined with Gov

John G. Rowland to reduce taxes, hold down state spending, reform welfare, and

make major improvements in the area of education.

Sen Lovegrove serves as the Senate chairman of the legislature's Human

Services Commitee, where he has been a major architect of the Rowland

administration's welfare reform initiatives. He said that Aid to Families with

Dependent Children has decreased from 61,000 families in April 1995 to

slightly under 57,000 as of June 1 of this year. Meanwhile the number of

welfare parents who are employed has climbed from 7,700 in July 1995 to more

than 13,300 as of June 1, a 72 percent increase, he said.

"We are moving families from the welfare rolls to work, and I am extremely

pleased that we have been able to save the taxpayers of Connecticut over $160

million in the process."

Sen Lovegrove also serves on the Appropriations Committee and Program Review

and Investigations. He lives in Fairfield.

In announcing his own candidacy at a convention in Fairfield High School, Mr

Ganim said Sen Lovegrove is "out of touch" with the people of Connecticut. He

criticized Sen Lovegrove's "no" votes on proposals to cut the state's gas tax

and the hospital tax.

"You're not in touch when seniors and children take a back seat on your

legislative agenda," Mr Ganim said, "and when the communities you're supposed

to represent see state aid shrink, forcing local property taxes to increase.

Mr Ganim said that during his campaign he will address legislative issues that

impact senior citizens, working families and children.

State House Districts

On Tuesday evening Republicans met at Edmond Town Hall to tap Julia B.

Wasserman for a fourth term representing the 106th House district which

includes Newtown's first and second voting districts and Bethel's third

district.

Mrs Wasserman, who lives on Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook, was

instrumental in efforts to preserve the Fairfield Hills Hospital campus,

sponsoring bills to turn the acreage over to the Department of Agriculture and

establishing an state-level oversight committee, on which she serves along

with First Selectman Bob Cascella. Mrs Wasserman was the chairperson of the

Fairfield Hills Task Force which met for 18 months to make recommendations

about the future uses of the property. She led successful efforts to obtain 40

to 50 acres of land which will be leased to the town for economic development.

Mrs Wasserman serves on the Public Health Committee, where she has focused her

efforts on improving health care in Connecticut and initiating an overview to

get more accountability from health maintenance organizations and insurance

companies in the managed care system.

She also serves on the Appropriations Committee, where she is active on the

Health and Hospital Subcommittee, and is the ranking member of the Select

Committee on Housing.

"One of my most important efforts on the state level in the coming months is

to determine the impact of (building) development on water resouces," she

said. "While I understand the efforts being made by local homeowner

associations to get a building moratorium, what is really needed is a

comprehensive effort to find out what is causing our water shortages. If we

are going to test building lots for water (supplies), this directive has to

come from Hartford."

The Republicans are expected to nominate incumbents John Stripp of Weston in

the 135 District and William Varese of Monroe in the 112th District. Rep

Stripp represents Newtown's 3-A voting district as well as Easton, Redding,

and the northern two-thirds of Weston. Rep Varese represents Newtown's 3-B and

Monroe.

Earl J. Smith Jr, chairman of Newtown's Democratic Town Committee, said

Tuesday night that no one had yet announced candidacy to oppose the three

incumbent Republicans. The caucuses were to be held Thursday evening at Edmond

Town Hall after The Bee's publication of this week's issue.

The Fifth District

It's expected that incumbent Republican Congressman Gary Franks will be

confirmed as his party's candidate at the Fifth District convention in

Waterbury on Saturday.

Five months ago, Danbury Democrat James Maloney launched his second attempt to

unseat Rep Franks. Mr Maloney, who served four terms as state senator from the

24th District, has been practicing law since he came up 12,000 votes shy

against his Republican opponent two years ago. He was unanimously endorsed at

the Fifth District Democratic convention in Wolcott Monday night.