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Candidate Profiles - Ganim

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Tom Ganim has been facing an uphill battle this fall in his bid to unseat

longtime 28th district Republican State Senator Fred Lovegrove, who's

legislating days in Hartford date back to 1982.

Facing a district saturated with Republicans, Mr Ganim, 30, has run an

extremely aggressive campaign, getting his name and face out on local cable

television almost as often as Clinton and Dole.

"We've run an aggressive campaign but its purpose is to highlight Mr

Lovegrove's poor voting record," he said.

Mr Ganim, an Easton resident and 1984 graduate of Joel Barlow High School in

Redding, believes his opponent has taken his seat for granted over the years,

and his time finally is up.

"He's had the luxury of having no one show his record and take him to task

because this is a Republican area," said Mr Ganim, an attorney in his family's

Bridgeport firm.

Mr Ganim, who said he rarely sees his opponent in Newtown, points to a poll

conducted by Connecticut Magazine which put Mr Lovegrove at "the bottom of the

barrel" among state legislators.

"We want to represent this district on a day-to-day basis, not just at

election time," he said.

Mr Ganim said he's troubled by the fact that Connecticut has the highest gas

tax in the nation and has been vocal about the fact that twice last spring Mr

"Overtaxation is strangling the state. Anytime we have an opportunity to cut

taxes we must do that, forgetting partisan politics," he said.

Instead of voting against the proposed bill, Mr Ganim believes the incumbent

should have proposed his own legislation.

The candidate realizes he's up against some stiff competition, especially

since Mr Lovegrove has such a strong Republican backing, but Mr Ganim believes

he can win simply by getting his message out and making the voters realize

that they do have a choice.

"I'm fiscally minded and want to move forward in the interest of the people in

the 28th District," he said.

Mr Ganim believes welfare reform is a positive step in avoiding a drainage of

the state economy, but feels the legislation must be made to give people a

fare wage at work. As he points out, a bill to increase the minimum wage was

on the table, but was blocked by the Republicans.

The candidate also believes the state needs to give people an incentive to get

off welfare, and said $9,000 per year won't cut it.

"Why should they work when they can make more money on welfare," he asked.

Mr Ganim said he's seen a continued decrease in the amount of state aid

received in Newtown.

"Fred is not doing his job. He's out of touch with the people," he said. "He's

not looking out for our interests. There are wealthier towns receiving more

money."

Mr Ganim also noted that Mr Lovegrove has placed the interest of the National

Rifle Association (NRA) above the interest of health and safety of the people

in the state.

As far as guns, drugs and violence go, Mr Ganim has vowed to support longer

sentences for violent criminals, work to put more cops on the beat and fight

for the continuation of an assault weapons ban, something Mr Ganim says has

been neglected by Mr Lovegrove.

Like many residents in town, Mr Ganim has taken notice of the massive

development currently going on in Newtown and says he will work hard to make

sure it does not get out of control.

Mr Ganim believes senior citizens are the state's most vulnerable citizens and

promises to ensure that their programs are protected.

At Fairfield Hills, he believes there is a unique opportunity to use the

facility while preserving the look of the town by maintaining it as a

state-owned sanctuary for open space or, pointing to Newtown's strong

agricultural heritage, a state agricultural school.

After high school, Mr Ganim went on to Fairfield University where he graduated

with a degree in political science in 1989. He then received his law degree in

1991 from the University of Bridgeport.