House GOP Leader Talks Fiscal Guardrails, Trump Win and Ranked-Choice Voting

CT Examiner – Thursday, December 12, 2024
By Robert Storace

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, was unanimously reelected last month by the House Republican caucus to a third two-year term as its leader, reaffirming his pledge to make Connecticut more affordable.

A businessman and longtime legislator, Candelora won his 10th term representing the 86th House District on Nov. 5. He has been a prominent voice in his party on issues like affordability, tax relief and keeping the state’s fiscal guardrails in place.

On Thursday, the 54-year-old lawmaker discussed a range of topics, including his opposition to ranked-choice voting, political transparency and his perspective on Donald Trump securing a second non-consecutive presidential term.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

CT Examiner: A working group appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont voted last week to ask state lawmakers to pass legislation allowing local governments the opportunity to adopt ranked-choice voting, as well as giving political parties the option of using the voting method in conventions and presidential primaries. What is your view on ranked-choice voting and do you think lawmakers will support it?

Vince Candelora: I met with three individuals this past weekend whose states have ranked-choice voting — two Democrats and one Republican — and they all universally rejected it. [Voters] are being taught to game the process through ranked-choice voting. [There is also a] level of complication in ranked-choice voting. It could take upwards of two hours to fill out a ballot — somebody told me it took them two hours with ranked-choice voting in local elections because there are so many positions and they have found that minority populations have been disenfranchised in voting.

So in communities, especially in the urban centers, they find that wealthy white individuals will fill out their ballots while minority populations do not complete them. That is what they are telling me. It actually suppresses the vote. While it arguably could give people more choices, [the fact that] it is so complicated, many individuals just don’t understand it.

CTEx: Throughout your political career, you have advocated for increased government transparency. What is the top area in state government that needs more transparency and how do you plan on getting there?

Candelora: This year, we are seeing the creation of a new committee in our legislature that’s going to deal with public audits. That’s a start. We need to start exposing what the hard work of our auditors have been doing and pointing out and bringing accountability to the process. We have seen scandal after scandal. It started with school construction and it’s now morphed into our higher education system, our Social Equity Commission in their distribution of funds with marijuana, and then finally with staff in the governor’s office misusing vehicles potentially. There needs to be some level of accountability. Having the executive branch be their own auditor and watchdog of these transgressions doesn’t sit well with me. I do hope [the new committee] brings not just transparency to government but accountability.

CTEx: As leader of House Republicans, what is your priority for the 2025 legislative session?

Candelora: There are a number of priorities. Whether we talk about our disenfranchised youth or energy costs, but I think we are in a foundational fight over Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails. What that means is should the government be able to spend beyond its means? Should it be able to take all of the money they have in its savings account and zero that out? Those are the debates. … I happen to think that these guardrails have served us well and I think we should continue to follow the fiscal discipline that is really at the underpinning of those guardrails.

CTEx: You have decried several initiatives — most notably the Police Accountability Act — in recent years. What is the one piece of legislation that is now law that you would like to see rescinded and do you think you can be successful?

Candelora: I think certainly police accountability is an issue. There are so many laws that need to be refined, but I think the one area that we need to rescind right now in the wake of what is happening at the federal level is our Trust Act and the prohibition of local law enforcement to work with our federal agencies. … It’s a huge issue because it’s one area where the state law enforcement’s hands have been tied, along with the Police Accountability bill. We are seeing, on the statewide level, gangs bringing drugs and sex trafficking into our state. We shouldn’t have our judicial branches hands tied in making sure that we are keeping residents safe.

CTEx: Republicans’ call for a special session prior to the Jan. 8 legislative session to address the high costs of electric rates never materialized. How do House Republicans plan to address the issue in 2025?

Candelora: I think we have long-term and short-term issues. We’ve got to look at nuclear energy. We have to look at natural gas being brought into the state of Connecticut that will reduce costs. But I also think we need to look at what our regulatory agency [PURA] has done. … We have to look at how that agency is run. I think we need to decentralize the power. Our chairperson has too much authority in decision-making, and I think we have to stop paying for all of these renewable programs through people’s electric bills.

CTEx: What was your biggest disappointment from the 2024 session?

Candelora: My biggest disappointment was the Democrats gaveling out without doing budget adjustments, knowing that our budget was out of balance and it put us into a bit of a crisis. We [had] in May a $300 million surplus. That surplus is almost gone to zero. We have Medicaid overruns right now. … That was all the result of the Democrats refusal to actually do a budget.

CTEx: The state just used up the last of the federal coronavirus money. Multiple bills have been passed over the last four years that have given state agencies and nonprofits funds to start or expand social services, mental health care and education. In light of continuing need in these areas, is there reason to consider adjusting the fiscal guardrails?

Candelora: I think there are savings that are generated as a result of those fiscal guardrails and I think we don’t need to adjust them this year with inflation. The spending cap would allow the state of Connecticut to spend almost an additional billion dollars. That should be good enough to be able to meet the needs of our government programs, and to the extent it’s not, the government needs to make reductions. There has to be tough choices.

CTEx: What do you think was the determining factor in the election of Donald Trump for president, and what — if any — changes in how Connecticut does business do you see happening because of the change in administrations?

Candelora: I think that people don’t have trust in the government. I think that the elitism that we see, that Trump rejected, really resonated with people. I think the people are beginning to not embrace the establishment. I think we are starting to see a 1970s-style protest that is just looking a little different from back then.

It’s ironic because I find that we now have a Democrat Party that wants to protect the establishment and you have a Republican Party that wants to tear it down. … I think Connecticut is going to need to react to what is happening on the federal level. I’m concerned about Medicaid and where that goes; if there are block grants or cuts that are made to those programs, Connecticut is going to be in a difficult situation. I think we are just going to have to watch what is being done at the federal level and be in a position to react to it, to put Connecticut in the best position it can be in.

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