The November 8 Presidential Election will be held in the Suffield Middle School’s (SMS) gymnasium, 350 Mountain Road from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Accessible parking will be available in front of SMS. All other parking is between SMS and McAlister School. Register online at VoterRegistration.CT.GOV or complete a voter registration application and send it to the Town Hall.
Election Day Registration (EDR) will be held from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. in the Town Hall, lower level. Please use rear entrance. EDR is for qualified residents who are not registered to vote, in town, on Election Day.
Local Candidates 
Questions asked of all candidates for State Senator and State Representative:
Question 1. What are your qualifications for this office?
Question 2: Please state your goals for wanting to serve as State Senator or State Representative.
Question 3: What are the two biggest problems facing the State of Connecticut and what specific actions would you undertake to resolve those problems?
State Senator
John A. Kissel – R
Question 1. I have been honored to serve the wonderful people of Suffield and north-central Connecticut as their State Senator for 24 years. I am currently Chief Deputy Minority Leader, ranking senator on the Judiciary Committee, ranking on Program Review and Investigations and serve on the Appropriations and General Law Committees.
Question 2. Make sure government lives within its means. Making CT better for business; I am endorsed by National Federation of Independent Businesses and CT Business and Industry Association. I look forward to continuing to work with Suffield leaders to get funding and grants for initiatives like Babbs Beach, Hilltop Farm and infrastructure enhancements to attract businesses. Helping seniors; received 2016 AARP Legislative Award. Protecting and fighting for schools; endorsed by CT Education Association
Question 3. Connecticut government spends more than it raises and continues to raise taxes which hurts middle class working families and creates a bad business climate. Republicans like myself want to work across party lines and we have offered alternative budget proposals only to be ignored. CT can and must do better. We also have a state ranked 49th as a place to retire with only Vermont being worse. This will cause folks to leave taking with them their assets and commercial spending and driving down housing values. I have been endorsed by CT Realtors because I want to protect and increase home values. Finally, we need to create a vibrant state that our children can afford to live in, work in and raise a family in. We can’t trade good high paying jobs for low paying jobs. We need to keep families together. I believe we can make these changes and build a brighter future for everyone.
Annie Worsko Hornish – D
Question 1. As a state representative (62nd District (2009-10)), I have a track record of government reform and job creation: I co-sponsored the bill that created transparency.ct.gov, as well as several innovative jobs bills that created high tech jobs and helped students afford college.
I worked in healthcare for 20 years before becoming state director for a large animal protection organization, where I successfully fought for laws that protect animals from abuse.
I support working families and our environment. My endorsements include Working Families Party, Connecticut State Building Trades, AFSCME Council 4, AFL-CIO, AFT CT (teachers), Clean Water Action, and CT League of Conservation Voters.
Question 2. I will fight for hardworking families, not special interests. The 7th District has been represented by the same person for 23 years, and it is time for a change.
My opponent, a career politician of 23 years, has grown out of touch, voting against a bill that would protect victims of domestic violence by temporarily keeping guns out of the hands of people who have had restraining orders issued against them by a judge. He also works for Eversource, defending energy company profits instead of hardworking families, who endure some of the highest energy bills in our nation.
Question 3. The most important challenges facing the State of Connecticut are 1) the need to foster an environment conducive to high quality jobs, and 2) the need to reform the way government operates by making government more transparent, efficient, and less beholden to special interests.
More high quality jobs will retain more of our college graduates and, by providing living wages, will reduce reliance on government assistance, which saves taxpayer dollars. By supporting infrastructure improvements and education (from public school to innovation and research at our state community colleges and universities), we can bring good jobs to the state, which helps working families.
We must also tackle issues (like underfunded pension liabilities) that undermine our long term sustainability.
We need to have an economy that works for everyone, including working families and seniors. Seniors and veterans, many of whom are on fixed incomes, are disproportionately impacted by cost of living increases, and many cannot afford prescription drug costs. I believe that we have an ethical duty to help those who have served, and we can do that with tax credits for seniors and veterans.
We need to reform government with term limits, more transparency, and results-based budgeting in order to break the cycle of legislators caring more for special interests than they do the hardworking people of the state.
Serving as a legislator should be a public service, not a career. My opponent has held office for 23 years, and it is time for a change.
State Representative
Tami Zawistowski – R
Question 1. Your State Representative since 2014, I serve on the Appropriations, Transportation and Planning & Development Committees. A small business owner for 20 years, I was previously Executive Vice President of Northeast Savings, and Assistant Director of the UConn School of Business Real Estate Center. In East Granby, I was elected Vice Chair of the Board of Finance and also served on the town’s Economic Development Commission. Memberships include Suffield Rotary, Suffield Chamber, NFIB CT Leadership Council, Past President of East Granby Chamber. I am endorsed by CBIA, NFIB, NRA, CT Association of Realtors and the Independent Party.
Question 2. My overall goal is to help make Connecticut the economic powerhouse it once was. In order to accomplish this, we need to get both our budget and our debt under control, including meaningful long-term budgeting and structural changes in how our state operates. Our revenue projections are perpetually unrealistic and are a contributing cause of the recent massive tax increases. We also need to be much better stewards of taxpayer dollars, and keep spending in check, including bonding, which is out of control. I would like to continue working with like-minded colleagues in the legislature to fix these problems.
Question 3. Our state’s economy and job growth has lagged well behind the rest of the country. While government can’t create jobs, it can foster an environment conducive to job growth. After significant tax increases in 2011, 2013 and 2015, our employers have lost faith in our state government to manage its own budget. We also need to reduce and streamline our regulations which unduly burden our small businesses, and I wholeheartedly support review of existing regulations and elimination of those that are overly burdensome or serve no current purpose. One way government can help is through job training, especially in our community colleges. I have co-sponsored and supported bills furthering manufacturing education as well as making it easier for veterans to find good jobs or start their own businesses.
Another equally significant problem is our ballooning state debt. Bonding has accelerated at an unprecedented pace in the past several years, often for non-essential projects. Our pension obligations are one of the highest in the country. Long term debt squeezes funding for education, health care, transportation infrastructure and other vital programs. We need to re-evaluate our pension programs for new state employees and eliminate overtime abuse in retirement calculations. I support a bonding cap to limit the amount of borrowing, and will work to eliminate use of bond premiums to pay general fund operating expenses – this practice is a budget gimmick that makes the current budget look better than it actually is while adding to our state’s long term debt.
Mike Malloy – D
Question 1. I believe my qualifications for the State Representative encompass the full experience of my life. These include being a parent, a successful small business owner and employer, and in my political experience I have served on several Boards and Commissions. I am currently an elected member of the East Granby Board of Finance, the Conservation Commission, and have served as Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee for eight years. I have seen the impact of state and local budgets on the education system and town infrastructure, and have interacted with many state level politicians in a respectful and positive way.
Question 2. My goals for wanting to serve as State Representative start with building on current gains. I support the policies which have resulted in the intended hiring of over 8000 new employees at Pratt and Whitney, expansion at Electric Boat, and other high paying jobs rebounding in historic fashion across Connecticut. I will work to ensure Bradley Airport is connected to the new expanded rail service. And above all to stabilize funding of our public schools which will ensure our state’s return to prosperity. There is only a lack of optimism in Connecticut, we lack nothing else.
Question 3. The problems facing Connecticut are split into two types; short term and long term. Short term the largest problem is the budget deficit. I think with increased employment our revenue picture will begin to improve. But I will not support an increase in the income or sales tax, nor a mileage tax. If necessary I will consider looking at other reasonable revenue options that will pay for our services. Our neighbor, Massachusetts has a ballot initiative for taxable marijuana in November and they are moving towards passive electronic tolls without toll booths. These are things we should consider as possible revenue streams for Connecticut in the future. We are one of the few populous states that allow motorists a free ride through our state on the roads we pay to maintain. Something as simple as tolls at the border on I95 and I84 would raise substantial revenue and not impede daily commuting within the state. I will not support cuts in education funding to the towns (ECS). Long term, I think we need to innovate and evolve. True high speed rail would transform our business and work connection in and out of New York, and connect us through Bradley Airport to the rest of the world. We should streamline regulations for businesses and individuals, and incorporate technology to simplify state government. And above all I think we need to embrace fully our potential and have a civil discussion about future choices: the time for partisan mudslinging is past.
