The Darien Times

27th District: Special election candidates debate in Darien

Last Updated on Thursday, February 10, 2011 01:42 PM Written by Susan Shultz
Thursday, February 10, 2011 01:09 PM

Republican Bob Kolenberg, the Stamford Board of Finance vice-chairman, and Democratic State Rep. Carlo Leone met in Darien Tuesday to debate affordable housing, public education and energy during the League of Women Voters’ candidate night.

The two Stamford men are vying to fill Democrat Andrew McDonald’s vacated 27th District State Senate seat.

Leone currently represents part of Stamford in the State House. McDonald, a Democrat, won his seat five times in a row, and beat Kolenberg this past November with 59% of the vote.

Kolenberg, in addressing the creation of jobs, said that Connecticut is ranked 49th in business-friendly states.

“We need an environment for businesses to thrive. If you increase jobs you increase your tax base. Right now, we are not doing that and businesses are leaving the state,” Kolenberg said.

Kolenberg said his business background makes him skilled in the creation of jobs, and said taking over as senator would be the first time the entrepreneur would be working for someone else.

Leone said he also stands by his record in Stamford of being business friendly, and said he created a film and entertainment tax credit that encouraged studios like NBC to film locally.

“Even though there’s been a loss of jobs elsewhere in the state, my record shows more than enough what I’ve proposed,” he said.

Kolenberg said Democrats are misleading when referring to locally created jobs, given the loss of 100,000 jobs in the state over the last two years, and 171,000 unemployed.

As far as balancing the budget, Kolenberg said he would not support a tax hike given that Connecticut residents are the highest taxed in the U.S.

“We’ve overspent. We had 30,000 state employees 20 years ago, now we have 55,000 with about the same population. There is room to cut jobs,” Kolenberg said.

Leone said the budget is large and there are no “easy decisions” and agreed the state has overspent, but said cutting services could have an impact on those in need of a “safety net.” He said his work as co-chairman of the bonding committee helped the state make smart investments for the future.

“You can’t balance a budget on cuts alone. I rather be honest and truthful,” Leone said.

Kolenberg said he was not in favor of cutting services, just making the current level of services more efficient and at a better cost to the taxpayer.

The candidates spoke about the Department of Transportation, with both agreeing the department could work more effectively.

Leone pointed out that the leadership had changed several times over the last several years, which contributed to problems.

“Quite frankly, they haven’t met the task ahead of them,” he said.

Kolenberg said the department’s upstate location had kept them out of touch with Fairfield County’s rail and road problems.

Leone said that having a governor in place from the area, as Gov. Dannel Malloy is, would help improve the response and relationship with the DOT, and added that he knows he “can work well with the new governor.”

The candidates talked about the state’s affordable housing statute 8-30g.

The statute allows developers to overstep local zoning laws in towns such as Darien that do not have 10% of its housing classified as affordable. A developer may get around zoning laws if a proposal includes affordable housing.

Darien received a four-year moratorium from the state statute in November after filing an application with the Department of Economic & Community Development.

Kolenberg said for towns like Darien that are 99% developed, the statute becomes an unfunded mandate, albeit with the best intentions.

“I’m not a big supporter of it,” he said, adding that “central planning doesn’t work.”

Leone said the goal was to provide housing for those in need, and the 10% goal was laudable for urban centers like Stamford.

“For smaller towns like Darien, something can be worked out, and I can reach across the aisle to work with my colleagues so that Darien can incorporate the way they see fit,” he said.

Kolenberg pointed out that those making 80% of average local income can qualify for affordable housing, which in some cases can mean an income of $100,000.

“In theory it is good, but in some places, $100,000 is considered rich, not qualifying for affordable housing,” he said.

“So you’re saying you don’t care about them?” Leone said.

“I’m saying someone who makes $100,000 isn’t downtrodden,” Kolenberg said.

Both candidates said they supported initiatives to use renewable energy sources.

Leone said the state had tried different methods to make green energy sources more competitive, and Kolenberg pointed out that towns like Berkeley, Calif., used property tax as a way for homeowners to finance green energy installation.

When asked about his support of public education, Kolenberg said he wanted to clear up misunderstandings that he was not an advocate of public education.

He said he grew up with a father who was a teacher and currently has several other relatives who are teachers.

Kolenberg said his problem was with unfunded mandates from the state, and many of those are not translating into better education.

One way he brought “common sense” to the Stamford school district was by suggesting the schools check residency more than once, so rather than the enrollment increasing from 15,000 to 18,000 in eight years, it stayed below 15,000.

“I’m a big supporter of public education. I want to see money in the classroom and go to the teacher,” he said.

Leone said education is hugely important and said he made an effort to attend Board of Education meetings for both Stamford and Darien to get a handle on what both districts are facing.

“One problem was foreign language not being offered in school. In Stamford we embraced that because of our diversity,” he said.

Leone pointed out that Kolenberg had voted for cuts to the Stamford school budget, and Kolenberg pointed out that the schools come in with an inflated number expecting it to be cut.

“We told them to come in with what they actually want, and we wouldn’t make cuts, and that’s what happened,” he said.

Both candidates said they were torn on the issue of eliminating teacher tenure, saying it has positives and negatives, and both said they supported the death penalty under specific circumstances when the crime was particularly horrific and there was no doubt of the person’s guilt.

In closing, Leone said he came to the United States as an immigrant when he was a child and worked hard to get where he is today, as did his parents.

Leone said he served the country in the Air Force and continues to serve it now, and said his years working at Xerox gave him the corporate experience as well.

“I’ve worked hard and brought back results for the community. I believe in the public school system and working with my colleagues across the board which is important for the state and the community,” he said.

Kolenberg described his business experience in closing, saying he’s created jobs locally and internationally with his export business.

He said he always delivered a balanced budget on the Stamford Board of Finance, bringing in a 1% average increase when previous Democrats had an average increase of 16%.

“I’ve developed a reputation as a fiscal watchdog and fighter for the taxpayer,” he said.

The special election is Tuesday, Feb. 22.

sshultz@darientimes.com

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