Author, Doctor, Speaker, Joseph Bentivegna

      The gubernatorial Republican nominee will need a strong partner if he is to win the Governor’s mansion and turn the state around. That candidate is Joe Markley.

      Many voters are unaware of the importance of this position and few can name our present Lieutenant Governor (LG), Democrat Nancy Wyman. But if the State Senate is deadlocked, the LG casts the tie-breaker. Thus, Nancy Wyman cast the crucial vote to kick the can down the road in pension reform early in 2017 and seven months later, the tie-breaking vote that extended public union contracts until 2027 while rendering it illegal to lay off state workers for four years – thus setting up Connecticut residents for huge tax increases and confiscatory tolls in the future. Furthermore, it was Lowell Weicker’s LG, Eunice Groark, who cast the tie-breaker that imposed the odious state income tax.

       Markley, a conservative stalwart, has the rare ability to disagree without being disagreeable. With his wire-framed glasses and goatee, one could easily mistake him for a liberal college professor. But armed with a razor-sharp intellect and a classical education from both Amherst and Columbia, Markley not only articulates conservative principles competently, but also strengthens the spines of more moderate Republicans who will waffle when the tough votes are needed.

      One of his opponents is Erin Stewart, the mayor of New Britain, who has been endorsed by the Hartford Courant. This should automatically make any Republican suspicious. Ms. Stewart’s main argument is that as a woman, she adds “diversity” to the ticket. But there is no evidence that women vote for other women simply because they are women. If this were so, Hillary Clinton would be president. Furthermore, successful women politicians are not a novelty in Connecticut. We were the first state to elect a woman governor who did not succeed her husband, Ella Grasso. Other successful women politicians include Jodi Rell, Rosa DeLauro, Barbara Kennelly and the aforementioned Nancy Wyman. If fact, Fairfield County was represented in Congress by a woman in the 1940’s, Claire Booth Luce.

      Markley’s other opponent is Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson. While she is portraying herself as a born-again conservative, she has a fairly moderate record, as is characteristic of Fairfield County Republicans from the wealthier towns. Remember, these are the towns that brought us Republicans such as Lowell Weicker and Bill Nickerson, the only Republican senator to vote for the state income tax.

      Ms. Stevenson has attacked Markley as a “fringe candidate” because of his conservative voting record. But what Ms. Stevenson fails to understand is that Joe Markley has been a State Senator for eight years and represents a diverse district that was previously represented by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. He is the only Senate Republican who has constituents in a city, in his case Waterbury. In fact, he won his last election by 74%! It is mathematically impossible to win by this magnitude without appealing to independents and moderate Democrats. And Markley is the endorsed candidate by the Republican Convention.

      Conservatives in Connecticut are a stronger force than realized. Many are upset that gubernatorial candidate Peter Lumaj was unable to obtain enough delegate support to enter the primary. These people may stay home if Ms. Stewart or Ms. Stevenson is on the ballot. But they will crawl over broken glass to vote for Joe Markley, thus helping our gubernatorial nominee.

       Markley’s pleasant demeanor will disarm any attacks against him. As his colleague Democratic Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said, “Heck of a nice guy. We get along fine personally. We just don’t agree on much.” And Markley will out debate either LG candidate the Democrats nominate, whether it be the charismatically-challenged Susan Bysiewicz or the upstart hard-core liberal, Eva Bermudez Zimmerman. We Republicans cannot miss the opportunity to have Joe Markley on our ticket.

       Connecticut Republicans are fortunate to be able to choose between five hard-working candidates on our August 14 primary. I will be casting my vote for Bob Stefanowski.

      Connecticut was once one of the most desirable states in the country. With low taxes, an educated work force, pleasant four-season weather and easy access to both New York and Boston, our economy boomed and our citizens flourished. But after passage of the state income tax in the early 1990s, the productive people of Connecticut became piggy banks for politicians from both sides of the aisles, who funded ineffective social programs and promised lavish pensions for state and municipal workers.

      Connecticut now has the highest taxes in the country. Yet our pensions are grossly underfunded and a continuing chorus of unhappy and dysfunctional dependents clamors for more. Many people have chosen to leave. Connecticut is one of the few states to lose population in the last decade and is 47th in job growth.

      This is a crisis situation and will not be solved by traditional politicians who reach across the aisle and make deals. We need an outsider and businessman like Bob Stefanowski to clean up this mess.

      Stefanowski, a Madison resident, had a career as a successful businessman. His opponents point out that he was once a Democrat. But Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump were former Democrats too and became effective conservatives once elected. Stefanowski is acolyte of Authur Laffer, the inventor of the Laffer curve that demonstrates when taxes are increased too much, revenues actually decrease. Connecticut is a case study of this effect, which is why the political class is pushing for tolls.

      For those who agree with my analysis but have misgivings about Stefanowski, Dave Stemerman – a hedge fund plutocrat – may appear to be a reasonable alternative. But Stemerman refuses to promise not to raise taxes. He has the naïve belief that he can renegotiate the contracts of public employees not realizing that the Connecticut constitution makes this difficult. He would like to see a casino in Bridgeport which would bring in minimal revenue while turning Route 95 and the Merritt Parkway into parking lots while preying on our poorest and most vulnerable citizens. His attacks on his fellow candidates are gratuitously vicious. He appears to have an infinite supply of money but that does not insure victory. His fellow Greenwich residents Tom Foley and Linda McMahon were also well financed and lost. Linda McMahon spent $55 million and $60 million respectively on each of her Senate campaigns and lost both by landslides. Besides, Stemerman was endorsed by the Hartford Courant, raising further suspicions of closet liberalism.

       Boughton, Herbst and Obsitnik have more political experience. But all of these gentlemen are part of a political class whose instinct is to reach across the aisle and compromise. The budget deficit will balloon after we elect a new governor, and you can be sure we will hear of the need for “leadership” and “reason” from our media, political class and advocacy groups. In other words – tolls. And once this happens, Connecticut is dead in the water, as the exodus of the productive, the young and the retired accelerates. These guys may not have the stomach to fight. Previous Republican governors from the political class, John Rowland and Jodi Rell, caved even thought they had promised to cut taxes. It is naïve to think that Boughton, Herbst or Obsitnik will not do the same.

      In order to turn our beautiful Connecticut around, we need a Governor with business experience, who knows how to make cuts and is not beholden to the political class or special interest groups. We need a Governor who is willing to watch his popularity plummet to 20% and not care about his political future. We need a Governor whose lawn signs say one thing, “Cut Taxes.” And that man is Bob Stefanowski.