Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • April 1, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@hartfordbusiness.com W hen you think of your local Realtor, what comes to mind? A friendly face looking to connect buyers to their dream home or help sellers trade their real estate for a smaller or larger dwelling? That's still the main job of Connecti- cut's shrinking corps of residential real estate brokers, but they have been much more active recently in another role: politics. Alarmed over the state's lackluster economic growth and sluggish hous- ing market since the Great Recession, Connecticut Realtors (CTR), this state's largest professional association of real estate agents, has ramped up its lobby- ing efforts at the state Capitol in recent years as it tries to stake a larger role in shaping fiscal and economic policy. The group's stepped-up efforts at in- fluencing state government culminated last fall when, for the first time some agents can recall, it backed a candidate for governor — GOP nominee Bob Ste- fanowski — while also pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a political action committee to support him. Meantime, Realtors in the last two years have nearly doubled the amount they've spent on lobbying in Hartford and at state agencies, records show. They've also launched their own online news network, warning members about policies that could hurt the industry. Organizations that stick their nose deeply into politics do so at their own risk, and now that Democrat Ned Lamont is governor, some question whether CTR made a smart choice backing a candidate for the state's highest office. Many groups, including the Connecti- cut Business & Industry Association, the state's largest business lobby, purpose- fully avoid endorsing a gubernatorial candidate knowing they may have to eventually work with someone they don't necessarily agree with. Roy Occhiogrosso, a former political advisor to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said CTR's political activism stands outside the norm for their industry. "I don't think I've ever seen it be- fore,'' said Occhiogrosso, who is now managing director in Hartford of Global Strategy Group, a consulting and PR firm. "The problem with mak- ing a bet is sometimes you lose.'' Indeed, choosing the wrong side can have consequences. In his two-year, $43 billion budget, Lamont has proposed sev- eral tax hikes that would hit the state's homebuying industry particularly hard, including taxing real estate commissions and other related services and increasing the conveyance tax on high-end homes. Realtors say they fret those tax pro- posals. The rancor, too, has exposed a split among Realtors in the state, some of whom privately and publicly say they disagree with CTR's decision to ramp up its political engagement. "I was opposed to it,'' said Candace Adams, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services of New England. Her unit has more than 1,900 agents/bro- kers and is part of the sprawling U.S. agent/broker network overseen by billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle. "I don't believe we should endorse a [gubernatorial] candidate,'' Adams said. "I think we should have allowed our members to vote accordingly.'' Adams isn't planning to end her CTR membership, however, she said the episode has stoked her fires to be- come an advocate more on issues vital to realty agents and their customers. New Haven broker Michael Barbaro, CTR's immediate past president, moder- ated a CTR-produced, televised guber- natorial debate that aired before last November's election. He said Connecticut Realtors' political engagement dates back decades. CTR says it endorsed 127 candi- dates in the state's General Assembly and congressional races last November. "We were looking for someone who could work with us to improve Connecti- cut,'' Barbaro said. Lamont spokesperson Maribel La Luz, in an email, said the governor shares Realtors' economic concerns for the state and is working diligently to address them. Housing market blues Connecticut Realtors have every reason to be concerned about the state's economy and housing market, which suffered a major blow during the 2007- 2008 financial crisis, leading to a wave of foreclosures and a movement of more people renting rather than buying. Also, the state's population has shrunk in recent years, meaning there are now Policy Sellers Real estate agents ramp-up political activism as state economy, housing market flounder New Haven Realtor Michael Barbaro, (left) immediate past president of Connecticut Realtors, moderated a televised gubernatorial debate last fall between GOP nominee Bob Stefanowski (center) and eventual Democratic winner Ned Lamont. Anchorwoman Kristi Olds in Connecticut Realtors' recently created TV studio housed in CTR's headquarters at 111 Founder's Plaza in East Hartford. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED

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