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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | September 12, 2022 11 On The Record | Q&A Gov. Ned Lamont is the Democratic candidate for governor, seeking his second four-year term in office. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Decision 2022 In reelection bid, Gov. Lamont touts fiscal stability, closer ties to business community, major workforce development investment While the unemployment rate is low, at 3.7%, and the state has consis- tently added jobs over the past year, it has still only recovered 86.1% of the 289,400 jobs lost during the pandem- ic's two-month peak in March and April 2020. Nationally, July of this year marked the full recovery of all jobs lost during the pandemic. Lamont recently spoke to HBJ in a hour-long interview to reflect on his first four years in office and what he hopes to achieve if he wins a second term. Here's what he had to say: Q. What have been your biggest accomplishments in terms of improving the state's economy and business climate? A. I think Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman has been the best economic development person this state's ever had. And the No. 1 thing we had to do was get a relationship with the business community. It was some- where between no relationship and a negative relationship. That's part of the reason we launched AdvanceCT, the state's business recruitment arm, to get on the same boat with the business community and start rowing in the same direction. I think that lowered the temperature. I think getting through that first year $2-billion deficit without raising tax rates was a big deal. I think it gave people some confidence this was a fresh start for the state. Q. Your administration has largely shifted away from giving large, upfront incentives to compa- nies that move to Connecticut or add jobs here, to more of an earn-as-you-grow program that provides tax breaks to compa- nies after they've added jobs. What's been the impact of that strategy shift and is there a risk it makes us less competitive as we compete for companies with many lower-cost states? A. It hasn't made us less competitive so far. We've had several businesses move to the state, big businesses and small businesses, during my first term. But more importantly, the policy shift treats your existing companies fairly. Companies were getting pissed off under the old model, saying 'How come you're offering these BIO Ned Lamont Governor State of Connecticut Education: Bachelor's degree in sociology, Harvard College; MBA Yale School of Management Age: 68 By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com I t's a rematch in this year's gubernatorial race, with incumbent and Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont taking on Republican challenger Bob Stefanowki. A new player in the field is indepen- dent candidate Robert Hotaling, who is an executive from Webster Bank. Lamont will likely hold the advan- tage going into Election Day. The most recent Quinnipiac University poll on the race in May, gave Lamont an eight-point lead. Lamont's first four years in office have been a tale of several stories. His first year was headlined by tack- ling a $2-billion budget deficit (which he boasts handling without increasing tax rates, although he did raise new revenues, including by broadening the 6.35% sales tax and placing a 1% surcharge on prepared meals) and his failed and somewhat unpopular push for highway tolls. Then COVID-19 hit and dominated his attention. Lamont received gener- ally high marks from Connecticut residents for his decision to implement strict lockdown measures in the early half of 2020, and for his move about one year later to ease restrictions and reopen the economy, ahead of most other blue states. HIs administration also helped shepherd an emergency grant program for small businesses and encouraged companies to apply for federal resources like the Paycheck Protection Program. Lamont said he's running for re-election because he's got plenty of unfinished work, particularly on bolstering the state's economy, where he says workforce development is his top priority. "The state has come a long way in the last four years," Lamont said in a recent interview. "I think people feel more confident about the state, reflected in us slowly getting our fiscal house in order. I think it's reflected in getting people back to work. And what you need to do in the next four years is really make sure people are trained for the jobs that are out there and make sure that we invest the resources we have now, some from the budget surplus, some from the Feds, in a way that makes a differ- ence for the state 25 years from now." Lamont said one of his key accom- plishments has been overseeing budget stability. The state reported a $4.3-billion surplus in fiscal 2021 and has a $3.3 billion rainy day fund. By the end of this year, the state will have also paid down over $5 billion in long- term pension debt. Lamont has also restructured the state's business recruitment efforts with the launch of AdvanceCT, which has had some key wins with new companies moving to Connecticut. The administration has also retooled the state's business incentives strategy, moving away from large upfront tax breaks and grants to an earn-as-you-grow system focused on rewarding companies after they add jobs in the state. Still, Connecticut's economy faces significant headwinds coming out of the pandemic. The state continues to contend with high taxes and costs, including the highest electricity prices in the mainland U.S., aging and congested transportation infra- structure and, perhaps most notably, a scarcity of workers, which, while not unique to Connecticut, is all the more concerning here considering how many jobs (about 105,000) are currently left unfilled.