Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | October 10, 2022 13 ON THE RECORD | Q&A Q. Lamont and the legislature agreed to dedicate most of last fiscal year's surplus, $4.1 billion, to pay down the state's massive, long-term pension debt. Was that a smart policy? A. Yeah, I agreed in terms of paying down those liabilities, the pensions. They need to be funded. Q. In terms of fiscal stability, how would your administration ensure that we continue to have surpluses and balanced budgets? Is there anything you would change in terms of the way Connecticut operates? A. Yes, fundamentally less regulation. I would also look at dropping the corpo- rate tax rate. One of the cornerstones of my administration is to recruit manu- facturing technology businesses back to Connecticut. The best way to do that is really addressing cost of doing business, regulation, taxation, things of that nature. We are very focused on bringing manufacturing jobs and high- tech jobs back to Connecticut, which would grow the economy and help raise new tax revenue. Q. What are your thoughts on how the state uses business incentives to attract and keep companies here? Do you think we should change our policies in that area? A. This is very tricky because you're really competing against other states, and it depends on how far you're willing to go because sometimes you can give a really great deal but then in the end it's a net negative. I would continue to look at tax rebates and tax cuts, particularly incentives for certain industry clusters that want to be located near each other. We also need to recruit more small businesses to urban areas, so I would work with landlords to try and repurpose vacant or blighted properties. One area that small businesses need help with is grant writing. We have a lot of grants available on the state and federal levels, but many companies don't know about them or how to access them. I'd establish a small busi- ness grant writing assistance program. Q. What's your assessment of the labor shortage and what's driving it? How would your administration tackle it? A. Cost of living, including property taxes and healthcare costs, is driving it. Besides that, I would like to see more apprenticeships, mentorships, and internships. Maybe we provide schools subsidies that contribute workers for small businesses. We have to leverage our community colleges more. We have to strengthen our school-to-business pipeline. I think we really ought to invest more in trade schools because not every- one's in a position to be a technology worker. Some people are positioned to be an HVAC worker. Q. In terms of the Lamont adminis- tration, which policies do you think have been most detrimental to the economy and what are some policies you've agreed with? A. I think that generally, the surplus we've received from the federal govern- ment's stimulus funding has propped up our economy in a way that doesn't accurately reflect the fiscal health of our state. If those federal dollars lessened, where would Connecticut be? Gov. Lamont has cut taxes, but I would have done more. I also think we haven't done enough in terms of shrinking the worst achievement gap in the nation. Q. There is a lot of empty office space in downtown Hartford and in other Greater Hartford towns. What should a city like Hartford do with all this empty office space and does the state have a role to play in helping bring the city back to life post-pandemic? A. There are two types of empty office space. There's blight generally. And then there is the post-COVID remote work trend that has caused office vacancies to increase. Let's talk about blight first. I remember going to Detroit and looking at these empty buildings that were renovated and they became urban farms. And they put these farmers markets around them. It really did a lot for those communities. It cleaned them up, it made it look nicer, safer. You're also generating food. So that's one area to look at. From an office space perspective, we have to encourage and incentivize workers to get back to the office. I think that is probably the easiest approach to repurpose buildings and focus on what types of businesses need more physical space. We also should consider investing in more incubator space to help grow technology businesses. Towns are also struggling with afford- able housing, so conversion of business space into residential space is another possible solution. Q. The Capital Region Development Authority has played a major role in Hartford, converting old office buildings into residential develop- ment. Would you continue to support its mission? A. I would definitely continue that and look at actually expanding it in the right places. Q. How would you ensure a bipar- tisan working relationship to prevent legislative gridlock? A. I think I'm best positioned to bridge that divide, having been part of both parties, and being more or less where Connecticut is, from an economic, financial, and social perspective. IMPACT PLASTICS | PUTNAM, CT TAC AIR HANGAR V BRADLEY AIRPORT WINDSOR LOCKS, CT LIBERTY MAZDA | HARTFORD, CT EPPENDORF | ENFIELD, CT NEFCO | EAST HARTFORD, CT Building For Your Success Retail • Industrial • Commercial • Institutional • Education • Healthcare • Religious PDS Engineering & Construction has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. THINK • PLAN • BUILD

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