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10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 24, 2026 POLITICS & POLICY Connect with us today! 860-448-4295 NMLS #402928 With the assurance that we invest in smart tools, technology, and savvy team members to keep your business safe! ChelseaGroton.com/SafeBusiness We're here for you! surpluses, record reserves and signifi- cant pension debt reduction. Republicans also face a diffi- cult national political backdrop in Connecticut, where President Donald Trump remains unpopular. A June University of New Hamp- shire poll found nearly two-thirds of Connecticut residents disapproved of Trump's job performance. Fazio's challenge is to persuade voters to separate their views of the national Republican Party from their choice for governor. He argues his own electoral history demonstrates that Connecticut voters are willing to do that. Fazio ran for the 36th Senate District seat in 2020, losing to Demo- cratic incumbent Alex Kasser. After Kasser resigned the following year, Fazio won a special election for the seat, which includes Greenwich and portions of Stamford and New Canaan. He successfully defended it in 2022 and 2024, despite repre- senting a district that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried by 17 percentage points. "On the state level and local level, Connecticut voters are relatively independently minded," Fazio said. "I think they are willing to vote for the individual and the issues that they're addressing, rather than strictly party." Who is Ryan Fazio? Fazio recently visited HBJ's offices for a 65-minute interview to discuss why he's running for governor and what he will do if he wins. A Greenwich High School grad- uate, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Northwestern University before beginning a career in commodities trading. Fazio worked for Louis Dreyfus Co. in Wilton and later Noble Group and Noble Agri/COFCO in Stamford, where he said his work included agri- culture and energy commodities. He later worked as a financial adviser for MARCorp Financial LLC and its subsidiary, Services Capital LLC, private-equity businesses founded by his family and based in Chicago. Fazio — who is engaged to Amy Orser and plans to marry Nov. 14, less than two weeks after Election Day — said his private-sector expe- rience has prepared him to better serve taxpayers. "Good salespeople understand what their customers need," he said. The issues During his campaign for governor, Fazio has concentrated largely on Connecticut's economy and cost of living, focusing on what he calls an affordability crisis driven by high taxes, electric rates, healthcare costs and housing. His proposed solutions are ambitious. Fazio is calling for what he describes as the largest middle- class tax cut in Connecticut history — a $2 billion to $2.5 billion annual reduction in state income taxes that he says would save middle-income families at least $1,500 per year. He says the tax cuts could be financed by eliminating wasteful spending, slowing state spending growth to roughly the rate of infla- tion and reducing borrowing. Fazio also wants to cap annual property tax increases on existing assessments at the greater of 2% or the rate of inflation, while reducing unfunded state mandates on municipalities and requiring large universities and nonprofit hospital systems to contribute more toward local costs. On energy, he proposes elim- inating or phasing out many of the taxes and charges embedded in electric bills while expanding natural gas pipeline capacity into New England to increase supply and lower long-term costs. That approach contrasts with Lamont, who has placed greater emphasis on expanding renewable and nuclear power while main- taining natural gas as part of a diversified energy portfolio. Fazio argues Connecticut's electric bills contain too many subsidies and fees unrelated to delivering elec- tricity. Fiscal policy is another dividing line. Although Lamont frequently cites the state's budget surpluses, rainy day fund and pension prog- ress as among his administration's biggest accomplishments, Fazio argues those successes stem largely from bipartisan fiscal guardrails adopted in 2017, before Lamont took office. He contends the governor has weakened those guardrails by increasing spending and borrowing beyond their original intent. Fazio said he would strengthen spending and borrowing caps while slightly modifying the state's volatility cap, which limits how much revenue from fluctuating sources such as capital gains taxes can be used to fund the state budget. On the healthcare front, Fazio said he supports expanding association health plans for small businesses and reducing state approval requirements for health- care expansions and new services, arguing greater competition would help lower costs. He does not support the Connecticut Option plan being explored by Lamont, which could open state or municipal employee health plans to small businesses, nonprofits and potentially other residents. Fazio also supports increasing housing production through small- er-scale development, including accessory dwelling units, duplexes, mixed-use projects and commer- cial-to-residential conversions, while maintaining greater local control over zoning. He is critical of Connecticut's affordable housing law, known as 8-30g, which can make it easier for developers to override local zoning restrictions in communities with relatively little affordable housing. He also opposes housing legisla- tion approved during an emergency session last year that expanded the state's role in pushing municipali- ties to increase housing production. Fazio argues both approaches have created unnecessary conflict between municipalities and the state. On workforce development, Fazio wants to expand vocational education, make it easier for licensed professionals to move into Connecticut, reduce occupational licensing fees and remove limits on apprenticeships. "When I talk to people in the trades, small businesses, manu- facturers, developers, they say that they need to build that pipeline of skilled workers," he said. For employers, Fazio advocates eliminating the state's corporate tax surcharge, allowing full expensing of business capital investments and simplifying the tax code by reducing targeted exemptions and credits. Common ground Fazio wasn't always considered the GOP front-runner. Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart had been a leading contender for the nomination before suspending her campaign in May, following the release of a city-commissioned investigation into her use of a municipal credit card for personal and political expenses. Stewart endorsed Fazio as she exited the race, helping clear his path to the Republican nomination. Even if he breaks the GOP's two-decade gubernatorial drought, Fazio would likely have to pursue much of his agenda with a Demo- cratic-controlled General Assembly. He argues divided government could work to his advantage. "I think that's exactly what voters in Connecticut will want. I think they'll want checks and balances, and I can deliver that," he said, noting the governor chairs the state Bond Commission and has line-item veto power. "I can work with people who are in other parties and who disagree Continued from page 9