Local competent change!

Norwich —

BY MELANIE SAVAGE Staff Writer

When election day arrives on Nov. 4, incumbent Jack Malone (D) will face off against a relative political newcomer, Christopher Coutu (R) for a seat on the Connecticut General Assembly representing the 47th district, serving the towns of Canterbury, Norwich, Scotland, and Sprague. Both men have firm roots in Norwich, and both have a military background. And with the state of the current economy, recent news from Wall Street, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s recent announcement of a $145 million State General Fund deficit foremost on their minds, both men expressed a strong concern with curbing state spending.

“My primary issue is the spending,” said Coutu. “We’re $145 million short as of today, and they’re projecting additional shortfalls in the future.” And the folding of major players on Wall Street will only make matters worse. “We’re losing our tax base,” he said. Coutu is concerned that overspending will lead to the state’s inability to provide critical funding to programs in local towns and cities. “Spending and taxation are out of control in government,” he said. “In the past 30 years we’ve added casinos, state income tax, the lottery. The increased revenue was supposed to go toward education and to help offset taxes. But instead, taxes have continued to increase .” Coutu cited increasing property taxes, as well as the Connecticut gas tax, pointing out that the cost of gas is 40 cents higher in Connecticut than in neighboring Massachusetts. “We have one of the highest gas taxes in the country,” he said. “That money is supposed to go toward transportation, and it doesn’t .”

Coutu also supports the adoption of a clear and effective “Three Strikes” law in Connecticut. “There are violent people being let out of jail all the time. That’s unacceptable. If someone commits a violent crime three times, they should be in jail for life, period,”

Malone, with 14 years in the Assembly , shares Coutu’s concern with government spending. “We need to be very cautious in our fiscal matters, making sure that services are provided, without adding to the current deficit,” he said. “The stock market will have ramifications across the board. We’ll have to exercise even more diligence than we do in years where there’s a surplus.”

“We have a very healthy rainy day fund in Connecticut. But that money goes quickly. We have big responsibilities , and a limited amount of money to pay for them.”

Malone said he would like to see a state health plan for Connecticut in the near future. “We have the best health care plan in the nation, and we have whole segments of society who are excluded . That’s a disgrace.”

He would also like to see lawmakers slowing down on the amount of new legislation passed. “I push for the State of Connecticut, and its legislative body, to be very, very careful of the amount of new legislation passed,” he said, adding that he feels there’s a “hey, look what I did” mentality adding to a legislative body that is huge and always growing. “We pass 200 to 250 pieces of legislature every year,” he said. “When the legislature passes a bill, it is usually with the best of intentions. But many times, a piece of legislation becomes burdensome for the department that is actually charged with enforcing it, and the meaning becomes entirely different . We need to be very careful.”

Coutu was born and raised in Norwich . He attended Three Rivers Community College, Eastern Connecticut State University, and the University of Hartford. He has 13 years of military service under his belt, having served through the U.S. Air Force and the Connecticut Air National Guard. Coutu worked for the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C., before returning to Connecticut to work as a financial advisor. He is active in the local community , serving since Nov. 2007 on the Norwich City Council. In 2005, he established the American Warrior fund, which sends World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., free of charge, to view the World War II and other memorials . He is a member of the American Legion Post #104 in Taftville, and the Knights of Columbus. He serves on the Ethics Review, the YMCA Board of Directors , the Mohegan Park and Public Works Committees.

Malone has served in the Connecticut General Assembly since November 1994. He graduated from Norwich Free Academy and Eastern Connecticut State University, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1974-1978 . He spent years working as a reporter and editor for a variety of newspapers. He is a member of the Mohegan Park Citizens Advisory Committee and the Norwich Communications Center Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors for Reliance House. He is a member of the Robert O. Fletcher Post #4 American Legion, and the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

For more information regarding Jack Malone, go to www.housedems.ct.gov/ Malone. For more information regarding Christopher Coutu, go to www.coutu 47.com.