Profiling candidates in the race for Connecticut governor

(WFSB) - As Election Day approaches, Eyewitness News is profiling candidates to help you, the voter, learn more about who is running.

On Election Day, Connecticut voters will have a choice of three candidates for governor: incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont, Republican Bob Stefanowski and Independent Party candidate Rob Hotaling.

“We held the line we didn’t raise taxes, didn’t raise income taxes,” Lamont said.

Lamont said that over the last four years he and Democrats have balanced the state budget, passed $650 million in tax cuts, and created over 100,000 jobs.

Stefanowski is laser focused on the economy.

“We have a lot of people in the state that are struggling. We have a $6 billion surplus, Laura and I plan to give some of that back,” said Stefanowski.

Stefanowski’s plan is to take $2 billion from the surplus and give it back to Connecticut families. Lamont wants to use some of that money to pay down state employee pension debt.

“All previous governors put it on the credit card, deal with that later. Later is now, no more kicking the can,” Lamont said.

Stefanowski is also talking about crime.

“People feel less safe than they did four years ago. The city of Hartford is going to have a record year for homicides,” Stefanowski said.

“These numbers are not just relatively positive,” Lamont said.

But a state crime report released last month shows a drop in violent and property crimes.

Stefanowski and Lamont are multi-millionaires. Over the past three years, tax returns show Stefanowski earned close to $37 million. He’s a business consultant and one of his clients is a company that has ties to the leader of Saudi Arabia, a recent subject of attack on the campaign trail.

“Connecticut is invested over there, Ray Dalio is invested over there, Sikorsky sells helicopters over there,” Stefanowski said.

Lamont is richer, earning $54 million just last year. Most of it from investment earnings.

“My jobs and economy plan, I have the best plan,” Hotaling said.

Independent Party candidate and bank executive Hotaling sees himself as a bridge to move the state forward. His plan cuts car taxes and some businesses’ taxes.

He sees himself as the only candidate who can break the blue-red divide.

“Forty-one percent of the voting population are unaffiliated for a reason. They identify more with me than Republicans or Democrat candidates.”

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