Editor’s Note: All candidates for Governor, Secretary of the State, Attorney General, U.S. Senate, 2nd Congressional District, State Senate and State House Districts for Haddam and Killingworth were invited to send a brief statement and a photo to HK-Now.com. These are being posted online as they arrive. They also will appear in Haddam Killingworth News over four Thursdays in October.
Posted on October 5, 2022:
My name is Norm Needleman. I have represented our region as the State Senator for the 33rd District since my election in 2018. If re-elected, this will be my third term. In addition to being State Senator, I am also the First Selectman of Essex. I am also the founder and CEO of Tower Laboratories in Centerbrook, a producer of over-the-counter medications and products. I spend my free time with my beautiful family.
I am running for re-election because I have always felt a strong sense of civic duty, and for decades have volunteered and worked with town and regional boards and organizations. I feel that my combination of experience as both a business owner and a local leader provides me with the knowledge necessary to understand the issues facing our state and to know the best common sense solutions to approach those issues to benefit all of us and our region. Additionally, my experience serving as State Senator for four years now gives me awareness of how the position works and how best to approach it, valuable when it comes to negotiations and bringing funding back to our region.
My top priorities are related to energy and employment. As the Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, I’m working to help make energy cheaper in our state, also looking to the future of the power grid. We need to hold Eversource accountable and make sure we follow a path that is affordable and energy-efficient. I will also continue to push for programs bolstering our workforce, such as improving the workforce pipeline through new training programs and making it easier for companies to come to Connecticut, and most importantly, start in Connecticut. We need a business environment that supports entrepreneurs so we can support home-grown success here.
