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.
Robert Hotaling is currently a Senior Vice President at Webster Bank. He is a technology and business leader with more than 20 years of finding effective solutions to difficult problems.
His industry experience spans banking, security systems with gunshot detection, food automation, patents and trademarks, gaming systems, hedge funds, and world-leading technologies. Rob resides in Cheshire with his wife Luz of 20 years and four young children.
Why are you running?
I believe voters in Hartford and all across Connecticut are tired of the partisanship and political fighting that impedes progress at the State Capitol. I believe voters want to see problems solved and progress achieved.
Solutions to social and quality-of-life issues like educational inequity, public safety, legal aid access, and decent and affordable housing have all been hostage to the blue and red fight for control. To solve these problems, it is necessary to heal the polarization in our social and political dialogue and bring everyone with good ideas and open minds together to develop common-sense solutions to our Connecticut issues.
I maintain that only an independent Governor, elected by the voters of Connecticut, can move our state past the blue/red partisan divide that has blocked our progress — and into a position of genuine strength and prosperity.
Registered Unaffiliated voters represent the largest voting bloc in the State of Connecticut. They literally hold the outcome of the November election for Governor in their hands.
I believe elections should be decided on the best ideas, not the biggest bank accounts of the candidates.
My running mate, Lt. Governor candidate Chip Beckett and I believe that potholes are neither Republican nor Democratic, neither gendered nor religious. They are just potholes needing to be fixed. We should get together and fix them.
What will your top priorities be?
- Jobs and the economy – The Hotaling/Beckett Jobs and Economy plan would reduce the cost of doing business, address the labor shortage and make investments in aging infrastructure and transportation systems. Burdensome regulations and high taxes are driving forces behind the state’s unfriendly business climate and the lack of higher-paying jobs.
For the full Hotaling/Beckett plan click https://robertbhotaling.com/index.php/our-plan/economic-plan
- Close the Achievement Gap – Connecticut has 100,000 jobs to fill right now but will add only 60,000 new jobs because of the shortage of skilled workers. The only way to fix it is by reducing Connecticut’s worst-in-the-nation educational achievement gap. Connecticut spends $5 billion annually on education and child support services and Connecticut ranks 8th in the nation in educational quality.
But we are a tale of two cities: the dropout rate in Westport is 1 percent while in nearby Bridgeport, the dropout rate is 25 percent. The current ECS formula is flawed and needs to be restructured. It is based on property values rather than on educational outcomes – and the single highest correlation indicating school success is student-to-teacher ratio.
- Reform – do not repeal – GA-8-30G, the affordable housing law – The law should be amended so proposed development is consistent with a town’s master plan.
