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EDUCATION
[Listen to Kim on education (MP3 1.3mb)]

I believe every child deserves a quality education. As a PTA board member and room mother, I’ve worked hard to ensure that our teachers and schools have the tools they need to succeed. I will fight to bring home our fair share of state education aid from Hartford.

FACT

The ECS foundation grant (the base number used to determine the amount of money towns like Fairfield and Westport receive) hasn't been adjusted in 15 years. The money towns receive simply no longer reflects the true cost of educating our children. Instituting a COLA indexed to inflation would allow education funding to keep pace with rising costs. 

TRANSPORTATION

[Listen to Kim on transportation (MP3 984k)]

We need a transportation system that works. As the wife of a commuter, I see firsthand that traffic congestion strangles productivity, stifles economic growth, and wastes precious family time. I will work to pursue investment in new rail cars, expanded train stations, and buses, barges and ferries that provide efficient alternatives to highways.

FACT

I-95 was designed to carry 70,000 cars per day but currently carries almost twice that number, along with 29,000 big rigs. The Merritt Parkway was designed for 20,000 cars per day, but it currently carries over three times that many.

-- Harry Harris, Department of Transportation

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

We must continue to make our state a healthier place while striving for energy-independence. As a mother, I’m concerned about both spiraling energy costs and the air that our children breathe. I support sensible energy and environmental policies that promote alternative technologies, improve conservation and efficiency measures, and encourage cleaner cars.

FACT 

Auto emissions account for 40 percent of our state’s air pollution, and electricity for another 30 percent. Nearly 10 percent of Connecticut’s children suffer from asthma, a disease that is profoundly linked to air pollution.

-- American Lung Association of Connecticut

FACT

Did you know that nearly 9,000 ratepayers have enrolled in the Connecticut Clean Energy Options Program? Click here to learn how you can join.

HEALTH CARE

Everyone needs access to quality, affordable health care and prescriptions. As a daughter and parent, I struggle with escalating health care costs. I will fight to institute cost-effective preventive health services and programs to help small businesses buy their health insurance, and to control prescription drug costs through bulk purchasing or importation.

FACT

Children who are up-to-date on their well-child doctor visits have 20 percent to 40 percent fewer hospitalizations than children who do not see a doctor regularly.

-- Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition

FACT

At least 365,000 Connecticut residents have no health insurance at all, and hundreds of thousands more have inadequate insurance.

-- One Connecticut 2005 Legislative Report

TAXES/BUDGETING

It is vital that our state tax policies be simple and fair, support critical services, and foster economic growth. As a homeowner, I feel the same squeeze of rising property taxes. I will push for results-based accountability in ongoing state budgeting, sound state spending priorities and a more equitable tax structure.

FACT 

The top 1 percent of Connecticut taxpayers pay 4.4 percent of their total family income in state and local taxes, while the bottom 20 percent pay 10.2 percent of total family income in taxes.

-- One Connecticut 2005 Legislative Report

FACT

Connecticut’s current state-local tax system encourages decisions that promote sprawl:

• Two-thirds of our municipal revenue comes from property taxes.
• Connecticut ranks third among all states for property tax burden.
• On average, 57 percent of municipal budgets fund K-12 education.

-- Connecticut Regional Institute 

SMART GROWTH

Smart-growth policies increase the competitiveness of our communities, ensure economic development, and protect our quality of life. As a Fairfield County resident, I understand the need to balance conservation efforts with appropriate development. I will advocate for incentives that encourage towns to work together toward a regional approach to land management.  

FACT

The General Assembly approved three key smart-growth bills in the last session:

HJR 146 - A resolution adopting a state plan of conservation and development.

HB 6570 - The "Smart Growth Bill," which seeks to coordinate local and state land-use plans.

HB 6716 - Requires towns on the Long Island Sound to make conservation and development plans consistent with the state's Coastal Management Program.