While it may sound strange that a business owner in Connecticut is thanking a Democrat, I would like to personally acknowledge Ed Jutila, who will not seek re-election, for his efforts in saving jobs in the marine industry not just in southeastern Connecticut, but our entire state.

On one border, Rhode Island motivated buyers by offering zero percent sales tax to their residents on new boat sales. To our west, New York has placed a cap on the amount of sales tax on a single purchase to stimulate its economy. Meanwhile, Connecticut found it smart to add a luxury tax on boat sales as a way to generate revenue and assist with the deficit. The luxury tax was a failure.

With state Rep. Jutila’s efforts, it was discovered how little revenue the luxury tax actually generated and he assisted us with presenting those findings to the Finance Committee. Jutila was the driving factor in getting the tax repealed as he recognized we needed to remain competitive with our neighboring states in order to keep businesses here a couple of years before General Electric decided it was time to leave Connecticut.

Regardless of what side of the aisle Ed was from, when presented with the facts he did what was right to save jobs. We could use more of that judgment in Hartford right now.

Don MacKenzie

East Lyme

Editor’s note: Mr. MacKenzie is President of Boat’s Inc. in Niantic.