Old Saybrook — Democrat Norm Needleman and Republican Melissa Ziobron tackled the state's economy, election spending, the minimum wage and a host of other issues during an hourlong debate at Old Saybrook Senior High School on Thursday evening.

The two are vying for Republican Art Linares' state Senate seat for the 33rd District, which encompasses Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook.

With the state budget a top issue for both candidates, Needleman, 67, who is in his fourth term as Essex's first selectman and is the founder of Tower Laboratories, an Essex-based company that manufactures effervescent products, touted his knowledge of strategic planning, economic development and job creation, and said budget cuts are vital but only half the battle.

"Budget cutting is not a growth strategy," he said.

Ziobron, 47, of East Haddam, who has served for the last six years as state representative for the 34th House District towns of Colchester, East Haddam and East Hampton, highlighted her work as the ranking member on the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee. She said the Republicans' input as the minority party led to the creation of a true bipartisan budget for the first time, and, without their participation — possible through the 18-18 tie between Senate Democrats and Republicans — the state wouldn't have a constitutional spending cap, $1 billion in the rainy day fund nor any check on Democrats' tax proposals.

"Your Senate seat is crucial to this balance," she said.

The two candidates shared ideas on how to fix the state's budget deficit.

Needleman said the state will need to find ways to streamline its government, address pensions long-term, and both save money and find revenue.

"I think that we're going to have to find ways to compromise," he said. "I think we're going to have to find ways to save money and to raise revenue, and then I think that we're going to have to make big investments in economic development."

Ziobron said she is "willing to work with any problem solver from any party to try to find common-sense solutions to deal with this fiscal crisis." She said that needs to start with "low-hanging fruit," pointing out that she has never in her six years in the legislature sent a mailing at the end of the session. Before considering any revenue, she said the state needs to ensure it has exhausted every opportunity for efficiencies and cost savings, which might mean the state needs to plan on privatizing the DMV or social safety net services.

Needleman said he supports a $15 minimum wage, as long as it's phased in over the right amount of time. He said the wage would help take some burden off the federal and state governments that continually provide services as people work two jobs for $9 to $11 an hour and said the minimum wage should have been adjusted for inflation over the past 40 years.

Ziobron said she has heard as a legislator during public hearings the "unintended consequences" the $15 minimum wage would have on the business community. After hearing from a small frozen yogurt business in her district that wanted to employ kids after school but couldn't afford it, she proposed a "learning wage" so businesses could hire more kids to give them on-the-job experience, she said.

The candidates differed on most issues but found common ground on the legalization of recreational marijuana. They also both said mental health issues, as well as the opioid crisis, need to be addressed.

During the debate, Needleman, who has spent about $400,000 of his own money on the campaign and raised another $60,000 to $70,000, was asked to respond to criticism that he is "trying to buy the election." Needleman said he believes "we have a very flawed electoral system" with too much money, most of it dark money. He said he needed to spend his own money to protect himself from the "dark money" that has come in so far in four races to try to flip the state Senate to Republican and he is willing to spend his own money up front to try to be part of the solution in the state legislature. 

Ziobron said she's fully abiding by the Citizens' Election Program, which provides public financing to state candidates, and her campaign has never been "taken to task," unlike Needleman's. Needleman responded that in the debate during the 2016 race between him and Linares, they discussed Trump, and Needleman then used Trump's name in the campaign.

"Citizens' Election had an issue with that," he said. "... ultimately after two years, they said, 'We're willing to let it go if you'll say you'll never do it again.' We did not think we violated any rules ... we just wanted it to go away, so we signed the papers but there was no other violation."

Needleman, who holds a bachelor's degree from Adelphi University, said in an interview prior to the debate that he's running to make the state better for his children and grandchildren. He said that it's going to take practical solutions and everyone in the state coming together to fix the state budget. He said his years in the private sector and building his own business, along with his experience delivering services in local government, make him uniquely qualified to work with both sides.

Needleman also has served as selectman in Essex and on the Essex Zoning Board of Appeals and Economic Development Commission. He is on the board of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.

In an interview prior to the debate, Ziobron, who graduated from Nathan Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam and attended Central Connecticut State University, listed accomplishments in her time in the legislature that included working toward the passage of the constitutional spending cap and introducing industrial hemp legislation that led to studies at the University of Connecticut on potential products. She said she initially decided to run for re-election as state representative but became concerned about losing the balance between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and thus the ability to influence fiscally conservative policy at a time when families are leaving the state because they can't afford it.

Ziobron previously served on her local Board of Education, as economic development coordinator for East Haddam and as president of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park.

The Day and the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut sponsored the debate, with assistance from the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut.

k.drelich@theday.com