New London — Former Trumbull First Selectman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Herbst on Monday pledged not to hike taxes if elected and said he would slash billions of dollars in what he described as wasteful spending.

Touring the state with Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist — whose taxpayer protection pledge has been signed by nearly 1,400 elected officials over the last three decades — Herbst said he would eradicate the estate tax, the Social Security Tax, the tax on retirement income and the personal income tax on those earning less than $75,000.

"We have to stop the hemorrhaging and mass exodus of people leaving the state," Herbst said alongside Norquist in an interview with The Day's Editorial Page Editor Paul Choiniere. "The $220 million you'd lose by cutting the estate tax pales in comparison to the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars of other revenue you're losing because wealthy people are leaving the state and going to states with more favorable tax treatment. You have to make the state favorable to people to retire in and pass on to their loved ones and families that which they worked a lifetime for."

In a five-way primary on Aug. 14, Herbst faces GOP-endorsed Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, David Stemerman, Steve Obsitnik and Bob Stefanowski, who previously signed the tax pledge.

Herbst argued that Hartford must recognize that Connecticut residents making less than $75,000 are "working-class" people facing not only high income and sales taxes but ancillary fees, a gas tax and some of the highest utility costs in the country. Cutting fees and taxes, he said, would help keep residents here and attract investment.

"My plan says, let's give them the modicum of relief they deserve right out of the gate," he said. "Lift up our working class and put more discretionary money in their pockets. Create an environment, coupled with fiscal reforms and spending reductions, that is going to restore the fiscal stability ... of our state and lead to a truly balanced budget."

How would Herbst replace the revenue generated by the taxes he wants to cut, which he estimates at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion? By slashing spending, eliminating duplicative agencies and decentralizing and privatizing others such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"I can see between $3 billion and $4 billion in spending reductions that could be realized in the state's operating budget," he said, arguing that more cost effective health care and pension plans for state employees could save hundreds of millions of dollars. Herbst said he would avoid long-term labor contracts and send a budget repair bill to the legislature within his first 45 days including "comprehensive pension and benefit reform."

He noted that when he took office in Trumbull in 2010, he chose not to go into the town's underfunded pension plan, instead picking a defined contribution plan and insisting his department heads did likewise. He cut his own salary and his own office budget by more than 20 percent, he said.

"We put our money where our mouth was," he said. "We were able to renegotiate nine labor agreements that now have defined contribution payments for all new hires. You see local leadership doing this. You can do that in Hartford."

Herbst noted that while both his parents were teachers and union members, "people are getting tired of absolute uncertainty as to whether their retirement security will remain intact. That's not pro-labor."

Norquist said based on U.S. Census and tax data, Connecticut has lost billions of dollars in annual gross income between 1992 and 2016, with residents fleeing and bringing their potential tax dollars with them to Florida, North Carolina, Massachusetts, California and Texas.

"The best way to reduce deficits and debt is to have growth, and that's why tax cuts that give you significant growth are terribly important," said Norquist.

He added that nobody who has signed the anti-tax pledge has broken it since President George H.W. Bush, who famously said, "Read my lips: no new taxes," before compromising with Democrats on a budget that included tax increases.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, announced last year he would not seek a third term. The Democrats have endorsed former Greenwich Selectman Ned Lamont, a previous U.S. Senate and gubernatorial candidate. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim has qualified to appear on the ballot in a primary against Lamont.

b.kail@theday.com