Two state representative candidates with similar priorities are presenting voters with different outlooks on how to achieve them.

Holly Cheeseman, the incumbent Republican running for her fourth term, will vie against Democrat Nick Menapace on Nov. 8.

They both want to make the state more affordable. They both believe in preserving the shoreline's natural resources. They both emphasized the cost of insulin needs to come down.

They both agreed President Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square.

Cheeseman put it this way: “Regardless of what former President Trump says, President Biden won.”

Menapace, a teacher, decried that there are still people across the country who “don’t want it to be taught that the election was completely fair and, unfortunately, our former president is a petulant man child with the ability to grift people.”

After lines were redrawn late last year, the district now encompasses East Lyme and portions of Salem and Montville.

Cheeseman, 67, was serving on the East Lyme Board of Selectmen when she was first elected to the state General Assembly in 2016. She has since defeated three Democrats in consecutively closer races, the most recent being a 200-vote victory over East Lyme’s Cate Steel.

“With the rate of inflation now, the average family needs an additional $6,000 a year to cover their expenses,” she said. “We as a state shouldn’t be adding to that burden, and we should be doing everything in our power to reduce that burden.”

Along with not overtaxing residents, she cited opportunities in the housing, energy and healthcare sectors to reduce the amount of money people have to spend for those critical needs.

Cheeseman is a ranking member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. Though not a member of the General Assembly’s Republican leadership, she is the self-described “most powerful Republican woman in Hartford” among those who view the legislature’s two budget-making committees as the most influential in the General Assembly.

She grew up in New London, attended Mount Holyoke College, lived in England for 11 years and moved to East Lyme in 1990 with her late husband and children. She served 18 years on the library board and three terms as a selectwoman.

Menapace, 33, has been an educator for more than 10 years. A sixth-grade social studies teacher at Kelly Middle School in Norwich, he lives with his wife in Niantic. He said the invitation from the Democratic Town Committee to run for the seat surprised and gratified him.

“I don’t know what social studies teacher hasn’t at least thought about trying to run for something,” he said. “We teach civics every year and I just love the idea of being able to be involved in that way.”

Born and raised in South Windsor, he graduated from Central Connecticut State University and went on to become a substitute and then full-time teacher in Vernon before heading West. He said a stint at a small school for Indigenous students on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota informed his understanding about how different cultures view American history.

Since his return to Connecticut in 2017, he has taught in Hartford, Bloomfield and Middletown in addition to Norwich.

“I’m a really big believer in making Connecticut more affordable,” he said. With a laugh, he added: “Who doesn’t say that? Everyone and their mom says it. But I like the idea of approaching it in a way that is different than just saying we need to cut taxes.”

Affordable Housing

Cheeseman said the existing laws in place to promote affordable housing – including the one known as 8-30g that makes it more difficult for local zoning commissions to deny affordable housing developments within their borders – need to come with funding to help mitigate any expenses.

“I would love to see the state recognize that, if we’re going to mandate a certain percentage of affordable housing, we have to take into account the extra cost the towns are going to incur,” she said. “If you're bringing in families with children, is the school system being properly supported by the state?”

Menapace said affordability in housing means closing the gap between housing costs and household incomes. Housing as it stands is too expensive for a lot of people, according to the candidate, and there’s not enough of it.

“I want to bring down the cost of housing, make housing more affordable,” he said. “Someone working full-time should be paid enough to live in that town.”

Environmental considerations

Cheeseman identified one of her proudest accomplishments as the role she played in making sure Millstone Power Station “stayed in business.” She credited area Republican lawmakers including state Sen. Paul Formica, East Lyme, and state Rep. Kathleen McCarty, Waterford, with helping to lead the charge.

The 10-year contract between the owner of the nuclear power facility and two utility companies was approved in 2019, after years of political, regulatory and environmental battles to keep the plant operational. The contract called on Eversource and United Illuminating to buy half the plant’s output over the next decade.

Gov. Ned Lamont at the time said the closure of the facility would have increased greenhouse gas emissions by 25% across the New England region.

“In terms of moving us toward our carbon neutral goals, I think that was the biggest thing we could’ve done and I look forward to working with this governor, or whoever is in the governor’s office, in extending that power purchase agreement,” she said.

Menapace lauded the legislature’s move to institute a requirement for schools to teach climate change as part of the science curriculum

He said climate change can be addressed locally in visible ways that improve the community overall.

“I am a big proponent of having our town more walkable, more bikable, having better public transportation that people can easily access,” he said. “Because those strategies are very good at keeping people from needing to drive everywhere.”

Healthcare costs

Both candidates addressed the cost of insulin as one symptom of a healthcare system that needs help.

Cheeseman, whose late husband had Type 1 diabetes, was the only local legislator to testify during a listening session in July on a bill to cap insulin prices. She said she was proud to be the lead House Republican supporting the bill, which passed in special session.

Menapace called on states to band together to solve the problem if the federal government doesn’t step in. Pointing to northeastern states with Democratic governors and Democratic majorities in their legislatures, he suggested the like-minded states take a more creative approach.

“If we can’t find a company that is willing to manufacture insulin at a more affordable price, why don’t we put into a pool and start manufacturing it ourselves,” he said.

e.regan@theday.com