Republican state Rep. Greg Howard, a 20-year Stonington police officer focused on youth issues and tax relief, is facing a challenge in the 43rd District from Democrat Ashley Gillece, a town volunteer, single mom and restaurant worker from Pawcatuck focused on affordability for working families and women’s rights.

The district includes parts of Stonington and Ledyard, and all of North Stonington. The redistricted map can be viewed at bit.ly/43rdmap.

Howard, 42, unseated Kate Rotella in 2020 with 50.98% of the vote. He serves as a ranking member on the Public Safety and Security Committee and sits on the Judiciary and Appropriations committees.

Two years ago, he said one of his main objectives was to change aspects of the 2020 police accountability law. An issue he had with accreditation standards has been addressed, but he objects to a remaining provision prohibiting police from asking a driver for consent to search their vehicle.

Howard said this is especially important in narcotics investigations. He also objects to use-of-force “jargon” he says confuses officers and to the prohibition against police departments acquiring military surplus vehicles.

Now, he said his top priorities if re-elected are taxes and education. He supports the $1.2 billion tax cut Republicans proposed this year, which included reducing the income tax to 4% under certain income thresholds, reducing the sales tax, and eliminating the highway use tax on trucks, which he said hurts farmers.

The budget implementer that passed along party lines in the House included $600 million in tax cuts, and Howard said he voted against it because he wanted the $1.2 billion. Gillece has criticized this vote, and said the budget was why so many families were able to get child tax credit checks.

Howard is proposing a program where a high school student can attend core classes in the morning and then go work with a local tradesman, getting paid minimum wage through a state grant. He also wants to get rid of standardized testing.

On juvenile justice, he thinks the state should be focusing 100% of resources on kids who are “salvageable” instead of kids who are “going to continue to do bad things, no matter what opportunities.”

Howard has been endorsed by the Police Officers Association of Connecticut, Connecticut Citizens Defense League, National Federation of Independent Business and Connecticut Association of Realtors. Howard has an A rating from the NRA, 100% score from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, and 73% from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.

Gillece has the endorsements of Planned Parenthood, Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women, AFT Connecticut, Connecticut AFL-CIO, CT State Building Trades Council, CSEA SEIU Local 2001 and the 4Cs, SEIU 1973.

Gillece, 36, said she has been leading up to this run “for a very long time” but originally thought she would wait until her 14-year-old son graduates.

But as she observed this past session, “it got to a point where I just could not accept that this was the voice for our district,” Gillece said. “When (Howard) stood up there and he voted no on the abortion protection bill, when he voted no on a budget, when he voted no on clean air, I just couldn’t sit back.”

She said she thought Howard was going to Hartford as a moderate Republican but feels he moved further to the right.

Howard said he’s “not a big fan of partisan politics” and cited bills where he voted with Democrats. In 2021, he was one of 22 Republicans in the House to vote in favor of the budget while 31 Republicans voted no. He joined House Democrats and 10 Republicans in voting yes on a judicial union contract, while 42 House Republicans voted no.

In the other direction, he joined five members of the Conservative Caucus ― of which he is not a member ― and one other Republican last year in co-sponsoring a bill “prohibiting biological males from competing on public female-only athletic teams.” Howard has generally co-sponsored bills either with Republicans more broadly or on a bipartisan basis.

Gillece said in a forum in Stonington last month that one of her key priorities would be making sure people can afford to live in the 43rd District. She later said the state needs to continue looking at how to ensure the highest income earners are paying their fair share in taxes.

On her website, she lists her priorities as reproductive rights, cutting taxes for working and middle class families, health care, veterans and seniors.

Candidate backgrounds

Howard grew up in Westerly and began working at the Stonington Police Department in 2002, becoming a detective in 2015.

He is also president of Stonington Youth Football and Cheer, and is coaching 29 players in grades 7 and 8 this year. He lives in Pawcatuck with his wife, Shana, and two sons, ages 13 and 11.

Asked about balancing his jobs, Howard said he might work at the police department on a Sunday so he can go to a Judiciary Committee hearing on a Wednesday, or go to the Capitol between doing his detective work from 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 9 p.m.

Gillece has long been in the restaurant industry, and while she worked 60-hour weeks in the past as a manager, she now works part-time waitressing. She declined to say where she works, as “a privacy for them.” Gillece lives with her son, mom and stepdad and stressed she’s not ashamed of living in a multigenerational home.

“It has been what works for me and my son,” she said. “It’s what allows me to focus on being a mom first but still always make sure I work enough to pay my bills and get by and continue to try to save up to buy a home.”

Gillece was born in Baltimore but has lived in Pawcatuck since middle school. She has long been involved in activism, whether traveling to other states to protest corporate greed or marching for abortion rights.

She was arrested in 2012 and charged with first-degree criminal trespass in a protest of Pfizer’s membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council. Gillece said she did community service and the charge was dismissed when she went back to court.

She served on the original West Broad Street School Advisory Committee and the Stonington Charter Revision Commission, and is a longtime member of the Stonington Democratic Town Committee. Gillece previously served on the board of Veterans Equine Therapeutic Services and said she still volunteers there regularly.

Where they would’ve voted differently

Howard voted against a bill that provides legal protections to people from other states performing and receiving abortions in Connecticut, and that allows advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to perform medication and aspiration abortions.

Howard said he has been pro-choice since age 19 and supports Connecticut law permitting abortions up to fetal viability. But he is opposed to both aspects of the 2022 law, the first for not respecting the laws of other states.

Howard said he thought the second part put young ladies at risk. While an “uncomfortable proposition,” he understands why teenage girls may need to get an abortion without parental consent, “But for goodness’ sake, can we at least have a child consult with a physician before we have that?”, he said.

He cited the Connecticut State Medical Society’s concerns about allowing “mid-level providers” to perform aspiration abortions.

Gillece said she has full faith that when APRNs and PAs are trained on any procedure, “they are more than capable and qualified.” At the Stonington election forum, she said we’re now seeing states that provide abortion care be overloaded, the bill legally protects women and providers, and this bill was necessary.

“There is no gray area, bottom line,” Gillece said. “If you vote no on any protection of women’s reproductive rights, you voted no. I will never vote no. I will stand on that floor until I am blue in the face, fighting for every opportunity for women to make their own decisions about their bodies.”

Gillece also told The Day she was surprised Howard voted no on the Connecticut Clean Air Act, a sweeping bill focused on electric vehicles and zero-emission targets. She supports the bill’s approach of providing grants to towns and called it “a prime example of ways that we can actually make direct impact on climate change.”

Howard said he voted no because it epitomizes two things he fights against: rebates for the wealthy and unfunded state mandates on school districts. He noted that funding to transition school buses to zero-emission vehicles is prioritized to “environmental justice communities,” of which the towns in the 43rd District are not.

e.moser@theday.com