This year’s race for the 139th House District seat is a rematch between longtime Democratic incumbent State Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville and Republican Mark Adams, a relative newcomer to the political arena.

Adams, 51, of Norwich, is a public safety officer at Connecticut College and father of three, who said he is counting on people in the district looking for a change from Democratic policies that have led to higher costs and concerns about public safety.

Adams first got a taste for politics when he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Norwich City Council in 2021 and lost by just 10 votes.

“The people of Connecticut have the opportunity this November to vote for Republican candidates like myself who want to make a change for the better and work for them, not special interests or party-only policies,” Adams said.

Ryan, 72, of Montville is an adjunct professor of physics at the University of New Haven who is seeking his 17th term in office. Ryan said he remains driven by the needs of his constituents with a focus on education and health issues and to push for funding for projects needed by the municipalities he serves.

“This kind of work is rewarding, helping individuals with problems by working through government. I can have an effect on people’s lives,” Ryan said.

Ryan is a member of the General Assembly’s appropriations, public health, environment and legislation regulation review committees and this year is serving as the chairman of the Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan organization that Ryan said brings lawmakers together from different states to share policy ideas. For the 2023-2024 legislative session, he was appointed as assistant deputy speaker pro tempore.

The 139th district encompasses parts of Montville, Norwich and Ledyard. Ryan narrowly defeated Adams in 2022 with 53% of the vote across the three towns. In his first time running for a state office, Adams surprised some by out polling Ryan in Montville where he secured 51% of the votes.

Rising costs and crime

Both candidates acknowledged the struggle of families over the past several years dealing with higher costs linked to inflation. Ryan said he would look to maintain the state’s fiscal guardrails while “finding room to provide resources for citizens in the state.”

Democrats, Ryan said, over the past two years have instituted tax cuts to help ease the burden for residents, have paid down the state’s pension debt and presided over a state where statistics show crime is down.

Enacted by the legislature with a bipartisan effort in 2017, the fiscal guardrails established a state spending cap and bolstered the state employees’ pension fund, among other things.

While the latest FBI statistics show that overall crime dropped by 4% in the state in 2022 some cities reported upticks in certain violent crimes. Adams said he believes people overall feel less safe in Connecticut and the drop in the number of police officers has led to “a lack of ability to cover and protect our neighborhoods and roadways.”

Adams said the passage of the Police Accountability Act in 2020 led to concerns about lawsuits and a decrease in police morale, recruitment and retention. Democrats, Adams said, have “continued to systematically target law enforcement,” and in the last legislative session unsuccessfully pushed to establish laws that would limit motor vehicle stops for traffic violations.

Considering the rise in traffic fatalities in the state, Adams said, “this type of behavior is not only dangerous, irresponsible and reckless by the legislators that voted for these bills but also appear to serve special interests.”

“I vow to work tirelessly to protect our communities and families from the rise in crimes by recruiting officers and ensuring criminals are prosecuted appropriately,” Adams said.

Ryan acknowledged that police recruitment is down in the state and nationwide and said he would look to see if the state could provide more incentives to boost the number of people seeking law enforcement as a profession.

He said state lawmakers have enacted measures to address particular crimes when appropriate, such as a law passed in 2022 to address a rise in thefts of catalytic converters from motor vehicles. The law makes it illegal for recyclers to purchase a catalytic converter unless it is physically attached to a vehicle. Ryan said of concern more recently is the rise in threats against schools, many of them made on social media, that has led to disruptions statewide. He said the state should look to enforce laws on the books to address the problem or discuss other ways to prevent further issues.

Energy

Adams said the Democrats erred this year when they did not back Republicans calling for a special legislative session to address rising electrical rates.

Adams said the fact that Democrats failed to back a plan by Republicans to curb future costs hikes showed a “lack of responsiveness” to citizens seeking answers about why the residents pay some of the highest electrical rates in the nation.

“Be responsive. If you want to be a representative, you want to be a legislator, than show up when the people are calling for you,” Adams said.

Ryan said Democrats intend to evaluate the pubic benefits charge during the next legislative session.

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has said the rise in electric rates experienced in July was due to seasonal usage and a public benefits charge, which includes funding for state energy assistance programs.

Previous action to control electricity costs are just coming on line, Ryan said, a reference to the "Take Back Our Grid Act" passed  in 2021, which Ryan said contained some significant reforms - including strengthening PURA's ability to scrutinize and review rate increases. In 2023, Ryan said the legislature passed PA23-102 ― more legislation to stem utility company expenses.

Support for nonprofits

Ryan said that if reelected, he will continue to look for state resources to aid struggling nonprofits.

“We know that the nonprofits provide valuable services to the most vulnerable in our society - the disabled, the mentally challenged and those suffering from substance abuse issues,” Ryan said.

Recognition of the savings the nonprofits provide to the state could translate into funding for those organizations in the next budget, he said. It was nonprofits that were instrumental, for example, in turning the tide against the opioid epidemic, he said.

Looking ahead

While Democrats are the majority in Hartford, Adams said his message to voters when campaigning is to vote for the candidate and not the party regardless of political leanings.

“When I’m at someone’s door, I tell people irrespective of party or who you voted for, when I win the election I’m going to represent you as if you did vote for me.”

Ryan said some of his main priorities, if reelected, will continue to address the affordable housing shortage and to address health care issues, such as the dwindling number of health care providers.

Both candidates said they expect the presidential election to boost the number of voters this election but think the local races have more impact on people’s everyday lives.

g.smith@theday.com

Three questions from The Day.

Mark Adams

1. Connecticut has $37 billion in unfunded pension obligations and a history of mismanaging its pension program. How should the state pay down this pension debt? What changes would you propose, if any, to existing pension programs for state and municipal employees? Be specific.

Connecticut has such a large pension obligation; Kevin Ryan has been in office for over 30 years and has produced no real solutions to the problem. We need to pay for the obligations the state has, but not allow special interests to control our financial obligations moving forward. My opponent has never stood up for what's right for our district, only what's politically expedient for him and his special interests. I have no special interests other than the people of the 139th District. I will work to ensure fiscal guardrails and spending caps are in place and adhered to and the money that's allocated for the pension program goes towards that debt as well as a percentage of any surplus from the fiscal year resulting in a reduction in annual pension payments and saving the state and taxpayers millions per year.

Rents are unaffordable for many working, disabled and retired people and youth are losing hope that they’ll ever be able to afford a home. Do you believe the state needs more affordable housing? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to increase affordable housing? If no, why is more affordable housing not needed?

Prices and inflation are out of control, but this is not new for residents in Southeastern Connecticut. Our cost of living has been going up, gas, groceries, housing - the trend is unacceptable and unsustainable. For over 3 decades, my opponent has had a front row seat to the downward slide of our quality of life. The housing question needs to focus on what each unique municipality needs. The detailed solution for Montville is different from Norwich, is different from Ledyard and I commit to working with each municipality's leaders to understand what will work best for their unique situation. What is not working, is a state representative who approves every one-size-fits all approach to nuanced issues, like housing - that's not leadership. I would propose the question, does the State need more affordable housing for us to live here or do we need a State that's more affordable to live in? I know what I'll be fighting for.

Is climate change a problem for the state? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to address climate change. If no, why is it not a problem?

Climate change is something that needs to be addressed at a larger level than state government. This is a question better suited for federal office candidates. What I hear from residents of Norwich, Ledyard, and Montville about what's important to them are far more basic and actually issues that can be solved at the state legislature: their electric costs are through the roof, they have to choose between buying groceries for their family or gas for their car, and they're concerned about their safety. These things have all been addressed and the outcome is worse each time because Kevin Ryan doesn't understand the concerns and priorities of the residents of Ledyard, Montville, and Norwich. Where we should start is with an affordable and regulated system for residents to explore the use of alternative energy sources, solar, wind, natural gas, etc. Destroying our land and woods to build electrical power grids for the EV mandate the Democrats are trying to pass is definitely not part of the solution.

Kevin Ryan

Connecticut has $37 billion in unfunded pension obligations and a history of mismanaging its pension program. How should the state pay down this pension debt? What changes would you propose, if any, to existing pension programs for state and municipal employees? Be specific.

Connecticut Democrats have led on stabilizing our state finances. We’ve paid down over $8.5 billion in pension debt ahead of schedule - saving our taxpayers money in the process - we have a rainy day fund that’s close to 18% of our operating budget, and our bond ratings and outlooks are consistently being upgraded. Through our budget’s fiscal guardrails, we’ve managed to balance funding critical programs in our state while paying down our longstanding debt. There is still a long way to go, but Connecticut Democrats have proven to be leaders in fiscal responsibility.

Rents are unaffordable for many working, disabled and retired people and youth are losing hope that they’ll ever be able to afford a home. Do you believe the state needs more affordable housing? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to increase affordable housing? If no, why is more affordable housing not needed?

Yes, Connecticut is certainly facing an affordable housing crisis. A key reason so many jobs remain unfilled in our state is young people simply cannot find an affordable living situation, so they choose to live elsewhere. If we want to attract more residents to our state, affordable housing is a must.

I was proud to support HB 5390: An Act Concerning Transit-Oriented Communities in our last session, but I know that more must be done. Bills investing in workforce housing development projects, providing tax breaks for developers making affordable housing, and aiding our homeless population are just a few of the ideas I would like to see come to the House floor next year.

Is climate change a problem for the state? If yes, what specific proposals would you recommend to address climate change. If no, why is it not a problem?

Climate change is a problem for Connecticut, our country, and the world.

The House passed a very modest climate change initiative last year that every House Republican voted against. The bill would have:

Updated our Global Warming Solutions Act to make Connecticut's greenhouse gas emissions targets more in line with other states in the region;

Created incentives for businesses that engage in clean economy sectors or employ environmentally sustainable practices;

Developed plans for transitioning to a clean economy, including workforce training and long-term policy implementation;

Supported nature-based solutions, such as preserving marshlands and forests.

I completely support bringing this bill back to the floor and voting for it once more.

There are many reasons the electric vehicle mandate didn’t pass, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to be expanding our infrastructure, lowering the purchasing costs for consumers, and dealing with the cost of our electricity, which we all know is too high.

The proposed mandate was on dealerships to sell them not people to buy them.

Going forward, we need to balance climate, consumers, and our cost of living to put forth the best policy we can.