Democratic State Rep. Kerry Wood is operating for re-election in the 29th district the place she has represented Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield since 2019. Her challenger is Pankaj Prakash, a Republican.
Wood is a business actual property agent with New England Retail Properties. She calls herself a “huge environmentalist” and stated she loves spending time outside together with her canine. She based one of many first natural farms in Connecticut. She is a local of Rocky Hill and has lived in Connecticut for most of her life. Her initiation into politics, she stated, got here from her grandfather.
“He got me involved in politics when I just learned how to walk and we were knocking doors and dropping flyers off and all that good stuff,” she advised CT Examiner.
Since her election in 2018, she has served on the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and Commerce Committee.
Wood talked about her imaginative and prescient of Connecticut as a “cool” place for younger individuals to settle, her work with enterprise and business teams to make the state a extra engaging place for firms, and her need to see better investments in the cities. She stated that she desires the state to extend its assist of electrical automobiles and investments in quite a lot of renewable power sources, and to handle the prices of healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
CTEx: What points are an important for you in the approaching election?
WOOD: I ran for workplace in 2018 as a result of, as a Connecticut native and somebody that works with the enterprise group for a dwelling, I actually needed to make extra of an emphasis on our economic system. I actually hated studying on a regular basis that Connecticut was the forty eighth worst economic system in the U.S. I like dwelling right here and I really feel like Connecticut is filled with alternatives for younger individuals.
The climate’s nice. I really feel like the faculties, clearly, are the most effective. We make public security a precedence. This is a superb place to stay. The high quality of life is sweet. We ought to have a more healthy enterprise local weather. So, the previous 4 years, I’ve actually labored exhausting on the commerce committee and on the finance committee to make the local weather extra business-friendly.
I feel that having extra of an impactful line of communication with our enterprise and business in Connecticut has actually helped us transfer the needle. And that’s actually necessary to me going ahead. So, making this an awesome place to do enterprise, making Connecticut a spot that’s open for enterprise and having younger individuals after school have a look at Connecticut as a spot to settle so we will make the enterprise local weather as wholesome as doable.
How can we make Connecticut extra pleasant and a extra fascinating place for younger individuals to stay? Some of the issues I’m actually enthusiastic about are the Connecticut Investment 2030 Fund which is $1.5 billion invested in our cities over the following eight years. I really need us to have that “cool” issue that we form of lose out to locations like Austin and San Francisco and Nashville. I actually wish to see our cities be extra vibrant, have extra leisure choices, have extra housing choices. And I feel that can create a extra holistic Connecticut, the place we now have a wholesome enterprise local weather, an awesome place for individuals to stay.
I feel what rounds that up is our transportation infrastructure, which we’ve began to speak about extra. We’ve began to take a position extra in our rail traces. Young individuals do look for extra of that mass transportation, which I might additionally say performs into our electrical automobile infrastructure.
As fuel costs do rise, electrical automobiles do take off. I’m seeing extra individuals purchase electrical automobiles. We have to have that infrastructure in place for us to permit individuals to have that possibility.
CTEx: Does the state have a job to play in making Connecticut extra reasonably priced and addressing inflation?
WOOD: Well, we did so much. This session was all about a number of the greatest tax cuts that we’ve seen in Connecticut. What’s actually unhappy to me is that we’ve given all these nice tax cuts and now the inflation argument is form of taking the air out of that balloon.
We’ve saved seniors hundreds of {dollars} on their pension, annuity and social safety earnings. How is that going to even play into our argument of affordability in the event that they’re paying $5 a gallon for fuel? I feel wanting on the fuel tax and taking that off by means of the tip of the 12 months was clearly useful.
Gas is cheaper in Connecticut than it’s in Massachusetts and different locations proper now. But actually what’s the long run technique? Connecticut’s a small state, so I’m open to further tax cuts and all that type of factor, however that is actually a world concern.
I’m considering that this bubble has to burst first. It can’t proceed like this. One of the the explanation why we’re in an inflationary interval is we’ve stimulated the economic system a lot. We’ve given all of this cash to individuals. Everyone is at house, investing in their houses. Just have a look at your neighbors. Everyone’s doing a brand new roof, a brand new deck, a pool, redoing their loos. All of this performs into the inflation.
I’m open to enjoying any type of function that we will as a state authorities, however I feel actually specializing in a wholesome economic system moderately than a knee-jerk resolution proper now’s one of the best ways ahead. And I’m fairly assured in the price range that we put into place final 12 months, after which with a couple of implementations that we did this 12 months, that we’re on the correct path. We’re in so much higher form than a number of the different states.
I simply wish to ensure that it’s not one thing that’s going to come back again to chew us in the tip. I do know there’s a whole lot of proposals on the market of reducing taxes much more — which, in fact, is nice and I’m open to, however each time we lower one thing, we now have to make that up on the appropriation aspect. So we did, as a state, need to spend so much extra money on psychological well being. We spent much more cash on group houses, susceptible individuals and stuff. Do we begin reducing that in order to pay for the tax decreases? I simply suppose we have to be considerate about it if we do go down that highway.
CTEx: What do you see because the state’s function in offering reasonably priced housing for individuals?
WOOD: I feel that this needs to be a neighborhood management concern. I actually haven’t felt pleased with mandating to cities the place reasonably priced housing needs to be. But I’m an enormous proponent of reasonably priced housing. In reality, in Rocky Hill, in Wethersfield, the districts I characterize, we now have one thing referred to as senior housing. In Rocky Hill it’s senior and disabled housing, and it’s reasonably priced items which are based mostly in your earnings. So persons are not paying greater than $600 a month. And there’s a ready record that’s three to 5 years lengthy to get into these locations. So I feel we have to be constructing extra of that sponsored reasonably priced housing as a result of it’s affecting our seniors and our most susceptible.
We do reasonably priced housing tax credit. We do reasonably priced housing districts. I feel that there’s a ton of housing being constructed proper now.
I like the function that the Capital Region Development Authority performs. We fund that by means of the state. Developers which are working in that space can associate with [the authority] to get grant cash, to assist get even older workplace buildings and issues like that transformed into housing.
So I feel the state performs an enormous function in both tax incentives or grants and bonding. The Community Investment Fund 2030 is $1.5 billion. So that cash is going to be going to these reasonably priced housing items.
I actually wish to see our cities be vibrant once more. Hartford — we have to promote extra house possession. I do know that Travelers and The Hartford, each of these firms are taking areas in Hartford and serving to individuals get low-interest loans to allow them to buy houses. So I feel if we might help facilitate extra house possession in a number of the cities, individuals have extra of a way of neighborhood, a way of pleasure in the place the place they stay. I feel the state can play a very huge function there in additionally working with the cities and their native growth authorities to get these tasks underway.
CTEx: What’s the following step to ensure that healthcare is reasonably priced and accessible for Connecticut’s residents?
WOOD: The excellent news is that for the previous couple of years, the federal authorities has sponsored individuals’s Affordable Care Plan. Access Health CT is our Affordable Care Act plan, and folks have shared actually constructive tales about their healthcare prices taking place wherever from $500 a month to $5,000 a month. I imply, that’s enormous cash for individuals and their households. I’m hopeful that the federal authorities will proceed — I do know that’s one thing that’s being mentioned, persevering with to subsidize these plans.
Our committee has made an effort the previous 12 months to actually have a look at the prices that go into healthcare. We’re at all times being advised, “Hey, can you look at health insurance costs?” And we’re like, “We’d love to, but you know, the costs of care are the direct correlation to the cost of your health insurance.” So what are going into these prices? We’ve completed a whole lot of actually good work on the Certificate of Need concern in Connecticut. We have appeared on the dangers of consolidation of larger hospitals shopping for up smaller practices and all that type of factor and simply lifting the veil on what goes into the price of healthcare.
I’m hopeful that we will do one thing on pharmaceuticals, which is about 15% of the price of everybody’s healthcare. We had a invoice that sadly didn’t go. It handed the House and it had us importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada. I feel there are different issues that we will do on the prescription drug aspect to actually assist everybody in Connecticut. We’ve completed one thing this 12 months, which is a Health Enhancement Plan and it requires your medical insurance firm to give you incentives for going and getting preventive care measures and going to the physician. The state of Connecticut at present does that for their staff. But now, if you happen to’re on the Affordable Care Act plans, you’re additionally going to be enrolled in this.
We handed a invoice codifying Executive Order 5, which is the benchmark invoice. And this actually appears to be like at our complete healthcare system and the place we’re spending cash. And it provides us extra of an summary of the place we needs to be spending extra and the place we might be spending much less —- like that early detection, these preventative care. If we’re not spending sufficient in that house, then we have to have a look at that and ensure we’re spending extra there. We don’t wish to be having most of our spending coming from hospital prices and end-of-life care. We wish to ensure that we now have a wholesome inhabitants throughout the state.
I’m actually enthusiastic about how that benchmarking invoice goes to shed mild and transparency on our price after which set a roadmap for us going ahead.
The affiliation well being plans was one other invoice that we had been all pushing in the House this 12 months. And hopefully we will attempt for that once more. It permits industries just like the retail retailers, or the restaurant teams or the distilleries — individuals which are in an affiliation or the Connecticut Business and Industry Association or Chamber of Commerce to pool their community collectively and purchase medical insurance.
CTEx: Are there issues in schooling that you just suppose needs to be modified or have to be priorities coming ahead?
WOOD: Oh my gosh. So a lot room for enchancment in schooling. One of the issues I’ve been listening to a whole lot of is that youngsters have to have monetary literacy as a part of their studying — issues like writing a examine and opening a bank card and financial savings and curiosity and all these kinds of issues.
I feel we have to have extra of a piece requirement throughout the group. Some type of volunteerism, like a Teach for America, I’ve at all times promoted like a compulsory service 12 months after highschool. It’s extra of a federal factor as a result of we will’t simply try this for Connecticut. But I actually like youngsters to have extra interplay with their fellow college students in different cities and cities and issues like that. So I feel extra of sharing that have as a scholar in Connecticut will likely be nice.
I’m joyful that we made the funding in the psychological well being providers. I’d wish to see that going to the correct place. COVID was actually exhausting on a whole lot of youngsters and lecturers, so I’d wish to see how the packages and studying that we put into place is working, as a result of if we have to make modifications to that, I’m undoubtedly open to creating modifications to that.
I’ve been very energetic in getting grants for our STEM packages inside our district. I’d wish to make that extra of a spotlight too.
CTEx: How do you suppose the state is doing in balancing out our local weather targets with the price of gasoline proper now and what can we do higher?
One of the issues that’s been a disappointment to me in the state in my time as a legislator is how little we’re doing with the setting. This 12 months we handed in all probability probably the most complete environmental payments that I’ve seen in 4 years.
I consider {that a} clear setting is sweet enterprise. I consider it creates jobs. We handed one of many largest wind installations in the nation, which will likely be off the coast of New London. So we have to diversify. We make little or no power right here in Connecticut. So if we diversify and have wind, we will have photo voltaic, we will have pure fuel. We can have our nuclear energy plant. We simply have to diversify how we generate all of our power in order to cut back prices. But we’re additionally increasing our job market — we’re creating new alternatives for firms to broaden and develop.
I actually hope that what the excessive fuel costs do is permit us to have extra dialogue about the place we wish to be as a rustic. Do we wish to be so reliant? I’m an enormous proponent of electrical automobiles. I do know in our environmental payments, we go issues like shifting in the direction of electrical buses as a state — let’s be a pacesetter and have an electrical fleet, and placing that electrical infrastructure in place is absolutely going to assist us broaden.
The price for electrical automobiles could also be excessive proper now, however because it grows, because the competitors is there and extra individuals purchase, the fee will really come down. I’m not saying we part out gas-powered vehicles, however I feel we now have extra of a steadiness and extra of a range. I feel there’ll even be different iterations of how we energy our vehicles. I imply, proper now we’re speaking electrical, however there’s been hydrogen as a dialogue.
We additionally want to take a look at our reliance on oil in our houses. How can we assist owners transfer in the direction of extra photo voltaic, extra geothermal and simply different choices for heating and cooling their houses. That’s a job that the state can play. We can incentivize these kinds of transitions. Even with our electrical era right here in the state, we’re reliant on Eversource and UI, and I’d wish to see us deal with methods of decreasing these prices.
We handed a very huge deal this previous 12 months — it allowed the captive insurance coverage markets to domicile in Connecticut. And we at the moment are seeing great development with the captive insurance coverage firms, increasing and creating new firms right here. So that may be a house that I’m actually excited to observe and be part of.
CTEx: The Police Accountability Bill — how do you suppose it’s working and are there items of it that you just suppose have to be modified at this level?
WOOD: I have a look at the police accountability invoice as a invoice to professionalize policing. There had been about 4 sections that I didn’t agree with. We have completed modifications to 2 of these sections.
There’s two [remaining] sections — one is the certified immunity piece, which I’ve been advised isn’t going to be modified, and that I feel has triggered law enforcement officials to interpret the legislation incorrectly. I hear issues like, “Well, I’m going to be personally sued if I pull this person over or I’m going to be personally sued, lose my house if I do my job.”
And that isn’t what the invoice says. It’s actually unlucky that false impression is there. Really, it’s that if you happen to do one thing egregious, you might be vulnerable to being personally sued in case your city or municipality chooses to not cowl you. So it’s far more difficult.
The different part is the consent searches. I occur to have a brother who’s a police officer and who has shared with me what number of weapons and medicines he has pulled off of streets on consent searches, which they aren’t allowed to do. So I’ve been extraordinarily against that part of the invoice. I consider that asking somebody to look in their automotive is a wonderfully effective factor to ask somebody, particularly if you happen to suppose one thing is in their automotive.
Overall, I wish to see our policemen and -women have the most effective coaching doable, have the most effective providers, have the assets. I’m very supportive of our law enforcement officials and wish to simply be sure they’re on the desk and making any modifications or enhancements to the invoice.
CTEx: Concerning marijuana legalization — was that invoice written appropriately? Are there issues with it that you just suppose have to be addressed?
WOOD: I feel we’re going to see the way it goes over the following six to eight months. I’ve been in Massachusetts, I’ve seen their retail shops there. We’re in a spot in society the place persons are utilizing marijuana for higher sleep, to take care of stress and all this type of factor. I wish to be supportive with that, however I additionally wish to ensure that we’re rolling out retail as safely as doable.
I just like the social fairness part, which is ensuring that not simply tremendous rich, huge firms are capable of come in and begin these companies, however anybody. Again, I’d wish to see that in motion and get suggestions from it to verify it’s working the way it’s imagined to.
CTEx: Where do you see your self in right this moment’s Democratic social gathering?
WOOD: When I first obtained to the legislature in 2019, I felt like there weren’t many Democrats that thought the way in which I did. And I began to construct a coalition of Democrats, and we now have shaped a gaggle referred to as the Connecticut Blue Dogs. We’re the average Democrats. We work throughout the aisle. We consider in fiscal duty. We had been champions in not solely this tax lower that we had this 12 months, but in addition, we’re consistently screaming from the rooftop on paying down our debt and our pension, and we now have performed an instrumental function in making {that a} precedence.
We have aligned ourselves with the governor fairly often. You can know who we’re, as a result of a whole lot of the time we’re voting in opposition to our social gathering on the ground. We bridge social gathering traces in order to construct a coalition to say, we now have the numbers, so all of us must work collectively on it. That’s the place I’m in the Democratic social gathering — a fiscally conservative Democrat.