Opinion
Capitol

Ehlers: Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff Sells Out His District — Again

By |
Download PDF

This is an op-ed by Greg Ehlers, the GOP challenger who ran against state Sen. Bob Duff in the 25th district in 2016:
Every family who lives in Bob Duff’s district and every business operating in Fairfield County needs to be aware of what their elected state senator just did to threaten their livelihoods this week. The labor contract agreement that just passed and will now become law is another in a long line of sweetheart deals with unions negotiated by Governor Malloy that has prolonged the fiscal crisis and created the poor economic climate our families and businesses suffer in every day. It should no longer be a surprise to anyone in Connecticut that our state remains mired in a devastating fiscal crisis that has resulted from a cycle of spending money we don’t have, raising taxes to cover the differences, and then suffering the consequences of taxpayers leaving for more tax-friendly states — this cycle has been repeated for decades and has stunted economic growth in this state. If you closely observe this economically disastrous cycle, you will notice one troubling fact about Connecticut’s government that has given wake to years of awful budgets — the basic fact that state government is just too expensive. In particular, state employees receive benefits so luxurious, and so unprecedented, that as bureaucracy balloons and employees retire it has brought the state to the brink of insolvency.

Government & Politics
Letter letters

Letters on the Duff/Ehlers Race in the 25th Senate District

By |
Download PDF

Darienite.com accepts letters to the editor about candidates running for office in the Nov. 8 election, but only up through the end of the day on Halloween, Oct. 31. Email your letter to dave@darienite.com. Greg Ehlers, a Republican, is challenging Democratic state Sen. (and Majority Leader) Bob Duff in the 25th Senate District, covering Norwalk and part of Darien.

Government & Politics
Town Hall 2015

Forum for Board of Education & State Legislature Candidates Tuesday Night

By |
Download PDF

The Darien League of Women Voters will hold its annual Candidates’ Night on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in the Town Hall Auditorium. An informal reception will be held at 7 p.m., with the debate beginning promptly at 7:30 p.m.  This event is open to the public and sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Darien. Candidates for the Board of Education and candidates for 141st and 147th Connecticut House of Representative districts and the 25th and 27th Senate districts have been invited to be on stage to answer questions from the audience.  The debate will be moderated by Kay Maxwell, former  National President of the LWV. Confirmed attendees for the debate include

candidates for the offices of  state representative for District 141, Terrie Wood (R)  vs.

Government & Politics
Greg Ehlers THUMBNAIL 5-13-16

Ehlers, Candidate for State Senate, Qualifies for Public Financing

By |
Download PDF

In his quest to represent Darien and Norwalk in the State Senate and to help Connecticut regain jobs and a prosperous future, Greg Ehlers has qualified for public financing under the Citizens’ Election Program (C.E.P.) in his race for the Senate District 25 seat, according to a notification this week from the C.E.P.. ______________

— an announcement from Greg Ehlers’ campaign

______________

Ehlers, managing partner of a successful financial services company based in Darien, responded to the notification by thanking “the hundreds of citizens across Darien and Norwalk whose strong support made this possible.”

“Like me,” he continued, “they are deeply concerned about Connecticut’s steep economic decline under the badly mistaken policies of Gov. Dannel Malloy and his local helper with those policies, Bob Duff. This November, we can start turning things around.”

The Citizens’ Election Program was designed to encourage citizen participation in governance by limiting the role of private money in Connecticut’s political process. Participating candidates agree to abide by certain guidelines, including contribution and expenditure limits, as well as disclosure requirements. “Under Bob Duff and Governor Malloy’s leadership, we have experienced two of the largest tax increases in Connecticut’s history, and Duff was silent when Malloy proposed budget cuts to Darien’s public school system, effectively another tax hike on Darien’s residents and neighboring communities,” said Brent Hayes, chairman of the Darien Republican Town Committee.

Government & Politics
Greg Ehlers THUMBNAIL 5-13-16

Letter: Ehlers Says Duff Helped Finance Study of Mileage Tax He Says He Doesn’t Want

By |
Download PDF

To the editor:

Sen, Bob Duff has become a politician with many opinions on the key issues affecting the families he claims to represent in Hartford. Nowhere is that more evident than with a new proposal that would slam all Connecticut drivers with a mileage tax. Anyone who follows Connecticut politics has heard a lot about this new tax from their elected officials.  Without the doublespeak from career politicians, the mileage tax is exactly what it sounds like — the state of Connecticut taxing you for every mile that you drive in your car, using your odometer and other information to track you. When I learned about this special Orwellian kind of desperate money-grub, I bet my reaction was similar to yours and other people who drive on Connecticut’s highways daily; with initial bewilderment, then shock, and outrage. We already have the highest gas tax per gallon in the country.  More people leave Connecticut than any other state in the union and this is how the Democrats in Hartford respond?!

Government & Politics
Letter letters

State Senate Candidate Greg Ehlers: Darien, Norwalk Get Tiny Fraction Back of $ Sent to Hartford

By |
Download PDF

To the editor:

Does voting for an incumbent with seniority in the senate provide you and your family with better representation in Hartford? Over the past 14 years, Norwalkers seem to have wagered that because of the apparent power Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff has accumulated over the course of his political career, they will receive special benefits from the state as a result.

I am a business owner in a fast-paced global economy.  I can’t rely on gut feelings when I make decisions about my business and my children’s’ futures.  I have to take a look at the numbers to see if they support my initial hunches.  That’s why I decided to test what Bob Duff’s “power of incumbency” means for parents, business owners, and all residents who pay taxes in Norwalk. Let’s take the ratio of taxes paid to the state versus state payments to municipalities, numbers that the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis and Department of Revenue Services compile. This is a pretty good indicator, since it measures how much funding your town gets in return for every dollar you and your neighbors pay to Hartford. The results are, to say the least, astonishing.  Or, in the case of many Norwalk and Darien families who live paycheck to paycheck, these results are infuriating and wholly unacceptable.

Government & Politics
Greg Ehlers THUMBNAIL 5-13-16

Letter: Greg Ehlers Says Sen. Bob Duff Not Defending Darien, Norwalk from State Budget Cuts

By |
Download PDF

To the editor:

As soon as I announced my candidacy against Bob Duff for the State Senate from the 25th District, I was repeatedly told what a “nice guy” Bob is. People pointed out how he attended every ribbon-cutting community event and school graduation in town. I have repeatedly maintained that my campaign will be about issues and a more sustainable plan for Connecticut’s future, not staged photo opportunities. But, my gosh, has Bob Duff let you down this week! I’m not just writing this as a political opponent of Duff’s but as a frustrated father of three in the district who cannot believe how Senator Duff has unapologetically thrown Norwalk and Darien under the bus while fighting for Gov. Dan Malloy in Hartford. For anyone unfamiliar with the proceedings, after the 2017 state budget passed the legislature last month, Gov. Malloy used the line-item veto to make $20 million in cuts to municipalities and deep cuts to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provide healthcare in under-served areas.

Government & Politics
Greg Ehlers THUMBNAIL 5-13-16

Letter: Greg Ehlers Thanks GOP Convention for State Senate Nomination

By |
Download PDF

To the editor:

I want to thank the delegates of the Republican Party for nominating me as their candidate in the November election for state Senate. It is an honor to represent the people of Norwalk and Darien in the fight against one-party rule. One-party Democratic rule has been devastating to Connecticut’s economy, both businesses and households. Bob Duff is the symbol of one-party rule and must be replaced. Residents of Norwalk and Darien are only too aware of the pain inflicted by Duff’s reckless budgets coupled and crippling tax increases.