CT governor’s candidates claims: What’s true, and what’s misleading

Voters watching a blitz of television commercials in the final weeks of the Connecticut governor’s campaign have been swamped by a tsunami of conflicting claims and counterclaims.

Some are true, some are false, and many are misleading by not telling the entire story.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Ryan Fazio has repeatedly said in commercials that Gov. Ned Lamont raised taxes, while Lamont counters that he actually cut taxes. The candidates also cannot agree on who is responsible for electricity costs, which has become a major campaign issue.

Each side is at least partially correct, officials said. The reality is that Lamont raised taxes on some items and cut them on others.

Fazio is correct that Lamont and the Democratic-controlled state legislature raised taxes on prepared meals as part of the 2019 state budget. While grocery items purchased at supermarkets and other outlets do not include the state sales tax, the law was changed to add a surcharge of one percentage point on takeout food, catering, and prepared items like rotisserie chickens. The sales tax is now 7.35% on those items, up from the general sales tax rate of 6.35%.

In addition, Fazio says repeatedly that Lamont raised taxes on paychecks, but Lamont counters that Fazio fails to mention that the tax on payroll deductions of 0.5% is paid into a trust fund for the state’s paid family and medical leave insurance program that is currently running a surplus. The new tax was approved in 2019 and payroll withholding started in 2021.

Lamont’s campaign says the bigger and more important issue is that Lamont reduced the state income tax and blocked numerous proposed increases on capital gains that have been favored for years by liberal Democrats. For years, lawmakers have had difficulty in cutting taxes when municipalities, nonprofits, and special interest groups all send lobbyists to the Capitol to push for higher spending and a larger piece of the $28.7 billion annual state budget.

“Every Republican always runs for office, saying they’re going to eliminate the income tax,” Lamont told The Courant in an interview. “None of them ever do it. Most of them raised it — as in Rowland-Rell. I’ve done just the opposite as the first governor ever to cut the income tax — the biggest middle-class tax cut. It has lasted. I’m trying to do things I can, make a promise I can keep, and it’s sustainable. I’d like to think that people appreciate that.”

In 2023, the legislature lowered the state’s 5% income tax rate to 4.5% and the 3% rate to 2%, which provided relief to an estimated 1.1 million tax filers in the largest income tax reduction since the tax was created in 1991.

Electric rates

The two candidates have also jousted over electric rates with Fazio directly blaming Lamont for electricity prices. But Lamont says the bottom line is that consumers are currently paying less on their bills.

In television commercials and a new campaign mailer sent in recent days, Fazio says that “electricity rates are up 38% under Lamont, thanks to his hidden fees, and Eversource is counting on another 18%.”

But Lamont and his supporters say that a customer’s electric bill is a multifaceted conglomeration of factors that include the generation price of electricity, which is not controlled by any governor. In addition, the rates are set by the five-member Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, rather than the governor.

The biggest point of contention on electric bills has been the controversial public benefits charges that go up and down as part of long-term contracts that the state has with the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford and the Seabrook plant in New Hampshire. Those charges have been sharply reduced since May and many residents have been seeing a credit on their monthly bills as the public benefits charges have been temporarily eliminated. The reason is related to the price of natural gas that fluctuates, leadin to high charges on bills, like in the past, or credits that are expected to last for a one-year period until next May.

Lamont says that if he is blamed for some increases in the past, then he should now receive credit for the price cuts that have taken effect over the past six months.

“Electric rates are down compared to a year ago. How many states can say that?” Lamont said when asked by The Courant. “We are out of the ordinary in that we’ve reduced them over the last year. … Look it up. Ask ChatGPT.”

Fazio, though, says the price cuts are temporary and predicts they will increase in the future as Eversource has requested an 18% rate increase.

Looking ahead, Lamont will be campaigning in the final week in an attempt to equal the record of Republican John G. Rowland of Waterbury as the only Connecticut governor to be elected to three terms in the past 200 years. Even the giants of modern Connecticut politics, including Abe Ribicoff, Ella Grasso, Bill O’Neill, and Lowell P. Weicker, never won three elections for governor.

“The best indication of what you’re going to do in the future is what you’ve accomplished in the past,” Lamont said. “So I’ll certainly talk about coming into office and looking at $2 billion deficits as far as the eye can see. We’ve got our fiscal house in order. We’ve got our economy growing again, but it’s not growing for everybody. We’ve got to be talking about the next four years and how you make life more affordable with a special emphasis on healthcare and making it affordable for everybody.”

He added, “They’ve been trying to do it forever and haven’t been able to get it done, but I just look at the fact that some hospitals cost 50% more than others for the exact same outcome. Some Pharma costs 200% more than others for the exact same outcome. There must be some way that we can create some incentives that save people money and make sure we don’t compromise the quality of healthcare. If I can’t do it in Connecticut, I don’t know where we can do it.”

Data centers

In commercials, Fazio has repeatedly blasted Lamont, saying that he approved tax breaks for data centers but not for the voters.

In one of Fazio’s most prominent TV ads, he says, “You pay taxes, but data centers don’t, thanks to Ned Lamont. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Lamont waived all property and sales taxes for data centers. He cut their taxes, but raised yours, making families pay higher electric bills, higher sales taxes, higher property taxes, while data centers pay less. It’s just wrong. I’m Ryan Fazio. As governor, I’ll end Lamont’s handouts for data centers and cut your taxes by $2,500 per year.”

The commercial, however, never mentions that only one company — insurance giant CIGNA — has received a sales tax exemption from the state Department of Economic and Community Development under the bipartisan law that was signed by Lamont in 2021. CIGNA already had a data center in Windsor, and the company decided to renovate and upgrade it. After discussions, the town of Windsor did not reduce the local property taxes. The sales tax exemption was an estimated $17 million, while the overall renovation cost an estimated $386 million.

Smaller data centers have existed for decades, but both Lamont and Fazio have raised concerns about the newer, massive data centers that have generated controversy across the country as they require huge amounts of electricity related to the recent boom in artificial intelligence.

Another point of contention is the polls — and the exact size of Lamont’s lead.

The candidates have jousted recently after a public poll by Quinnipiac University poll showed Lamont ahead by 20 percentage points, which marked an increase from a previous Q poll that showed the margin at 17 percentage points. Another survey by Sacred Heart University placed Lamont ahead by 14 points, while a separate poll by Morning Consult rated Lamont as the ninth most popular governor in the country.

A poll by the University of New Hampshire had Lamont at a 17-point lead in September with 55% of likely voters compared to 38% for Fazio, which was similar to the university’s other polls that showed Lamont ahead by 13 percentage points in June and 15 points in August.

Even after those polls were released, Fazio still insisted that the race is tight with the spread in the single digits. Fazio and other Republicans have pointed to a survey by a polling firm called co/efficient that showed Fazio trailing in mid-September by only 7 points at 48% to 41% with 11% undecided. But others said the survey often tilts toward conservative candidates, which is different than the nonpartisan polls run by the three universities..

Education

Known for his mild-mannered nature, Fazio became fired up at a campaign event in Stratford when he was questioned about Lamont’s criticisms of him regarding public education.

In the campaign, Lamont has repeatedly criticized Fazio for his votes against public education by voting in various years against the state budget, which includes billions for education every year.  He also voted against supplemental grants for education. But Fazio said he offered a budget alternative in an amendment on the Senate floor this year that “provided tax relief, defended the spending cap, and kept increases in ECS funding.”

Saying that the Democratic-written budget broke the spending and volatility caps, Fazio said that he voted against the overall budget for other reasons, not due to education. In addition, he voted against the previous year’s budget “because it included tax increases,” he said.

After a TV ad campaign blasting his views on education, Fazio pushed back.

“This governor has failed students,” Fazio said. “He’s failed our schools. … He should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of his record, presiding over a state where city schools have seen declining student outcomes and he has no major reform proposal. I put forward a comprehensive education reform proposal aimed at closing the achievement gap. At least I’m trying to put forward ambitious reforms. The governor is spending his campaign money trashing me in order to deflect from his record.”

Fazio added, “He doesn’t have a record he can defend or an agenda for his third term that will improve people’s lives, so he’s spending all his money trashing me. We all know that. There’s no one who understands why he’s running for a third term. There’s no agenda for improving people’s lives in a third term. That’s why he’s spending all his money making up things about me.”

But Lamont says he does have plans for the next four years. His campaign says he “cut middle-class taxes, enacted paid family leave, invested in our public schools, and lowered healthcare costs” while paying down $11 billion in pension debt that came from state budget surpluses in recent years.

“Connecticut has made real progress, and I’m running for a third term because there is more work to do to make healthcare and housing more affordable and give people opportunities to get ahead,” Lamont said. “I believe in what we’re doing here in Connecticut.”

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