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10/18/2016 03:30 PMAs the Green Party candidate for State Senate District 33, Bennett is running “on a platform of environmental protection, education and election reform,” according to the Green Party website www.ctgreenparty.org.
At the Oct. 5 Westbrook Council of Beaches Candidates Forum, Bennett said he had lived in Westbrook most of his life and was running again for the State Senate 33 seat because, “I have a mission to save the world—and it’s [about] fighting against evils.”
In response to the question about what he’d do in the Legislature to stop businesses from leaving the State, Bennett said, “We’re taxed to death. I understand that we need to eliminate property taxes and lower taxes for lower and middle income taxpayers [while] raising taxes on the wealthy.” He also said, “We should be setting not just a minimum wage, but a maximum wage.”
The Council of Beaches asked candidates what they would do to get the state agencies to allow local approvals and installation of advanced technology (AT) septic systems, sometimes the only solution for shoreline lots. While he agreed that the State should begin to approve such designs, he also suggested a different strategy,
“We need to retreat from building homes on the shoreline,” said Bennett.
He also suggested that what the state needs is new national parks to encourage tourism such as a Long Island National Park and a Lower Connecticut River Valley National Park.
Asked how he would address the Education Cost Sharing formula if elected to the Legislature, Bennett said, “Education is the priority. Every kid needs to succeed. We should eliminate the property tax.”
Bennett’s webpage www.facebook.com/Bennett.for.Senate lists his community service and other positions he holds.
He supports requiring energy audits on all new construction contracts to save money and stop global warming, supports enacting a Single-Payer Universal Health Care “for overall savings on state health expenditures,” and requiring a Living Wage for state contracts.
He lists his service as being a member of the Westbrook Forest Commission, serving as a marine science technician in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, being founder at President of the Great Land Conservation Trust, volunteer with the Westbrook Fire Department and a teacher at Saint Mary’s School in New London. He earned a degree in environmental education from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and is currently a graduate student in women’s studies at SCSU.
In closing remarks at the Council of Beaches forum, Bennett, who has run under the Green Party banner in previous races, suggested that if voters couldn’t support him, they should consider supporting Linares instead as, “quite frankly, he’s not going to do anything.”