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01/30/2018 03:30 PMRepublican Noreen Kokoruda filed paperwork on Jan. 26 to seek a fifth term as the 101st General Assembly District state representative, serving Madison and part of Durham, this November.
A Madison resident for more than 30 years, Kokoruda is a former selectman who held leading roles on numerous other committees and commissions. As a representative, Kokoruda serves on the General Assembly’s committees on Children, Appropriations, and Education and is the Minority Caucus chair.
This February marks eight years in the House for Kokoruda, who said she is no stranger to the state’s fiscal woes and, despite the lengthy budget debate this year, said she wants to stay in the legislature to be a voice for small towns and because she is finally starting to see some positive change.
“What gave me an incentive is this is the first year I’ve been able to vote on a budget. I voted ‘Yes’ on a budget because we actually came together and created a bipartisan budget,” she said, referring to the role Republicans played in a previously Democratic-controlled budget process. “Obviously it wasn’t perfect, but we did have some structural changes…There were things in that budget they gave me hope for the future.”
The state budget finally passed in October 2017 by overwhelming bipartisan margins. Kokoruda said she was pleased to finally see some mandate relief, the implementation of a spending cap, and some relief for seniors as well as a bit of an attitude change. She said because of the narrow margin of Democrats and Republicans there is a better understanding up in Hartford that the parties need to work together—something she said the shoreline delegates have always embraced.
“The arrogance of power is just so wrong for anybody—I don’t care what side it is—and I know people in Madison and Durham want us to work together in Hartford,” she said. “I’m never in town with [State Senator] Ted [Kennedy Jr. (D-12)] where someone doesn’t walk up to me and say, ‘I love seeing you guys work together.’ Do we always vote the same way? No, but when it’s a local issue, we work it out. That’s the way it should be.”
On her committees, Kokoruda said she often reaches across the aisle because issues involving women and children such as health care, education, and jobs, don’t stop at the party line.
Jobs and supporting small businesses are another reason Kokoruda wants to keep her seat. She said she has championed community colleges and tech-related trades and wants to see the state change the way it treats small businesses. Due to regulations and penalties, Kokoruda said too many small businesses see the state as a predator.
“For too long the state of Connecticut has been growing government and not growing business,” she said. “Everybody campaigns on small business, but then we get up there and some of the stuff some people say just amazes me. I just don’t understand the over-regulation of our businesses.”
Another big reason Kokoruda wants to stay is education. Kokoruda said people are starting to talk about accountability in regard to education funding and the Education Cost Sharing formula. How much money a school district gets depends on numerous factors, but Kokoruda said people are finally starting to talk about what those dollars actually do for students.
“All we want is the kids to improve and have the opportunity to improve, and I think we’ve proved it’s not all about money,” she said. “We will put money there if it’s needed and if $10,000 [per student] is the right number, then we’ll put it there, but what are we getting for it? Is there improvement?”
Kokoruda said what happens in Madison schools in terms of the administrators, teachers, and support for students of all abilities is impressive and something she hopes to one day see in all school districts.
“I would like to stay in Hartford long enough to think that the New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport kids have the same opportunities that our kids have,” she said. “It’s really about who is in the front office and if their teachers believe in them and want them to be successful because I see it in Madison every day.”
For Kokoruda, this job is about the people, not the politics. She said her favorite part of this job is getting out and speaking with her constituents about topics ranging from budget ideas to issues with social security checks.
“It could be anything and I don’t always have the answers, but in my job often enough we can go find the answers and I think that is my favorite part,” she said.
When legislators go back in session this February, they will have to tackle the overall budget deficit and funding woes for specific issues like transportation. Conversations will be difficult, but Kokoruda said she has a character trait that will be helpful.
“Hartford needs more people that just say it like it is,” she said.