This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/12/2018 11:00 PMThe vacuum left when State Senator Art Linares, Jr. (R-33) announced he would not seek re-election was filled last week with the announcements by Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman (D) and State Representative Melissa Ziobron (R-34 East Haddam) that they intend to seek the open seat.
Following his October 2017 marriage to State Representative Caroline Simmons (D-Stamford), Linares, Jr. (R-33) announced he will not seek a fourth term and will instead seek the Republican nomination for state treasurer. He will relocate to Stamford.
The youngest member of the Senate, Linares was the first Republican in 20 years to win the 33rd District, which includes the towns of Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook as well as Lyme, Haddam, East Haddam, Colchester, East Hampton, and Portland. With the State Senate currently evenly split between the parties, the race is being closely watched statewide.
Needleman announced his candidacy on Feb. 5.
“Leading a small town and building a business taught me that the best way to get things done is to put people and their needs ahead of party politics,” Needleman said in his announcement. “I respect taxpayers’ dollars because I know how hard you’ve worked to earn them. That’s why as first selectman, I brought Democrats and Republicans together, found consensus, solved problems, and kept property taxes among the lowest in the state without cutting services. If elected state senator for the 33rd District, I will make a clean break from the decades of bickering and harmful policies that have come from Hartford, and I will get Connecticut working for the towns in our district.”
Needleman, who is in his fourth term as Essex First Selectman and ran for the senate seat in 2016, also has served as Essex selectman, a Zoning Board of Appeals member, and Economic Development Commission member. He founded Tower Laboratories, a manufacturing company that now employs more than 250 people, and serves as a board member on Valley Shore Emergency Communications and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.
Ziobron announced her candidacy via social media on Feb. 6.
Serving her third term as state representative for East Hampton, East Haddam, and part of Colchester, Ziobron is the ranking member on the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee and served in the last session as assistant minority leader. She began her public service career volunteering in the community and previously served as president of Friends of Gillette Castle State Park, mentored students, and was an economic development coordinator and local elected official, according to her biography.
In a message to supporters on Feb. 6, Ziobron announced a “change in course” that she is running for state Senate, rather than for re-election as state representative. She said she could “help more people in our state in service as your state senator.”
“We need a strong voice in the State Senate who: 1) is a proven fighter and has a reputation for putting their constituents first, fighting full-time for their small town communities, 2) can immediately and effectively navigate the difficult legislative landscape, with the proven and dedicated commitment needed to focus on the budget, and 3) fights for fiscally conservative policies and has a record of implementing them, with bipartisan support, at the Capitol,” Ziobron wrote.