This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/25/2020 12:00 AMOn March 23, Dave Yaccarino declared his candidacy to represent East Haven in the 99th House District as a Democrat. He also intends to seek the cross-endorsement of the Working Families Party.
“I’ll work with the Democratic majority in the assembly and Mayor Carfora to see that East Haven gets every dollar in state aid that it deserves,” said Yaccarino. “The working class residents and retirees in East Haven deserve security and dignity.”
After earning his master’s degree in molecular biology from Quinnipiac University in 2014, Yaccarino chose to buy a home in East Haven, “because the town is affordable and has a strong sense of community. I’ve become very involved in the East Haven Democratic Town Committee, and currently serve as the co-captain for District 4.”
But the state’s investment in the future and his community is a concern for Yaccarino.
“My fiancée Stephanie and I worry about the usual things: paying our mortgage, funding for public schools, the cost of health care, the cost of child care, being able to retire some day,” he said. “It’s a time of extreme inequality and we all know there are incredibly wealthy people in this state. But the burden of balancing the budget always seems to fall on the working class. That needs to change. If elected, I’ll work on policies that help working families in East Haven like capping out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and stopping predatory foreclosure practices.”
Yaccarino is an eagle scout, a 2001 graduate of North Haven High School, and a 2005 graduate of Boston College with a degree in biology. His full-time job is in a lab that develops genetic tests related to cancer treatment. Dave’s father, also named Dave, lives in North Haven, owns a comic book and sports memorabilia store, and is the state representative for the 87th House district. His mother Karen lives in Glastonbury and works for Anthem Blue Cross in provider relations. He has two younger siblings Joe and Carolyn. Joe lives in Middletown and is a musician and paints houses. Carolyn works for Yale New Haven Health system and was recently named the chair of North Haven’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
“The interesting thing is there was not a long history of political involvement in my family,” the candidate said. “But in recent years, my dad, my sister, and myself all felt a call to public service.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave Yaccarino planned to launch his campaign Facebook page with a video announcement on March 24. Visit facebook.com/daveforeasthaven on Tuesday for more information about the campaign.