This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
01/10/2022 11:00 PMJanuary 10, 2022: Today, State Senator Christine Cohen has officially announced her campaign for re-election to represent the 12th District. Senator Cohen is a small business owner, a champion for the environment, a mother of three and a fierce advocate for her constituents.
Now entering her fourth legislative session as Senate Chair of the Environment Committee, Senator Cohen has led the negotiation and passage of many bills to ensure a greener Connecticut for generations to come. In her freshman year, she led passage of a plastic bag ban, making Connecticut a leader in the fight against single-use plastics. In 2021, Christine passed the first update to our bottle and can recycling system since the 1970s, providing much needed upgrades to our recycling infrastructure. She has led the charge on banning PFAS "forever chemicals" from firefighting foam and food packaging and continues to create and build upon coastal resiliency mechanisms for municipalities to prepare for sea level rise. Sen. Cohen also led the passage of bills that allow for the siting of anaerobic digesters on farms - which turn animal waste and food scraps into a usable biogas – and one that redefines "farmland" under state law to include underwater farmlands used for aquaculture, reducing local property tax bills for farmers. If elected to another term, Christine intends to focus on ensuring the state meets its goals in reducing carbon emission, continuing to ensure coastal resiliency measures, addressing environmental justice and creating waste mitigation strategies.
This year, Senator Cohen was honored by the Connecticut Farm Bureau, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Citizens Campaign for the Environment with their 2021 Legislator of the Year awards.
As a member of the Finance Committee and Vice-Chair of the Commerce Committee, Senator Cohen is laser focused on supporting small businesses, easing the financial burden on working families and ensuring we are establishing fiscal health and paying down our state's long-term debt. During her first two terms, Christine has been a strong proponent of numerous health care measures that reduce health insurance costs for small business owners and middle-class families. Christine has also been a fierce advocate for common sense gun laws like Ethan's Law which closes a loophole in firearm storage provisions, banning untraceable ghost guns and ensuring safe storage of guns in motor vehicles.
"As we continue to navigate COVID-19, it is critical that we remain steadfast in addressing the long standing issues that have been exacerbated by this pandemic," said Senator Cohen. "From ensuring affordable access to health care, meeting the moment in the climate crisis, providing relief for middle-class families, supporting our small businesses and investing in our students, there is much work to be done. I'm asking residents of the 12th district to send me back to Hartford to continue to fight for them. I love this job and I am incredibly eager to continue representing our unique section of Connecticut."
"I can't speak highly enough in support of Christine Cohen's candidacy for State Senate! In the most unusual of times Senator Cohen is a leader who listens and acts in the best interest of her constituents," said Dr. Jonathan Stein of Madison, Managing Partner of Guilford Pediatrics, Medical Director for Provider Outreach of New Haven Community Medical Group. "She is as measured as she is dedicated, demonstrating time and time again in these most divisive and difficult times she is a voice of reason. As a small business owner and medical administrator who lives and works in her district I am extremely appreciative of her efforts and pleased beyond measure that she has announced her candidacy. We need to re-elect Senator Christine Cohen!"
"Christine is a strong partner in government, as our State Senator representing Branford," said Tracy Everson, Branford RTM Minority Leader. "She is easily accessible, willingly listens and provides information and support that we all have come to rely on. She is a true public servant."
"Christine epitomizes all that Guilford could want in a State Senator," said Matt Hoey, First Selectman of Guilford. "As a shoreline community, her passion for protecting the environment is closely aligned with our resident's concerns. Her reputation for responding to and working through constituent issues is well known. Whenever I reach out to her on behalf of a resident, I am sure that they will get the attention they deserve. In my role as First Selectman, I have relied on Christine to pave the way to access various state department leaders as issues arise and she has been an advocate for protecting and increasing state funding for Guilford. We need Christine to continue the great work she does on behalf of our community."
Due to redistricting completed after the 2020 census, the 12th state Senate District will look a little different this year. The district boundaries continue to encompass Guilford, Madison, Branford, North Branford, Killingworth and part of Durham, with the addition of portions of East Haven and Middlefield.