Crisci Challenging for 12th District Seat
Republican Paul Crisci is running for election to the 12th District State Senate. Crisci will challenge two-term incumbent Democrat Christine Cohen on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
A Branford resident, this is Crisci’s first foray into the policital arena, and he said that gives him a fresh perspective to the race.
According to Crisci, his focus in Hartford will be listening to all voices and reaching across party lines to accomplish his goals. Those include more fiscal responsibility in State finances and increasing educational opportunities for all, with an emphasis on parental rights.
Crisci’s website states that in his professional life, he is a self-made businessman. After leaving the automotive industry back in 2005, he opened his own business consulting and marketing firm, Park Group Solutions.
According to Crisci, over the past 17 years, his marketing firm has grown from a small four-person mom-and-pop operation, to a full-service marketing, consulting, advertising, and production company with employees in Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Florida. Crisci also cited his previous endeavors as a tradesman and his upbringing by a single mother as factors that provide him with insight into everyday issues faced by constituents, and wants to focus his campaign on “common sense” solutions.
“People have asked me about why I have chosen to run, and it wasn’t an easy decision to do so. I run a marketing and consulting company and we were helping out on a project for political candidate and the campaign manager said to me, ‘You know a lot about politics, you know a lot about this stuff. You should run.’ I said come find me next election, and they did. [86th District State Representative] Vin Candelora had spoken with me about it. But the tipping point for me is that I have a very diverse family. There’s Republicans, Democrats, [and] liberals. I have all these sides and points of view in my family,” said Crisci. “This was during the pandemic, and we were arguing and discussing vigorously about the various [issues], and I finally just said I’m tired of screaming at the TV and it’s time to actually put my money where my mouth is. For me it is about ‘Earn, Learn, and Return.’ That’s what it is for me. I felt like I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t try and give back. So, I decided to do what I thought was right.”
The challenger said his upbringing laid an important foundation for him both personally and professionally and he wants to bring that perspective to the residents of the 12th District.
“I hear so many people talk about the inner-city and what we’re supposed to do, but I think sometimes they do that from an ivory tower,” said Crisci. “My mother was on food stamps. My parents got divorced. I went through a lot of tough things as a kid. I think the problem is that now it’s about identity politics. Being a blue-collar person, being involved with a blue-collar family, knowing what it is to be on food stamps…don’t tell me you can understand unless you’ve walked in their shoes. It’s not a cliché, you need to figure out basic things. Am I going to put food on the table or pay the electric? These are real decisions. My mother did an incredible job as a single mom. I feel like there are a lot of people trying to understand this and they just don’t. You can’t legislate properly if you haven’t walked in people’s shoes before.”
Education and the recent discussions concerning parental rights in education, are other issues that Crisci wants to focus on, according to the candidate.
“When I talk about parents’ rights…I want to be clear, people say to me that I don’t like teachers and make these accusations and that is not the case. I think the world of teachers. I have teachers’ backs a thousand times over,” Crisci said. “But they are being put in an uncomfortable situation because they have to feed their families. They have to make sure they don’t go against the grain, and many teachers have told me to my face that, ‘I’m afraid I’ll lose my pension’, or ‘I’m afraid that they’ll fire me.”
Reproductive rights will be an issue that most state level candidates will have to address during their campaign. According to Crisci, his stance on abortion is personal and more nuanced than most members of his party.
“I’ve said very clearly in my video [posted on his website] that I was involved in something like that when I was younger, and I am a faith-based person, so it was very emotional for me,” said Crisci. “Let me say this, if Republicans somehow got into power and they had the right to overturn any reproductive rights of a woman, I would not vote for it. Because I believe I do not have the right to do that. What I do believe is that we need education for young people on this topic. We want them to know all of the choices available to them. I want Planned Parenthood to be giving them all of their options. But at the end of the day, just because I don’t like or I do like something, it doesn’t mean I have a right to legislate it based on what I feel. I do what’s best for the people. I believe in the sanctity of life and…I believe God has given everyone free will. So, my stance is very, very clear. This, for me, is 100 percent a decision between her, her doctor, and God. The only thing I would legislate or that [I] would request is that we have better education so a woman knows all of her options before making that really tough decision. Never do I believe that I have a right to impose my will when it comes to that decision.”
Crisci said his marketing background and ability to promote issues and subjects will also be a valuable skill set to bring to Hartford that will help the 12 district constituents. Another issue for the challenger is the solving the PFAS contamination that is plaguing several sections of Killingworth, which he stated would be one of his first objectives should he be elected.
Crisci’s campaign website can be found at pcforct.com