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04/19/2018 12:00 AMAndy Gottlieb, a 24-year-old progressive Democrat from Guilford, announced today his candidacy for the open 12th District Senate seat.
“This country and this state are in crisis,” said Gottlieb. “Now more than ever, we need a Democratic Party that lives up to its values and delivers for the working and middle class in Connecticut.”
Gottlieb is a proud graduate of the Guilford public schools, and was his high school class’ co-valedictorian. He graduated from Wesleyan University, and received his master’s in international relations and economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He interned for Senator Chris Murphy in Washington, and was a Robert Schuman Trainee at the European Parliament in Brussels, where he was posted to the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. He currently studies electoral reform under former Senator Russ Feingold at the Yale Policy Lab.
Locally, Gottlieb is a member of the Guilford Democratic Town Committee, Shoreline Indivisible’s Connecticut Politics Action Team and the Guilford Land Conservation Trust’s Westwoods Trails Committee.
“My biggest priority as state senator will be to fight back against the short-sighted austerity budgets that have been enacted in recent years. Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the nation and has nearly unparalleled income inequality. Instead of cutting services for the most vulnerable, we should ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, including closing the carried interest tax loophole.”
Other priorities will include safeguarding and expanding the right to vote, protecting the environment, equitable education funding, criminal justice reform and improving public transit.
“The scheduled cuts to Shore Line East are outrageous. Should they go into effect this July, I will not rest until service is restored. Reducing access to public transportation is exactly the wrong direction for the state to go in.”
Gottlieb sees state government as a potent means to push back against the Trump Administration.
“Given the current occupant of the White House, I think we in Connecticut need to push even harder to combat racial injustice,” said Gottlieb. “There are many steps we can take in the General Assembly, including more police accountability and civilian oversight, and reforming our drug laws that disproportionately punish black offenders. We must also ensure that children in Bridgeport can receive just as good an education as children in Branford.”
“Andy is a smart, thoughtful leader who’s going to take the General Assembly by storm,” said Alex Taubes, the 2014 Democratic nominee for state representative in Madison and Durham. “He’s built for this.”