Sen. Kelly Leads Discussion At Annual Valley Legislative Forum

HARTFORD, Conn. – State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) led a discussion at the annual Valley Legislative Forum on Wednesday, April 4. Roughly 100 small-business owners, nonprofit representatives and concerned citizens gathered at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s forum at the PerkinElmer in Shelton to hear from area legislators. Discussion centered on the fiscal stability of Connecticut and the current state budget.

“Each year I look forward to this forum and the insightful questions the engaged business and community leaders ask, I want to encourage them to continue to ask tough questions of their lawmakers and urge them to stay involved in the process,” said Sen. Kelly.

Senator Kelly addressed the crowd’s concerns about many issues, many of which focused on the state’s finances and the current state budget crisis.

“While there are many important issues that concern Connecticut residents, the biggest worry my constituents have revolve around their checkbooks and how much the state is asking them to fork over,” said Sen. Kelly. “Hard-working middle class families continue to struggle and the governor and Democrat lawmakers continue to try and fix this with tax increases. This is not the way to lead our state out of this fiscal mess. The state must learn how to do more with what we already have – tax increases, highway tolls, rail hikes, and continuous mandates– these are not the answer. Prioritizing spending, investing in our infrastructure, making decisions based on long-term fiscal plans is how Connecticut will recover – not continual tax increases.”

State Senator Kevin C. Kelly represents the 21st Senatorial District which includes the towns of Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford. Senator Kelly is the Assistant Senate Republican Majority Leader and serves as the Co-Chairman of both the Aging Committee and the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.