MONROE, Conn. — In her bid to be Connecticut’s next governor, Erin Stewart touts her credentials as the longtime mayor of New Britain, where she led the city from the brink of bankruptcy, with an inherited $30 million budget deficit in 2013, to having a healthy $34 million rainy day fund and sterling A+ bond rating by the time she left office 12 years later.
The married mother of two is now traveling the state and reaching out to voters at meet and greets, while vying to lock up the Republican Party’s nomination and the right to challenge incumbent Democrat, Gov. Ned Lamont this November.
On Wednesday evening, Stewart made a campaign stop at Testo’s Restaurant on Main Street in Monroe, where she spoke to close to 100 supporters and posed for photos.
“We have been getting incredible turnouts like this at each meet and greet that we’re doing — and we’re all over the state,” she said. “A couple weeks ago in Southington they called the fire marshal on us, because we had so many people. It’s a good problem to have. But what does that say? People are hungry and eager for change. They’re ready to kick Ned Lamont to the curb.”
The GOP field also includes former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey, State Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, Timothy Wilcox of Norwich and Scott Merrill of Norwalk. Former state representative, Harry Arora of Greenwich, is considering entering the primary race.
A number of current and former Monroe town officials attended Stewart’s event, including First Selectman Terry Rooney, who introduced Stewart at the podium. Republican supporters from neighboring Easton, Trumbull and Shelton also came out to show their support.
Rooney recalled hearing Stewart speak at a party convention when she ran for lieutenant governor.
“I was with my wife. She was a delegate as well,” he said. “I said to my wife, ‘wow, that’s a woman who could be governor. I don’t know why she’s running for lieutenant governor. She could be governor.’ I’m very proud that she’s here. I’m very happy that she decided to run. I think that a municipal leader is who we need as governor.”
When it was Stewart’s turn to speak, she talked about her working class roots, having been raised by her father, who was a firefighter before entering politics, and a her mother, who was a Connecticut Department of Transportation employee.
“I never had a silver spoon in my mouth,” she said. “I worked hard for everything that I have. And I took that same mentality with me when I was mayor for 12 years too. Day in and day out, I never took it for granted. I feel very passionately about continuing that service and doing that on a broader scale, because I know that we deserve better.”
After graduating from New Britain High School in 2005, Stewart went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in public administration and a minor in communications from Central Connecticut State University. She recently earned a Master’s degree in public administration, finance, from the University of New Haven.
Stewart and her husband, Domenic, have two young children, Lina, 5, and Nicky, 2.
She recalled serving on the New Britain Board of Education years ago, when she decided to make a run for mayor.
“I ran because I felt there was a serious disconnect between the local leaders and what was happening to the people of the community that I lived — a very similar story to what I feel we see now: a disconnect,” Stewart said.
She said state leaders are not listening to their constituents and don’t understand how rising energy bills and taxes are impacting families’ daily decision making.
“There is a total disconnect from what reality is,” she said. “Our leaders live in two different Connecticuts. There is no doubt about it — and that is what fuels my fire. It fueled my fire then.”
When she was first elected mayor, Stewart was a 26-year-old running for office in a city, in which Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a ratio of about four-to-one, and she went on to win five more times.
Fiscally conservative
“Without getting people all riled up, I like to tell people I was DOGE before DOGE was even a thing,” Stewart joked about her fiscal conservatism.
“But right-sizing government, looking at and analyzing systems, making sure that our tax dollars are being spent most effectively and efficiently while supporting the workforce is very, very important to me,” she said. “And I know that’s not being done on the state level, because you have people who are disconnected, who don’t understand how it works, that aren’t even interested in it. They just kind of point and tell everybody else to do this for them.”
Stewart vowed to be a hands-on governor, who rolls up her sleeves to get “down and dirty” while tackling the issues facing Connecticut and determining what changes need to be made to improve the lives of its residents.
“I think about the future of Connecticut and where it is going and what does that look like?” she said. “I see so many people, friends and relatives, who are all moving out, going to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee or Florida now, with all of Connecticut’s business industry too by the way.”
“My heart sank to my feet last week when Stanley Black and Decker said they would be leaving New Britain,” Stewart said of plans to close the manufacturing plant in Connecticut and move to Tennessee. “New Britain is known as a hardware city and Stanley Black and Decker is the reason why.”
She said she asked the company’s CEO what the state of Connecticut offered to do to keep them here. “He looked at me and said, ‘nothing,’” Stewart said.
Stewart said the same thing happened with GE, Lego and other companies the state has lost.
“These are jobs that people need here,” she said. “Our economy is not on the up and up and people feel that. People feel that squeeze. The lack of opportunity here is depressing. But that’s why I’m here, because I want to give us a renewed sense of hope for this future of our state. We’re gonna do this together. There is no doubt about it.”
‘Time for something different’
Stewart held up her campaign flier and spoke of the “litany of problems” she wants to address, including the need to reduce crime, invest in infrastructure and modernize aging school facilities.
“We can talk about the problems all we want,” she said. “The point is you can’t solve the problems. You can’t change it if you don’t change the representation that you have, if you don’t change the people that you’re sending there.”
Stewart asked for help in the lead up to the Connecticut Republican Convention, to be held at Mohegan Sun from May 15 to 16.
She already qualified for the citizens election program, so rather than asking for money, Stewart encouraged her supporters to spread the word about her campaign, post photos taken with her that night on social media and to email everyone they know.
“Tell a friend to just keep watch for what’s going on, and just bring to their attention who we are, what we’re doing and why we’re going to shock this state when we win,” she said. “That is how you can help.”
Stewart said she is campaigning at the grassroots and is planning a flurry of door-knocking and commenting on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok over the next few months to get her message out.
“We have quite the task ahead of us, but I know that we can do it,” she said. “And every day that goes by, every person that I talk to knows it and feels it: they want something different. I do truly believe that it is time for something different. The state can’t afford to wait. We can’t afford to wait. Our families can’t afford to wait. Our students and our children can’t afford to wait.”
“I am thrilled at this opportunity,” Stewart said of running for Connecticut’s highest office. “I’m fired up. I’m so excited. Everywhere I go and everyone I talk to is feeling the same sense of energy and enthusiasm too.”