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Our candidates are in overdrive as we approach election day. Please help by displaying their signs in your yard. Pick yours up at our headquarters at 23 Benedict Place, Greenwich (entrance in the back). Email us or call 203-485-9741 and we will deliver to you.

Women need legislative heroes.

Now more than ever, women need allies in government.

In recent decades, we have made great strides in educational achievement, narrowing the pay gap and increasing wealth. However, with the criminalization of abortion in many states and the threat of restrictions being placed on contraception, these gains may be reversed. 

Economists have found that abortion access profoundly affects women’s futures by determining in what stages of their lives women become mothers. These timing decisions reverberate throughout their lives, impacting educational attainment, labor force participation, and earnings.

Reproductive rights

are not safe in Connecticut.

While Connecticut has some of the best reproductive freedom laws in the nation, every year they come under assault by Republican legislators. In fact, over the past 7 years, the GOP has introduced over a dozen bills and amendments designed to hinder abortion access. 

Just as we have seen other states impose waiting periods, require an ultrasound prior to obtaining an abortion, or even ban all abortions after 6 weeks, Connecticut is just one Republican-led legislature away from enacting similar restrictions on women's essential healthcare decisions.

Only our Democratic candidates will work to enshrine reproductive freedoms in our constitution, making it much more difficult to restrict or even ban abortions entirely. Only Democrats are committed to trusting women to decide the circumstances of their child-bearing.

Women still struggle to receive equal pay for equal work.

Women’s annual earnings were 82.3% of men’s in 2020, 

according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The gap is even wider for women of color. For every dollar earned by men of all races, Black women earned $0.62 and Hispanic women earned $0.54. For every dollar earned by fathers, mothers earned $0.58. 

Our state has taken steps to close this gap. In 2021, CT passed a law requiring employers to disclose salary ranges for vacant positions and to provide comparable pay for comparable work (PA 21-30).

The high cost of childcare often pushes women out of the workforce. To help, the state passed a law making childcare more affordable (PA 21-171) through tax credits for providers and loan forgiveness for early childhood educators. Our legislators also helped working women by requiring employers to provide a space for breastfeeding mothers to express milk.

Laws such as these not only benefit women, but promote economic growth. Our state faces a severe labor shortage with 113,000 more job openings than available workers. Making it easier for mothers to go back to work helps our economy grow by addressing the worker shortage. Our Democratic candidates are committed to helping women enter the workforce and closing the gender wage gap.

Health insurance costs

are significantly higher for women.

Even with employer-based health insurance coverage, overall, women of reproductive age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket costs than men on health care in part because their insurance does not adequately cover their reproductive health care needs.

Democrats believe this is patently unfair. To address this inequity, Connecticut passed a law (PA 22-90) requiring insurers to expand coverage for life saving screening used to diagnose breast cancer. Our Democratic candidates are committed to ensuring that essential medical services remain affordable.

Domestic violence

is the leading violent crime.

We cannot say we are tough on crime if we are soft on domestic violence. First Selectman Fred Camillo reported that with more than 200 calls to police every year, domestic violence is the most prevalent violent crime in our Town and disproportionally affects women.

Democrats in the state legislature passed two important laws to prevent domestic abuse. The first is Jennifers' Law, which defines coercive control as a form of domestic violence. Coercive control is behavior designed to make a person dependent, and prevent them from leaving the relationship by isolating them from support, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behavior.

The second was an update to our state's Red Flag law, which allows a family member or a physician to ask a judge to temporarily remove a firearm from someone deemed an immediate threat. Abusers with firearms are five times more likely to kill their victims. This kind of intervention is key to saving lives.

Only Democrats will fight for women's rights.

Editorials that caught our eye

Representative Fiorello is misleading us on reproductive rights  Jen Barro writes in Greenwich Free Press, “Ms Fiorello’s empty promise during the debate, “There is not one Republican legislator who wants to make abortion illegal in Connecticut,” leaves us wondering about all the ways legislators can restrict abortion access short of “making it illegal.” In fact, over a dozen bills and amendments have been introduced in CT in the past 7 years that could hinder abortion access.

Himes helping keep us safe Chris Powell writes in Greenwich Time, “Congressman Jim Himes has time and time again shown that he will take action on combating gun violence. ...Rep. Himes has co-sponsored H.R. 748, also known as Ethan’s Law, which mandates that firearms should be safely stored on residential properties, H.R. 3480, known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, which gives grants to states that establish “red flag” laws, and H.R. 2715, also known as Jaime’s Law, which establishes background check requirements for the sale and transfer of ammunition."

The outdated libertarian zealotry of Kimberly Fiorello.

Svetlana Wasserman writes in Greenwich Free Press, 

“Fiorello’s idée fixe on unrestricted individual freedom ignores decades of economic research about market failures, which occur when the unregulated pursuit of self-interest leads to worse outcomes for the community at large...In her un-nuanced world, there is only room for totalitarianism or individual freedoms, and nothing in between. But a market tuned only to maximizing individual self-interest cannot look out for the public good.“

For your calendar

On November 15, the Connecticut League of Conservation voters will be honoring Secretary of the State Denise Merrill for her work on voter protection and expansion of voting rights. To purchase tickets, please click here.

The company we keep: Greenwich elected officials at fundraiser with  Tudor Dixon, Trump-endorsed candidate for governor of Michigan. Dixon is a political commentator who has gained notoriety for trying to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election and for her jokes about political violence.

Stay in touch & get involved!

Volume 1, Number 18     October 20, 2022

Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.

Approved by the Democratic candidates above.