Bob Stefanowski has never shied away from firing people, as his corporate stories make clear. And while he’s campaigning to impeach Gov. Ned Lamont, the Madison Republican rarely has a good word to say about Connecticut’s economy or the state’s business climate.
“I’m horrified by what has happened to small and medium-sized businesses in Connecticut,” Stefanowski said Friday before an audience of 300 at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s annual business forum. “I know I can improve the Connecticut business environment.”
The event at the Hartford Marriott Downtown was a chance for Stefanowski to set himself apart from the always optimistic Lamont when it comes to sailing the state towards prosperity – and for Lamont, who came after his challenger, to defend his record.
One might imagine, then, that Stefanowski would specifically target Lamont’s business contact – David Lehman, commissioner for the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development and the governor’s business czar with responsibility for all agencies.
“I’m telling you, I hear good things about David Lehman. I hope he stays if I win,” Stefanowski told Chris DiPentima, CEO of CBIA, the nationwide business organization, on the forum stage.
Say what? I’m sure it’s a relief for Lehman to have a job in January, even if Stefanowski pulls off a flurry. That’s if the Greenwich resident decides not to return to Wall Street, where he was a partner at Goldman Sachs when Lamont tapped him four years ago.
Stefanowski’s disarming comment shows that he and Lamont are not that far apart in terms of economic policy. They are both moderate businessmen, a challenger who rose through the ranks in corporate finance and a wealthy incumbent who founded a successful cable bundling and installation company at the dawn of the digital age.
Different views, similar ideas
Yes, of course Stefanowski says he wants to cut taxes more — he launched a plan in New Haven a few days ago that he’s set at $2 billion — but both men talk about investing in the same way housing and workforce training, and Stefanowski has not identified any spending cuts except to reiterate claims that he would better manage the state.
Stefanowski talks about reducing the state’s $98 billion in long-term debt, which is exactly what Lamont is doing, with $5.8 billion in additional payments on pensions. That will save taxpayers $500 million a year for the next 25 years – effectively a tax cut.
In short, Stefanowski may be sullen (with a sense of humor), but he’s not the right-wing fanatic the Democrats portray. And Lamont is hardly the socialist-leaning liberal of the GOP description.
They differ in their views on how Connecticut has fared over the past four years; and in the contrast between Stefanowski’s broad, far-reaching pronouncements when it comes to the administration of Connecticut Inc. and Lamont’s understanding of the nuances of every matter while taking the very centrist path that Stefanowski advocates.
As for the state of the state’s economy, Stefanowski points to Connecticut’s low scores in national business climate surveys, largely due to high costs. He railed against inflation and rising prices, which aren’t unique to Connecticut as a result of government spending.
On Friday, he cited a recently released CBIA poll of members showing that just 8 percent of respondents say the state’s business climate is improving, up from 16 percent a year ago.
“89 percent believe it will be more expensive to do business in Connecticut,” Stefanowski said, adding that a CNBC poll gave the state’s economy a 5. “It’s not supposed to be that way… If you had a CEO who got those kinds of results, would you give that person another chance?” Of course you wouldn’t.”
Lamont’s plea for re-election on economic grounds begins with the massive government surpluses reversed from years of deficits he inherited. In job creation, overall growth, attracting new residents, unemployment, manufacturing employment, and housing markets, Connecticut has overtaken or, as I outlined this summer, stayed on par with the nation over the past year or so.
“I kind of like where Connecticut is right now, I’m going to be blunt,” Lamont told DiPentima. “I have to build on that momentum… this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Big Difference: Personal Style
Stefanowski railed against increases in the state budget – alternately citing $4 billion or $6 billion for which nothing can be shown – as bad fiscal discipline that has not improved the state.
The increase over five fiscal years through next June will have totaled $3.8 billion, excluding off-budget spending on federal pandemic assistance. The four increases up to this year have averaged 2.7 percent per year, and this year’s 6.4 percent was largely due to planned increases in pension payments, debt service and transportation infrastructure, and long-delayed pay rises for nonprofit social service providers.
As for the F rating, Lamont said it was based on 2019 numbers, which “was the reason I ran for governor in the first place.”
“The truth is somewhere in the middle,” DiPentima, the CBIA chief, told me at the end of the forum, echoing numerous conversations on and off the stage.
Briefed by reporters about Stefanowski’s comments on government spending, he didn’t give numbers, but improvements in people’s lives. “What does he want? Does he want me to cut day care or childcare? … Am I overspending on state police or on nurses?”
In the end, the biggest differences between them when it comes to business and economics isn’t in business and economics, but in the personal style of a government outsider who speaks broadly versus a governor who’s struggled through those details.
“I have the skills to turn it around,” Stefanowski said. “We have to be more competitive than Massachusetts and New York.” When preparing a state budget, he said, “You have to assume that nothing is sacred, you have to start with a clean sheet of paper.” To the near-duopoly of the state’s hospitals with two dominant chains in Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health, he said, “We need more competition.”
“So, does he want to beat her up? I’m not sure what he means when he says make it more competitive,” Lamont replied. “But I want them to be more competitive, I want them to have more integrated medicine… I think the benchmarking will be really helpful,” he said, citing a new transparent pricing rule.
On spending, Lamont said, “I have to be the decision-making guy. If I cut spending there, what am I not doing? I can tell you that at the state level we are doing a lot more with less where we can.”
are they That is the heart of the debate. Recent polls from Quinnipiac University (17 percentage points) and WTNH/Emerson College (10 points) show that Lamont has a large lead. Stefanowski needs to provide more evidence that Lamont should be fired.
Promising to reinstate the governor’s best business adviser is not the way to go. But trust Stefanowski honesty.
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