Assistant Minority Leader, Connecticut State Senate

Candidate, Connecticut State Governor, 2014

Minority Leader, Connecticut State Senate, 2007-2014

Senator, Connecticut State Senate, 1999-2014

Minority Leader Pro Tempore, Connecticut State Senate, 2007

Minority Whip, Connecticut State Senate, 2000-2002

No caucus information on file.

Law Clerk, Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer

Attorney, Cummings and Lockwood

Former Member, Board of Directors, Center for Women and Families, City of Bridgeport

Member, Board of Directors, Fairfield Theatre Company

Member, Board of Directors, Westport/Weston Family Young Men's Christian Association

Member, Operation Hope

Member, Stewart B. McKinney Foundation

Member, Trinity Church, Southport

Awards:

Legislator of the Year, Bridgeport Regional Business Council, 2007; Environmental Hero, League of Conservation Voters.

Father's Name:

Stewart B. McKinney, deceased.

Father's Occupation:

Congressman

Mother's Name:

Lucie McKinney

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I love my state and I've always been proud to call Connecticut my home.

I'm running for governor because I care about Connecticut's history and its future, and I want my children and yours to be just as proud to call Connecticut their home.

There is a better way to manage state government -- one that doesn't waste, or abuse taxpayer dollars; one that will restore economic prosperity and help reduce unemployment; and one that will protect our quality of life and ensure that our children have even better opportunities to succeed than the generation before them.

By almost every measure, Governor Malloy has taken Connecticut's economy in the wrong direction. After three years of raising taxes, picking winners and losers, and giving away hundreds-of-millions of taxpayer dollars to big corporations already based in Connecticut, the results of Governor Malloy's economic policies speak for themselves: Connecticut is losing. We are the only state in the nation with a shrinking economy, and our unemployment rate remains above the national average.

Governor Malloy has increased income taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, and small business taxes, while at the same time giving away $115 million in taxpayer money to a hedge fund run by a man worth $12.5 billion just so he could move his headquarters from one Connecticut town to another. I'm hard pressed to think of an example that shows a governor more out-of-touch with the critical needs of his state. Imagine, instead, what a struggling small business, or 50 struggling small businesses could have done with that same $115 million.

Better yet, imagine a Connecticut where our taxes, regulatory environment, energy expenses, and health care costs are more competitive with the states that are taking away our businesses, our jobs and our students.

Governor Malloy loves to say his policies are helping people who are hurting and helping the middle class, but the facts just don't bear that out in Connecticut. When Governor Malloy raises the sales tax, he is hurting the middle class. When Governor Malloy taxes gasoline to the point where we pay the highest gas prices in the country -- in turn increasing the price of all other goods, groceries and services -- he is further hurting the middle class. When Governor Malloy increases taxes on small businesses, forcing them to layoff entry-level workers, he is hurting the middle class. That's his record and it all adds up to lost jobs, rising unemployment and Connecticut being the only state in the nation whose economy shrunk in 2012.

Many of our students -- among the best and brightest in the world -- can't find jobs here. And many of those who do find jobs, soon learn that they cannot afford to live here. Families who have lived in Connecticut for generations are moving away, not because they want to, but because they have to. That's Dan Malloy's Connecticut.

Governor Malloy has refused all efforts to rein in the size and cost of state government, as evidenced by the record tax increase he imposed in his first two years, and the nearly 10% spending increase he has proposed for the next two years.

Furthermore, he has failed to adequately address the structural problems leading to Connecticut's growing long-term liabilities, including state pension and health care benefits, which are the highest per capita in the country.

Connecticut also has the highest per capita debt in the nation, and yet Governor Malloy continues to borrow to pay for ongoing operating expenses and unnecessary government trophies like the $600 million Hartford-to-New Britain Busway. This fiscal mismanagement is the chief reason why the bond rating agencies have downgraded Connecticut bonds.

By failing to address the structural problems with state government and continuing to spend and borrow beyond taxpayers' means, Governor Malloy has threatened our economic security and the economic security of future generations.

In the end, Governor Malloy's vision of shared sacrifice never materialized. Instead, hardworking taxpayers were burdened with the largest tax hike in state history, promised savings from state employee unions were never achieved, government spending increased, the state's bond ratings were downgraded, our economy shrunk, and unemployment grew.

Dan Malloy's state government is broken.

I want to fix it.

As governor, I will work to reduce state spending, roll back taxes, create jobs, and make living and working in Connecticut more affordable.

I will work to protect Connecticut's economic future by limiting borrowing and paying-down state debt.

I will aggressively combat waste, fraud, and abuse throughout state government.

I will repeal anti-business, anti-growth policies, like Governor Malloy's 20% corporate-tax surcharge, to improve our state's business climate and help us capitalize on one of Connecticut's greatest strengths -- our highly skilled and educated workforce.

I'm excited about this campaign and grateful for all the friends, family and supporters who have encouraged me to run. I'm proud of my record of fiscal responsibility and independent leadership, and for standing up for government transparency. These principles have guided me as a state senator for the past 15 years and will continue to guide me throughout my campaign for governor.