Justin Paglino Is Running For Congress 2020 In Connecticut

This Patch article is sponsored by Dr. Justin Paglino.

Dr. Justin Paglino is running for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District of Connecticut. Learn more about Paglino's campaign, career and priorities in this exclusive Patch one-on-one:

Patch: What attracted you to politics, and how did you get started?

Paglino: I feel an innate responsibility to try to change the world for the better, and I’ve always felt the bigger the problem to be solved, the better. For over 22 years, I pursued a medical research career because I wanted to work to find cures for cancer. I earned an M.D., a Ph.D. and ultimately a multi-year research grant from the National Cancer Institute to pursue my ideas. I have now turned my efforts toward other enormous problems that we are facing: inadequate health care access, inadequate response to climate change, inadequate response to growing and glaring wealth inequality, overzealous support for the Pentagon and its costly wars of choice. These are all problems that require smart policy responses. I feel my science background has trained me well to consider complex questions objectively and identify solutions that are best supported by evidence.

Patch: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your campaign.

Paglino: I’m 47, and I am fortunate to have a wonderful wife and two children. I’ve never run for office before, and before this year I never intended to. I was inspired to do this in large part by Bernie Sanders. He made it clear to me that you don’t have to be a professionally groomed and packaged candidate to change the world as a politician — all you have to do is to speak up for your values clearly and honestly, and be willing to endure the stresses of running for office. That’s all it took for Bernie to inspire and change America. I figured if he can do it, I can, too.

Patch: How long have you lived in Connecticut?

Paglino: I’m originally from Shelton. My father worked as an aeronautical engineer at Sikorsky Aircraft. After high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and college and medical school in Rhode Island, my wife (then fiancee) and I moved to Old Saybrook, Connecticut, in 2001. We moved to Guilford two years later (in 2003) so that I could be closer to my research lab in New Haven. We feel very fortunate to live in this area with wonderful schools, culture, people and nature.

Patch: Tell us about your career?

Paglino: My medical research from 2003 to 2018 focused on oncolytic viruses — i.e., viruses that infect cancerous cells. I wrote a doctoral thesis and earned my Ph.D. in 2008. I then worked 10 years as an associate research scientist and won a five-year grant from the NCI (National Cancer Institute) to fund my research ideas relating to oncolytic viruses and tumor immunity. I published several research papers in the Journal of Virology and other peer-reviewed journals.

Patch: What are some ways you give back to the community?

Paglino: I enjoyed becoming a den leader in my son’s Cub Scout Pack (472). After a couple years, I became Cubmaster for the entire pack. I helped organize food drives for the Guilford Food Bank, toy drives for Yale Children’s Hospital and other enrichment activities for all the kids in the pack: camping, trips to the Science Museum and Old Sturbridge Village, etc. It was a gratifying experience.

Patch: If you were to be elected, what would some of your top priorities/policies/changes be?

Paglino: First and foremost, I support "Medicare for All" single-payer universal free health insurance. Many groups have analyzed the cost of this proposal, and 20 of 22 concluded it will save money — up to $450 billion annually. This is relief for individuals, families, municipalities, states and private employers burdened by the cost of health insurance. That’s a $450 billion stimulus to the economy. At the same time, we extend free health coverage to all Americans. The lower cost would most fairly be distributed among all of us via our progressive income tax — i.e., a sliding scale. For the great majority of us, this will mean less cost and more care.

I also want to redirect a large portion of the grotesquely bloated Pentagon budget toward the needs of Americans suffering under an unaddressed wealth inequality crisis; the bottom half of Americans own only 1.5 percent of all the wealth, and that’s not a typo. HR1003 would free $350 billion annually from the $740 billion war budget. We could end homelessness for only $20 billion, hunger in America for only $25 billion, make public universities tuition free for $80 billion, and end poverty in America for $175 billion — and we’d still have $50 billion left to subsidize child care and make it affordable.

As a scientist, I’ve become rather familiar with the science of climate change, and one thing is clear — we have been foolhardy for not taking this threat seriously. The Paris Agreement was a nonbinding agreement, nothing more than a promise to try, and we can’t even commit to that. Most Americans want a carbon tax. But not a majority of Congress does. This discrepancy is found in many issues where, coincidentally, the interests of large industries conflict with the preferred policy of the majority of people — Congress again and again sides with industry. The result is shortsighted, bad policy that enriches a few at the expense of everyone else. A carbon tax should be a litmus test for every voter. If you give your vote to a politician who doesn’t support this, don’t be surprised when the climate keeps getting more and more uninhabitable.

I understand the reason many people are afraid to vote their values — it’s the spoiler effect that leads people to vote for the lesser evil instead of voting for a candidate they consider the best of all. Thus, we vote for the lesser evil, and we get a partly evil government. The spoiler effect, however, is easily remedied. The solution is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). RCV simply adds more columns to the ballot, so that instead of only voting for one person per office, you can rank your choices — i.e., you can indicate your second- and third-choice candidates if you choose. They have it in Maine. This year, voters in Maine can rank whomever they like best first, and rank their second-choice vote second. If their first-choice candidate comes in last, their vote now goes to their second-choice candidate. No more spoiler effect.

Patch: What distinguishes you from other candidates?

Paglino: I am the only candidate among the three of us in this race who supports Medicare for All (HR1384), favored by two-thirds of Americans. I am the only candidate in this race who supports cutting the Pentagon budget, favored by 80 percent of Americans. I am the only candidate in this race who supports a carbon tax and dividend (return the revenue to all taxpayers), favored by two-thirds of Americans. I am the only candidate in this race who supports a universal basic income, an idea favored by most voters and half of all Americans.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced during this election?

Paglino: Talking to strangers about politics for me is a pleasure. I could do that all day. Gathering petition signatures during the hot month of July was physically trying, but not so bad really. I’ve never been in a televised congressional debate, or anything like it, so I’m a bit nervous about that. However, I remain cautiously optimistic. As long as I can articulate my central messages clearly, I will consider it a success.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part about running in this election?

Paglino: When people you have never met say they voted for you, or when they give you money, it is humbling and gratifying at the same time. It tells me I am doing something worthwhile, because I am giving people who feel the same as I do the chance to express what they want at the ballot box. At the same time, it makes me feel indebted to be sure. If I were elected, I would have to do my best to merit the votes and money I have been given. I am only human, but I would do my best to fight for the policies in my platform, which many people need desperately.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your campaign?

Paglino: I have spent a great deal of time articulating my thoughts on national policy on my website and my Facebook page. Also I invite any reader to reach out to me directly at info@justin4all.org.

Paid for by justin4all: the Committee to Elect Justin Paglino for US Congress.