Candidate Profile: Jack Perry, 16th State Senate District

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Jack Perry, a Southington resident, is running for the state Senate in District 16.

Age: 30

Party affiliation: Democratic Party, Independent Party, Working Families Party

Family: Lindsey Terry, 30, and Son Jack Jr., Born in June.

Occupation: Owner of HQ Dumpsters and Recycling

Previous elected experience: Southington Historical Society board member, Southington Library Planning Committee member, Served on the Apple Harvest Supervisory Committee

Family members in government: No

Campaign website: www.votejackperry.com

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it. Creating a State that is attractive for folks to live in and one that has lots of better paying jobs with benefits. This means we must make it easier and more cost friendly to do business in Connecticut. I intend to use my experience doing business in the state to help guide my votes and legislation that I would introduce. One example to make business easier in the state would be streamlining the permitting process. The slower and more red tape that folks have to go through makes the state less attractive to do business in. We also need to lower the costs that come with starting a business and reward local companies that expand and keep jobs here.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? My opponent has a ten year track record of creating partisan divide. I want to go to Hartford to be a consensus builder. My opponent often uses the economy and business climate in the state as a scapegoat for many of his bad votes. The reality is he doesn't have a track record of creating jobs. After ten years he cannot point to any legislative accomplishments, no job creation, while I can point to numerous accomplishments over the last ten that have greatly helped and improved our community. We need a State Senator who gets results.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? During my 20s I built the business that I started right out of high school to a multi-million dollar company with 40 employees, and growing. My ability to thrive in a cut throat industry has been because of my hard work, and ability to turn challenges that face the waste industry into a successful business model. My strategy to creating jobs locally means we need to look at future industries and attract them to the state as well as make laws in Hartford that promote growth of Connecticut businesses not corporate welfare for multi-national corporations.

Do you believe Connecticut needs reform when it comes to electric utility oversight? What steps, if any should be taken? Yes. Eversource as we know it can no longer be allowed to operate. They have put their profits over the interest of ratepayers for far too long. I support the Take Back Our Grid Act. I also would be a strong supporter of making utilities be accountable for food and medication that has been spoiled during a prolonged power outage. This last storm was a prime example of Eversource's greed. Their response was slow, unprepared, and the ultimate indictment of their unpreparedness and corporate greed is the Eversource executive who sold shares the day before the storm. This all happened on top of rate increases in the middle of a pandemic and economic downturn. We cannot have a power utility whose sole mission is profits over protecting the bottom line of it's ratepayers.

What steps should state government take to bolster economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic for local businesses? Each business and industry needs to take a different approach. We need to see what businesses needs and wants are. We need to listen to them. Stimulating these small businesses creates jobs locally. Keeping people employed must be a priority of our government.

List other issues that define your campaign platform: Job creation and pathways for those who do not wish to get a four-year college degree. I myself did not go to college. The Southington High Vo-Ag program prepared me for starting my business. We need more and better programs that give options to people. Every High School grad in Connecticut should be graduating with options and opportunity. Affordable prescription drugs, health care affordability, defeating COVID-19, protecting the environment, and creating a grid that is green and resilient is a top priority of mine.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? My campaign slogan is "People Before Politics." This means that although I am part of a political party, first and foremost the votes I take are to represent and project the voice and needs of my constituents.