Imperative for Continued Office of the Arts Leadership

There has been some confusion and misinformation this week about the recently announced job posting for an Arts and Culture Administrator at the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). The Connecticut Arts Alliance, a non-profit advocacy organization led by artists, educators, and arts executives from all over our state, would like to clarify some details about this position and its importance to the creative sector in our state.

Up until a year ago, the person in this position had been appointed by the Governor, which has historically created inconsistencies with each selection or change of administration and politicization of the position. DECD corrected this problem last year by classifying (making permanent) the position with a clear job description and specific qualifications to oversee the Office of the Arts and State Historic Preservation Office. Kristina Newman-Scott, originally appointed by Governor Malloy in 2015 and often referred to as the Director of Culture, was hired for this permanent position.

DECD is simply rehiring for this job, which has been vacant since early summer when Newman-Scott left the position, as they would for any other vacancy in the department. This is not a political appointment and the job has specific criteria, which is why they are conducting a national search to secure the very best applicants to serve our state.

The Connecticut Arts Alliance has worked with many different leaders at DECD’s Office of the Arts over the last 15 years. During that time, the state arts agency has been periodically stalled from realizing its full potential for both the state and for the arts sector because of the frequent changes in leadership and inconsistent knowledge of and experience in the cultural sector. We need to maintain the status of this leadership position to ensure that our relationships with the federal government and many other state and local partners continue unimpeded, as well as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency.

This position is dedicated to the long term, rather than the duration of a political appointment. At long last, Connecticut can have consistent cultural leadership with the required expertise to carry forward strategic initiatives and reinforce the agency’s very capable team. With this position in place, we now suffer fewer unnecessary delays in the progress and impact that the Office of the Arts could have for the state. Having this leadership position filled as a permanent, classified post will stop the practice of unintentional derailment of the agency by political appointees who do not have the experience or expertise or the commitment to the long-term.

For those who wonder—why does this position exist at all? If you are an artist, involved with an arts or cultural organization, or enjoy experiencing creative events in your community, then you know the importance of the Director of Culture to oversee our industry in state government and harness the power of the arts to educate the next generation, build vibrant communities, and attract and retain employers and residents.

If you are not a believer, then consider first that the nonprofits arts and cultural sector in Connecticut is an $800 million industry that supports over 23,000 jobs statewide. Next, this position for the Office of the Arts, together with those of Historic Preservation and the four museums, manages millions in federal and state funding and has critical oversight and responsibility for regulatory functions. This position leverages nearly $1 million in matching grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for statewide grantmaking and programs, which are guided by a formal strategic plan. Overall, strong leadership at the Office of the Arts helps to catalyze investment from the business and donor community, promote collaboration with other areas of government, particularly education and tourism, and ensure accountability and efficiency.

With the facts about and importance of this position now clear, the Connecticut Arts Alliance hopes that DECD will secure the best candidate possible as soon as possible for our next Director of Culture. It is important to maintain consistency in a sector that is one of Connecticut’s strengths and a solution to—not part of—Connecticut’s economic problems. Let’s not re-break what has already been fixed.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 18, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Advocacy

Tagged Connecticut, Office of the Arts

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 18, 2018

https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/10/18/imperative-for-continued-coa-leadership/

Candidates Agree that Arts are a Solution for Our Cities

Over the past months, we’ve collected responses to six questions about arts and culture from each of the gubernatorial candidates.

In the next weeks, we’re going to focus on the candidates’ responses to specific questions. This week, we spotlight the candidates’ solutions for creating vibrant cities that will attract and retain talent.

CTV: As governor, how would you recognize the importance of arts and culture in economic development and the revitalization of our cities?

LAMONT: The creative economy is booming around the nation. Recognizing the importance of the arts to economic development will be an important element of my administration. Specifically, I will be a partner to our urban and rural communities in creating alternative funding streams for the arts. I would seek to replicate, in our Connecticut context, the example of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams. Once a thriving electronics manufacturer, the plant closure in the 1980s decimated the community. Today, the once-vacant 16-acre factory not only hosts massive art installations, but also supports local small businesses and industry by renting out space and hosting events. It’s this kind of diverse economic activity that has the potential to revitalize our own communities and build livable cities, and the arts will be a critical piece of my revitalization and economic development strategy.

STEFANOWSKI: As governor, I would like to visit towns and learn first hand how they successfully incorporated art and culture into their economic development plans and apply it statewide. The state needs to help market all the talent and diversity not only to increase tourism, but to make CT attractive for people to move into, and high tech jobs to invest in.

GRIEBEL: I reference my response to the prior question to illustrate my understanding, based on the past 25 years, of the importance of arts and culture to economic development, job retention and growth, and revitalizing our cities. I also note the key principle of the Griebel-Frank Administration that each of our fiscal and public policy decisions will be evaluated through the prism of whether the decision will enhance Connecticut’s ability to secure 200,000 net new private sector jobs by 2028.

CTV: How do you see the role of arts and culture in Connecticut’s effort to attract and retain a talented workforce?

LAMONT: After GE left Connecticut I lead a group that was tasked with asking and answering the question: why? GE talked about our crumbling infrastructure, but they also talked about the difficulty in attracting young talent to their suburban campus. They said they could have better attracted these young people by having more of a presence in our urban communities because many young people want to live in vibrant cities. Part of what makes for a vibrant, livable city is a thriving arts community. Thriving arts that contribute to vibrant cities are key to attracting and keeping a talented young workforce, and thus are key to attracting and keeping all kinds of businesses and industries to Connecticut.

STEFANOWSKI: I believe today’s workforce is more diversified and interested in the arts and culture and chose to live in communities and states that can offer them those choices. Therefore the more art and culture that is generated in our state, the better prepared we are to attract such talented workforce.

GRIEBEL: It goes without saying that arts and culture organizations generate excitement and creative energy, the keys to vibrant cities which in turn are critical to retaining and attracting a talented workforce. Our Administration will work with the Mayors of our major urban centers and with the leaders of our arts and culture organizations to determine the most comprehensive and coordinated approach to using the latter to strengthen the former.

Create the Vote CT is a nonpartisan public education campaign to raise awareness and support for the arts among voters and candidates running for public office.

Click to read the complete responses from Ned Lamont, Oz Griebel, and Bob Stefanowski. Lamont has also published an additional policy statement on Investing in Arts and Culture. Griebel has published a Policy Plan that includes statements on Arts, Culture and Tourism.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 12, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Create the Vote CT

Tagged Bob Stefanowski, Connecticut, elections, Ned Lamont, Oz Griebel

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 12, 2018

https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/10/12/candidates-agree-on-cities/

State Arts Alliances Launch “Create the Vote”

In an election-year effort to draw attention to the importance of arts and culture to the state’s economy and welfare, the Connecticut Arts Alliance (CAA) and Connecticut Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE) have announced the launch of a campaign to “Create the Vote” in this year’s gubernatorial and other elections. All voters are encouraged to join the effort by signing up for the Create The Vote CT email list, talking to the candidates about arts and culture, and considering candidates’ platforms when they vote.

Elections are a time when candidates and voters debate the strengths and challenges of their communities. While arts and culture play a significant role in state and local economies, educational systems, and in the vibrancy of neighborhoods and downtowns, candidates often do not include arts and culture as part of their platforms or vision. Seeing the need to make the arts part of the discussion, CAA and CAAE have launched Create the Vote CT to raise awareness and support for the value of arts and culture. The project is modeled on a program first organized by MASSCreative in Massachusetts in 2013, which has grown each year since and has influenced both statewide and local elections in over forty cities throughout that state.

Create the Vote CT is a nonpartisan public education campaign led by arts organizations and regional arts councils throughout the state. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the ways that arts and creative expression improve schools, strengthen local business districts, and build vibrant neighborhoods in which people want to live, visit, work, and play.

During the Create the Vote CT campaign, CAA and CAAE will share with voters the responses candidates give to a questionnaire about arts and culture. Leaders of the Alliance organizations will also meet with candidates, and will host a candidate forum which will be open to the public.

“Expanding the political conversations this election season to include arts and culture is part of our effort,” explained Amy Wynn, President of CAA (and Executive Director of the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council). “Expanding who participates in that conversation is equally important. As working artists, arts leaders, and arts supporters, we are not sitting this election out. Create the Vote is going to help us all dive in.”

“As an organization representing arts educators,” said CAAE Chief Operating Office Dr. Jeffrey Spector, “we are especially interested in governmental and community support for arts education, and ways that we can create teaching and learning environments in which arts educators are a recognized, respected, widely sought-after, and wisely used resource in every school building.”

All interested voters and arts supporters can follow the Create The Vote CT campaign on this site and are urged to get involved by signing up for the Create The Vote CT email list, following the Connecticut Arts Alliance on Facebook (Facebook.com/ctartsalliance) and Twitter (twitter.com/CT_ArtsAlliance), and helping to promote the campaign with the hashtag #CreateTheVoteCT.

Click here to learn more about Create the Vote CT, to sign up for email updates, or to become an organizational co-sponsor.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on May 14, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Create the Vote CT

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on May 14, 2018

https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/05/14/state-arts-alliances-launch-create-the-vote/

CREATE THE VOTE CT

This is a gubernatorial election year in Connecticut, and elections are a great time to talk about the strengths and challenges our state faces and the vision for our community. While candidates spend lots of time talking about jobs, the economy, and education, they rarely talk about arts and culture as part of their vision. Seeing the need to make arts and creativity part of the discussion, Connecticut Arts Alliance (CAA) and the Connecticut Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE) are launching Create the Vote CT.

Create the Vote CT is a nonpartisan public education campaign to raise awareness and support for the arts among voters and candidates running for public office.

Create the Vote logosThe campaign was established by arts, cultural, and creative institutions and leaders. Organizations, businesses, and individuals are welcome to join the effort to raise arts and culture in the conversation around elections.

Click here to learn more about Create the Vote CT, to sign up for email updates, or to become an organizational co-sponsor.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on April 24, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Create the Vote CT

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on April 24, 2018

https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/04/24/create-the-vote-ct/

Help #SAVEtheNEA

The Board and Staff of Connecticut Arts Alliance have written to the State’s Federal legislators and are reaching out to all arts supporters to help save and encourage funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.

On February 12, 2018, President Trump released his FY 2019 budget request. The President’s proposal includes the termination of our nation’s cultural grant-making agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Last July, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a funding level of $145 million for the NEA, which represented a $5 million cut. In November, the Senate set the NEA’s funding level at $150 million for FY18, which is level with its current budget (and only 0.004% of the Federal budget). As the funding process moves forward, we encourage our legislators to support no less than a funding level of $150 million for the NEA for FY18. We also ask them to support funding in the amount of $155 million for FY19 and to reject the President’s request to terminate the NEA.

The NEA is the single largest national funder of nonprofit arts in America. For more than 50 years, the NEA has expanded access to the arts for all Americans, awarding grants throughout all 50 states and U.S. Territories. NEA grants help leverage more than a 9 to 1 match in private charitable gifts and other state and local public funding. The NEA also has an exemplary partnership with the states, with 40 percent of program funds distributed through state arts agencies. In 2017, fourteen arts organizations in Connecticut directly received NEA funding, hundreds more indirectly benefitted from an NEA grant to the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and millions of our State’s citizens and out-of-state tourists have enjoyed NEA-funded programming.

With only a $150 million current annual budget, the NEA investments in the arts helps contribute to a $730 billion economic arts and culture economic industry, including 4.2 percent of the annual GDP and supporting 4.8 million jobs that yields a $26 billion trade surplus for the country. In Connecticut, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $797.3 million in annual economic activity in the state, supporting over 23,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $72.3 million in local and state government revenues.

We ask all supporters of the arts to contact their legislators to request their assurance that this work continues by supporting no less than $150 million for the NEA in the FY18 budget and $155 million in FY19.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on February 28, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Advocacy, NEA

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on February 28, 2018

https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/02/28/help-savethenea/

Arts and the State Budget

Arts Matter With a state budget still not passed in Connecticut, arts organizations—along with all other businesses and economic sectors—face uncertain financial futures. A survey conducted among nonprofit arts organizations and arts providers in September indicated that the delay in passing a state budget had already affected over 58% of respondents, primarily in requiring programming cuts. Other negative effects were payroll cuts, hiring freezes, reduction in operating hours, nonpayment of accounts payable, lack of booking arts education programs and performances through schools, and massive efforts to replace state dollars with private funding. Over 66% of respondents believed that further delay in passing a budget would cause additional hardships, with the most extreme fear being a forced closure.

As we continue to wait for a state budget, it is important to stress the economic necessity of arts funding—which represents only 0.02% of that budget—to our legislators. The following two messages must be our priority.

In order for Connecticut not to completely disqualify itself from receiving federal NEA matching funds, the state budget MUST have at least $1 million in designated arts funds sourced through the General Fund, and not through a fund that is controlled only by revenues generated by the hotel tax, as is currently proposed. Current budget proposals will disqualify Connecticut from receiving matching NEA funding.
In order to maintain, an already bare bones nonprofit cultural sector that has proven to be a sound and dependable return on investment, the arts need to receive at least $5 million in additional funding from the newly proposed Marketing, Culture and Tourism Account. That is what will allow the arts sector to continue to generate state and local revenues and make our state a great place to live, work, and play.

Connecticut’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $797.25 million in annual economic activity in the state of Connecticut, supporting over 23,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $72.27 million in local and state government revenues, according to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts.

Please keep these facts in mind and, arts organizations and supporters, please continue to share them with your legislators and stress the importance of keeping the arts alive in our great state!

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 11, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in Advocacy, CT state budget, NEA

Tagged arts funding, Connecticut

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 11, 2017

https://ctartsalliance.org/2017/10/11/arts-and-the-state-budget/

Connecticut Arts Generate $797.3 Million in Economic Activity

AEP5-graphic_title As Connecticut’s leaders debated the fate of the state’s budget, the Connecticut Arts Alliance drew attention to recently released economic impact data. According to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study, conducted by Americans for the Arts, Connecticut’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $797.3 million in annual economic activity in the state, supporting over 23,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $72.3 million in local and state government revenues. The most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.

Results show that nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Connecticut spent over $515 million during 2015. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services, and acquire assets within their community. Those dollars, in turn, generated nearly $525 million in household income for local residents and $72.3 million in local and state government revenues.

“Arts and culture is an economic engine that clearly provides ‘food on the table’ for many who work in the sector and those who work in the many industries that are supported by the sector,” stated Amy Wynn, president of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, the state-wide arts advocacy organization for Connecticut. “The data proves that our sector provides a solid return on investment as far as state arts funding, resulting in state and local revenues that are so important to Connecticut now and in the future. The arts sector is an accessible and cost-effective asset that connects, collaborates and impacts other sectors such as healthcare, public safety, education, social services, innovation in business, manufacturing and science, and much more,” she added.

“The arts are a fundamental component of a thriving economy. From a numbers perspective the arts generate jobs, cultural tourism, and economic impact. Less quantifiable but equally as valuable: art helps to create community identity and vibrancy, and is critical to attracting and retaining an innovative workforce,” said Kristina Newman-Scott, Director of Culture of Connecticut Office of the Arts, Department of Economic and Community Development. “I believe we have an enormous responsibility to the creators and consumers in the state to protect the legacy of the arts in Connecticut and help foster growth in the creative economy,” she added.

Arts Industry Boon for Local Businesses

In addition to spending by organizations, the nonprofit arts and culture industry nationally leverages $102.5 billion in event-related spending by local and out-of-state audiences. As a result of attending a cultural event, attendees often eat dinner in local restaurants, pay for parking, buy gifts and souvenirs, and pay a babysitter. What’s more, attendees from out-of-town often stay overnight in a local hotel. Nationally, event attendees spend an average of $31.47 on event-related expenses, and that does not include the price of a ticket. In Connecticut, the figure is $27.70 per event attendee, with residents spending $23.78 on average and visitors spending 53% more than residents – $49.78 per event attendee. In Connecticut, 69% of visitors come for arts and cultural offerings.

Economic Impact One-Page Summaries

State of Connecticut: PDF
Middlesex County: PDF
Southeastern Connecticut: PDF
Fairfield County: PDF
Northwest Connecticut Region: PDF
Greater New Haven County: PDF

The National Picture

Nationwide, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 reveals that the nonprofit arts industry produces $166.3 billion in economic activity
in 2015, resulting in $27.5 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. In addition, it supports 4.6 million full-time equivalent jobs and generates $96.07 billion in household income.
“This study demonstrates that the arts are an economic and employment powerhouse both locally and across the nation,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “A vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive and helps local communities become stronger and healthier places to live. Leaders who care about community and economic vitality can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business.”
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study was conducted by Americans for the Arts and supported by The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. Americans for the Arts’ local, regional, and statewide project partners contributed both time and financial support to the study. Financial information from organizations was collected in partnership with DataArts™, using a new online survey interface. For a full list of the communities who participated in the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5Partners.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on September 15, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in Advocacy, CT state budget

Tagged Americans for the Arts, arts funding, Connecticut, Creative Industries

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on September 15, 2017

https://ctartsalliance.org/2017/09/15/connecticut-arts-generate-797-3-million-in-economic-activity/

CT Arts Alliance Appoints New Administrator

The Board of Directors of the Connecticut Arts Alliance (CAA) is pleased to announce that Darren Farrington has been appointed the first Administrator of the advocacy organization and has begun in the position this summer.

“I’m thrilled to have been selected as the first administrator for the CAA, and I’m prepared to take on the challenge of increasing the visibility, the efforts, and the impact of this organization in this new chapter of its history. It’s exciting to me too that this position combines my passion and experience in the arts with the advocacy skills I learned and used as an attorney.”

Farrington is a theater producer, director, and consultant who has worked in professional, community, and youth theaters for over two decades. Among the theaters and organizations that he has worked with are Manhattan Theatre Club, the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, the Warner Theatre in Torrington, and several small companies in New York City. Currently, he is Executive and Artistic Director of New Britain Youth Theater, and he will continue in that position while also with the CAA. As an arts management consultant, Farrington has worked with several Connecticut nonprofits independently and as an advisor for the Peer Advisor Network of the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

Farrington earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University School of the Arts in Theater Management and Production. He is also a non-practicing attorney with a degree from Fordham University School of Law, and his past practice included entertainment law, commercial litigation, and appeals. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where his activities included serving as president of an extracurricular theater group and as mentor for bilingual inner-city children. Darren is a native of Litchfield County, where he again resides with his wife and daughter.

The CAA was founded in 2005 as an advocacy organization to ensure that the arts remain central to life in Connecticut. The organization strives to promote and underscore the value of all achievements of the arts industry and all of the ways in which the arts improve daily life for residents of the State. Among its most visible programs are assisting with workshops for the annual Connecticut Arts Day at the Capitol organized by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and providing advocacy guidance and resources in concert with the Office of the Arts and regional arts service organizations. The Administrator will work with the CAA Board of Directors to foster public education and awareness of the arts, to increase funding for the arts, and to influence public funding decisions and actions that affect the arts.

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by Connecticut Arts Alliance on June 9, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in Administration

Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on June 9, 2017

https://ctartsalliance.org/2017/06/09/ct-arts-alliance-appoints-new-administrator/

48-Hour Advocacy Push to Save the State Arts Budget!

Join the Connecticut Arts Alliance in an important 48-hour advocacy push on June 5 and 6 in support of continued State arts funding. Please do what you can to take part, and please share this with other friends and supporters of the arts, encouraging them to participate too. Easy-to-follow instructions and a unified message appear below.

THE PLAN:
The budget process is no small challenge, but we cannot keep quiet for fear of very real damage to the arts sector in Connecticut.

CALL TO ACTION:
Please help the voice of the arts be heard by getting the message below to both the State’s Administration and the Legislature.

WHEN:
Please take this specific action during the 48 HOURS of June 5 & 6, 2017.

WHO:
For your convenience, a list of legislative and administrative leaders appears at the bottom of this message, along with their contact information.

PLEASE GET THIS MESSAGE TO STATE GOVERNMENT LEADERS:

CT Arts Matter!

The CT FY18 & FY19 budgets MUST INCLUDE funding for the ARTS COMMISSION (the Connecticut Office of the Arts).

Without this funding, Connecticut will:

lose valued Federal Matching Funds
lose much needed state revenue

We ask that you:

Fund the State “Arts Commission” line (Connecticut Office of the Arts) which leverages vital Federal NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) matching funds.
Support maintaining total arts funding of $5,183,087 (less than 0.02% of the proposed budget)

And keep in mind:

For every State dollar invested in the Arts, $7 in state revenue is generated. The arts are good for Connecticut’s economy!
The arts sector employed over 57,000 people in the arts and cultural industries in 2014, which represented 3.4% of all employment in the state. The arts industry led utilities and transportation in both compensation and employment.

Thank you for your consideration!

More information on the advocacy positions of the Connecticut Arts Alliance is on its website HERE.

More information on the impact of the arts on the economy is on the Office of the Arts website HERE.

PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL 4 OR MORE OF THOSE LISTED BELOW:

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Governor Malloy   governor.malloy@ct.gov   860-566-4840
Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman   ltgovernor.wyman@ct.gov   860-524-7384
DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith   Catherine.Smith@ct.gov

AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP

Sen. Len Fasano   Len.Fasano@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8871
Sen. Martin Looney   Looney@senatedems.ct.gov   860-240-0375
Sen. Paul Formica   paul.formica@cga.ct.gov 860-240-8371
Sen. Cathy Osten   Catherine.Osten@cga.ct.gov 860-240-0579
Rep. Toni Walker   toni.walker@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8585
Sen. Joan Hartley   hartley@senatedems.ct.gov   860-240-0006
Sen. Craig Miner   Craig.Miner@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8816
Rep. Henry Genga   henry.genga@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8585
Rep. Ezequiel Santiago   ezequiel.santiago@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8585
Rep. Chris Soto   Chris.Soto@cga.ct.gov   860-240-8585
Rep. Melissa Ziobron   Melissa.Ziobron@housegop.ct.gov 860-240-8700