Politics & Government

Cartier vs. Meyer Debate

Incumbent Democrat Ed Meyer and Republican Cindy Cartier Debate last night at Branford's Woodwinds

Debates were in the air last night with the Presidential debate at Hoftra University and a more local debate that took place at Woodwinds in Branford, hosted by the Guilford, Madison and Branford Chambers of Commerce. From the start, it was clear that these two candidates differed on many topics, and what resulted was a lively debate that lasted approximately one hour.

But what does it all mean for us here in Guilford? What do your candidates believe in and what are there policy plans to address critical issues here? Here is a breakdown of what went down highlighting the take-away points from each candidates’ response:

The first question posed by the moderator asked “When you walk in the first day of taking office, what do you do to address the $27 million budget deficit?”

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Senator Meyer highlights:

-       When you’re looking at a $20 billion budget, the deficit seems much smaller.

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-       The Senator stated that his plans would be to gradually increase revenues.

-       He believes that there are areas that exist that can be cut, such as the Department of Child and Family Services, and that he intends to balance the budget early in the year.

-       Meyer also believes that he was able to cut down on Prison expenses by reexamining sentencing structure in our Judicial system

Cindy Cartier highlights:

-       We have a spending problem here in the state. 

-       Cartier stated that she was on the Guilford Board of Selectman for many years and she was able to reduce the budget. She believes in job reduction through attrition, contracting out non-profit work and planning.

-       Like Senator Meyer, she also believed in cutting down on DCF spending.

-       Responded to Meyer’s statements about early release programs from prison by saying she believed they negatively impacted our community

The second question posed concerned the state of Medicaid

Senator Meyer highlights:

-       Stressed his belief that Home Health Care was the answer, adding that Guilford and Branford have started successful home care programs

Cindy Cartier highlights:

-       Cartier didn’t disagree with Senator Meyer, but stated that she believed that people should have a choice in the kind of care they are provided

-       She believed we have to look in other areas, such as the non-profit sectors and using in-house purchasing agency

The third question from the moderated simply asked, “How do you create a job?”

Cindy Cartier highlights:

-       Cartier was clear that it is not the job of the government to create jobs, but facilitate a business environment.

-       What this meant to her was reducing the cost to do business in the state by streamlining regulations

-       Stated it was hard for businesses to secure jobs in skilled labor because it is so expensive to live in the state

-       Believes the Paid Sick Leave regulations had a negative impact on employees and businesses

Senator Meyer highlights:

-       Meyer believes in reducing business cost through health insurance, energy and tax programs and reducing unnecessary governmental mandates

-       Believes he had found success with his Small Business Program Package.

-       Stated that Paid Sick Leave came at no cost to the employers

The Moderator’s next question asked about the large tax breaks given to Bridgewater, a hedge fund, when they moved from Westport to Stranford, and what the candidates opinions were on the matter. The conversation went back and forth on this question, but the take-aways were as follows:

Senator Meyer highlights:

-       He challenged the funding at first, but was informed by Ron Angelo that Bridgewater was considering leaving the state and he opted for the cuts to save Connecticut jobs

-       Mentioned his small business incentive package and stated that without risk there was no reward, and it was the government’s role to be part of the risk

-       Our economy is in an upgrowth

Cindy Cartier highlights:

-       She was not against the tax break, but incentivizing businesses what not enough and that kind of program on its own was not enough

-       She believed that the programs put in place by the Senator since he has been in office were not helping the unemployment rate, as it is currently at a high of 9%, emphasizing that she wasn’t being negative, but these were just the facts

-       Believes we are still going in the wrong direction and we are not in recovery

These highlights only cover about half of the debate, but check out Guilford Patch tomorrow morning with more highlights about Obama Care, suburban and urban schools, bipartisan partnerships and the environment.


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