Editor’s note: The New Britain Progressive asked a series of questions of the two candidates in the 24th Assembly District Democratic primary that is to occur this Monday, August 11, 2020. The candidates were given the option to answer five of the questions asked. The following are the responses by the endorsed Democratic candidate, Ald. Manny Sanchez (D-AL).
Question: What plan will you introduce and vote for to guarantee good quality health care coverage to all Connecticut residents and eliminate disparities in health access and outcomes experienced by communities of color?
Ald. Sanchez responded,
We need a people over profit healthcare system. The fact that people of color have been getting sick and dying at a disproportionate rate during this pandemic has once again pulled back the curtain on the realities of inequality within our current healthcare system.
That is why as your next State Representative I will work tirelessly to see that Connecticut residents have access to a public option. Meaning that no person, regardless of race or socioeconomic background, will be left without access to affordable and high quality healthcare.
When elected, I will support the work of Senator Matt Lesser and Representative Sean Scanlon to help pass their state public option legislation so that municipalities, businesses, and families have more access to affordable healthcare.
Question: What plan will you introduce and vote for to increase state education funding for New Britain schools? How much additional funding do you think is needed to provide an equitable education?
Ald. Sanchez responded,
We cannot fix New Britain’s school funding problem without a serious acceleration of the State’s Education Cost Sharing program. New Britain needs $30 million more per year to spend the same per student as similar school districts and $40 million more to spend the same as the state average.
However, New Britain may need even more funding due to high rates of poverty and lack of resources for our students. In the short-term, an increase in state-aid for New Britain and cities with similar funding problems should be accomplished by reallocating existing state grants from suburbs with low tax rates to cities with high tax rates.
In the long-term, Connecticut needs to adjust the ECS funding formula to be less reliant on local property taxes which unfairly burdens poor communities and communities of color. This is something I plan to work on when elected.
Question: What plan will you introduce and vote for to further reform policing and the criminal justice system, eliminate racist disparities in sentencing and reduce the number of people who are incarcerated? What would you decriminalize?
Ald. Sanchez responded,
In order to put a stop to the deaths of innocent black lives we must establish additional checks and oversight on our police departments. As an Alderman, I’ve already begun working to establish a community review board with subpoena power which would serve as a check on the police department. This is something I plan to continue on the state level.
As for reforming the criminal justice system, this is something I’ve been passionate about since I was young. The school to prison pipeline in cities is an epidemic in our country and we need real reform to begin to address the systemic racism that drives this intergenerational issue. Throwing young people in jail for “crimes” like petty marujana offences reinforces a highly problematic prison pipeline which preys upon overpoliced areas, particularly areas of color.
There is so much more to talk about on this issue but for the sake of brevity I will say that this is something I plan to get to work on from day one.
Question: What plan will you introduce and vote for to eliminate discrimination, harassment and wage inequities experienced by women in the workplace and other areas of life? What would you do to ensure women’s access to reproductive health care, including abortion?
Ald. Sanchez responded,
It is vital that we tackle sexism and all discrimination against women from an intersectional perspective. This means that we can’t simply address these issues one by one but look at it from a holistic perspective. For example, this means not only addressing the wage inequalities between men and women but of women of color and white women.
Sexism and discrimination based on gender truly transcend all facets of our society. Thus, the legislation we need to pass to address these issues need to encompass the scope of the problem. That means passing a stronger pay equity bill, providing more access to STEM job pipeline programs, protecting and expanding paid family leave, finding ways to get more access to capital for women entrepreneurs, etc.
As for access to reproductive healthcare, by passing a strong state public option mentioned earlier, we can move closer to creating a healthcare system where women are not treated differently simply for being women.
Question: What plan will you introduce and vote for to ensure affordable and quality housing for all of Connecticut’s residents, as well as to control housing rents and ensure quality rental housing? Should municipalities have explicit power to enact rent controls?
Ald. Sanchez responded,
Housing is a human right. It is shameful that our state, which has the highest per capita income in the country, fails to provide more affordable housing to our residents. In particular, we need our suburban communities to step up and meet their commitment to create enough units so cities are not left shouldering the entire burden.
We also need to take more steps on the state level to be stricter on absentee landlords who take advantage of our poor and working families. This is something we’ve seen in New Britain for years and it needs to change.
Here in New Britain, I helped establish the fair rent commission, which set up additional checks and oversights on landlords to ensure quality housing at fair prices, and as the next State Representative I will continue this fight.
