Open 34th House seat pits Rosenfeld against Ziobron

East Hampton voters choosing a state senator on Nov. 3 are picking between Sen. Norm Needleman, an Essex Democrat seeking a fifth term, and Charles Ferraro, a Clinton Republican who spent 10 years in the state House. The two served together on the legislature's Energy and Technology Committee, and they disagree on two things that reach East Hampton households: how much say the state should have over housing in small towns, and the public benefits charge on the electric bill.

At a candidate forum on Oct. 14, Needleman said, "I don't believe that everything is about local control," and that most of what is in the charge now is energy hedges and energy efficiency. Ferraro said, "We need to allow the local towns to run their own zoning," and that he would file a bill, if elected, to "repeal completely and permanently" the charge.

The 33rd District covers East Hampton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Portland, Westbrook and part of Old Saybrook. Needleman appears on the Democratic and Independent Party lines and Ferraro on the Republican line, according to the Secretary of the State's sample ballot.

Housing

The forum was held at John Winthrop Middle School by the Essex Library and Brainerd Memorial Library and recorded by Valley Shore Community Television. The two men spoke well of each other there.

The first Senate question was about the state's 2025 housing law, Public Act 25-1, which gives the state and regional councils a bigger role in planning for housing. Needleman said towns rely on the state and federal governments for guidelines and incentives, and that he would like to see "more incentives from the state."

Ferraro said small towns "don't want to be painted with the same brush" as Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford.

The two differed on 8-30g, the state law that lets developers of projects with affordable units appeal a local zoning denial, and makes the town prove its reasons, in towns where less than 10 percent of homes count as affordable. Ferraro said, "I completely hate that bill," and that it lets "predatory developers" get around a town's zoning.

Needleman called 8-30g "an obsolete and terrible law, but nobody has come up with a better solution," and said it still lets local zoning boards vote no on health and safety grounds, such as septic and traffic.

The electric bill

The public benefits charge is the section of Eversource and United Illuminating bills that pays for energy programs and power contracts the legislature has required.

Needleman said too many people have "conflated the name, public benefits, with the idea that these are social programs for people." He said the name has been used "as a cudgel."

Ferraro said the programs worth keeping could instead "compete with all the other benefits in the general budget."

Closing arguments

Needleman said his "gut feeling is it's better to have somebody in the majority representing you, because they're likely to be able to do more to help the towns that we have here."

"I will fight to bring down property taxes by not supporting or voting for any unfunded mandates," Ferraro said.

Norm Needleman

Needleman was first elected to the Senate in 2018. He is the Senate's deputy president pro tempore and Senate chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, according to his Senate Democrats page. His campaign site says he is in his eighth term as Essex first selectman and founded Tower Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company, and that he takes no salary, benefits or pension as a senator.

His site says his focus is "balancing the state budget, paying down debt to benefit the state's fiscal future and find ways to expand housing availability amid a significant shortage."

Charles Ferraro

Ferraro's campaign site says he served five terms in the House for the 117th District, in West Haven, Orange and Milford, rose to be the Republican leader on the Energy and Technology and Veterans' Affairs committees, and owned a karate school, which he recently sold. He now lives in Clinton.

His site lists his priorities as removing "the 'Public Benefit' charges from your electric bill," providing "tax relief by expanding the property tax credit," and local control of zoning, saying "each town cannot operate under 'one size fits all' mandates from the state government."

The money

Ferraro is in the Citizens' Election Program, the state's public financing system, which gives grants to candidates who raise a set amount in small donations and agree to spending limits. Needleman's reports show no public grant; his campaign is funded largely by loans from himself. Both filed reports with the State Elections Enforcement Commission on Oct. 22 covering activity through Oct. 20.

• Needleman raised $11,890 from individual donors and lent his campaign $200,000, then forgave $100,000 of it on Sept. 24, leaving $100,000 outstanding. His committee had spent $166,946.05 and had $44,943.95 on hand.
• Ferraro raised $22,756 from individual donors and received a $131,095 public grant on Sept. 16. His committee had spent $119,244.68 and had $34,606.32 on hand.

The chamber forums

The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, whose board of directors includes Needleman, invited both men to its Chester, Deep River and Essex division's candidate forum on Friday, Oct. 2, according to the chamber's event listing. The listing does not say who attended.

The chamber's East Hampton forum, on Oct. 7 at Town Hall, became a dispute in the 34th House District race after Republican Melissa Ziobron posted that she was the only candidate who showed up. The chamber's listing for that forum does not name the candidates it invited, and neither Senate candidate's campaign site mentions either forum.

How to vote

Early voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, in Room 117 on the first floor of Town Hall, 1 Community Drive, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Thursday, Oct. 29, when it runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the town's Registrar of Voters, the Secretary of the State's list of early-voting sites and the state's Oct. 19 announcement. Same-day registration is available during early voting and on Election Day.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls across the state are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., under state law. East Hampton votes at the East Hampton High School gymnasium, 15 North Maple Street, according to the registrar.

The rest of the town's ballot is in our early voting story.

Early voting at East Hampton Town Hall stays open until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and Thursday, Oct. 29, the only two days it runs past 6 p.m. before the Nov. 3 election.

Voters will choose a member of Congress, a state senator and a state representative, along with a governor and four other statewide officers, each with at least two candidates. The races for judge of probate and registrar of voters each have one name. The town has no local questions on the ballot.

East Hampton's ballot puts the town in the 2nd Congressional District, the 33rd State Senate District and the 34th State House District.

When and where

Early voting began Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, weekends included, in Room 117 on the first floor of Town Hall, 1 Community Drive. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and Thursday, Oct. 29.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the East Hampton High School gymnasium, 15 North Maple Street, according to the registrar's office.

Same-day registration is available throughout early voting and on Election Day, according to the registrar's office. The Secretary of the State's guide says a resident who is proven eligible can register and vote on the same day at the town's early voting location.

The town posts its own copy of the sample ballot. Questions go to the Registrar of Voters at 860-267-6720, during office hours on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by email at registrar@easthamptonct.gov.

On the ballot

The candidates as they appear on the Secretary of the State's sample ballot for East Hampton, with every party line each one holds:

• Congress, 2nd District: Joe Courtney, Democratic; George Patrick Austin, Republican and Independent Party
• State Senate, 33rd District: Norm Needleman, Democratic and Independent Party; Charles Ferraro, Republican
• State House, 34th District: Meghan Rosenfeld, Democratic; Melissa Ziobron, Republican and Independent Party
• Governor and lieutenant governor: Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz, Democratic and Working Families; Ryan Fazio and Matt Corey, Republican and Independent Party
• Secretary of the State: Stephanie Thomas, Democratic, Working Families and Independent Party; Peter Lumaj, Republican
• Treasurer: Erick Russell, Democratic and Working Families; Fred Wilms, Republican and Independent Party
• Comptroller: Sean Scanlon, Democratic, Working Families and Independent Party; Jennifer S. Tooker, Republican
• Attorney General: William Tong, Democratic and Working Families; John Bolton, Republican
• Judge of Probate: Mark Alan Balaban, Democratic, the only candidate listed
• Registrar of Voters: Rosemarie Hecht, Republican, the only candidate listed

Hecht is one of the town's two registrars now, according to the Registrar of Voters page.

EAST HAMPTON — Smoke in the house. That was the call to 911 at least 19 times Tuesday night, Town Manager David Cox said. The calls brought the fire department, and then Eversource. By the town's account, the utility "experienced a malfunction" that "seems to have allowed a power surge in the lines" on Hog Hill Road, Terp Road and Schoolhouse Lane. Eversource says it is still looking for the cause.

Forty-one houses, the town said, may have taken the surge, and none got its power back until its wiring had been tested. From Tuesday night through Wednesday, Eversource's contractors and the East Hampton Volunteer Fire Department went door to door, circuit by circuit, up to about an hour a house. Residents unplugged everything and unscrewed their light bulbs for the tests. Anyone who refused the inspection could have the power back at their own risk. By about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, 31 houses were on. By 8:30, the town said, all 41 were.

Then comes the bill. A dead dryer, for a start: one resident at the bottom of Terp wrote under the town's post that theirs had fried and a claim was coming. Eversource's position, passed along by the town, is that damage to the wiring inside a house is the owner's responsibility first, with a claim to the company after. Cox said homeowners should call their insurer, hire their own electrician, get the repairs done, then submit them to Eversource's claims department. "I think Eversource acknowledges they have some culpability here and they'll be paying folks back for the damages or equipment that's been damaged," he said.

Eversource has not said what failed. "We're reviewing the information gathered from the inspections as we continue to investigate the cause of the outage," the company said Wednesday. It has not said how many homes were damaged. Cox said at least one needed serious electrical work, and he did not think the damage was widespread.

Two more notes from the town: no generator until the wiring has been checked, and some houses may need a follow-up inspection after the power comes back.

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