Imagine. Inform. Invest. Inspire.

Dan Malloy
danmalloy2014.com
Joe Visconti
viscontiforgovernor.com
Latino Matters...because Latinos Matter.
presents...
Q&A with Connecticuts Candidates for Governor
on Matters of Importance to the Latino Community
Tom Foley
tomfoleyct.com
As the largest, youngest, and fastest growing ethnic group in
Greater New Haven and the state of Connecticut, Latinos are
inextricably linked to the regions vitality and prosperity.
Nearly 15% of the state population identifies as Latino, a 50%
growth in the past decade. About 240,000 are eligible to vote.
Recently, the Progreso Latino Fund
*
asked each gubernatorial
candidate a series of questions about issues of importance to
both Latinos and the broader public.
Candidates were given the choice to respond to a set of questions
in writing or in person. Candidates Foley and Visconti responded
with written answers; candidate Malloy chose to be interviewed
on October 1, 2014.
Established in 2003, the Progreso Latino Fund is a permanent endowment at The Community Foundation for
Greater New Haven that uses its resources for grant making, policy forums, and leadership-building activities.
The Progreso Latino Fund is committed to bringing people together, engaging Latinos and non-Latinos about issues,
and providing a vehicle for conversations about how the issues impact Latinos.
*
Will include people who
represent all communities
in Connecticut,
including Latinos
Latinos have been
and will be hired at
all levels of government
Will encourage all
community groups
to be involved
Tom Foley Dan Malloy Joe Visconti
Will change the tone
and ineffectiveness
of government
Will promote policies that
have a direct impact on
more Latinos getting jobs
and doing outreach in Spanish
Latino community
leaders must encourage
voter registration
and engagement
Will ask every large employer to
more fairly distribute jobs and
require that work paid for
with state or municipal funds
be done with local labor to
the maximum extent possible
Will fix underperforming schools
by increasing parental choice and
implementing money follows the
child; plans to boost literacy by
increasing access and affordability
of continuing education
Replicate the model of
New Haven Works, which seeks
increase the number of city jobs
going to city residents and has
agreements in place with
major employers
Supports universal access to
pre-K, college savings accounts
for newborns and making
education more affordable
Create employment
opportunities in urban areas
Supports English as primary
language as way to raise
educational standards
Plan includes more
workforce training programs
and better coordination
between technical high schools/
community colleges
and employers
Wants to prepare students for
the jobs that are in Connecticut
by improving technical
education system at technical
high schools and community
colleges
Wants to encourage greater
numbers of Latinos to enter
the trades rather than attempt
to channel every child to
four-year degree
Will support new enterprise
zones, small business incubators,
small and minority contractor
assistance with bonding, cut
the car tax and limit the tax on
personal property to provide
relief to small businesses
Supports more transparency
in hiring practices and expand
the Small Business Express
grant program
Will re-examine public funding
in urban areas and improve the
relationships among business
associations, government,
and local communities
Will work with healthcare
providers to reduce the cost of
delivering healthcare services
Will continue the rollout of
affordable healthcare, and
continue outreach in Spanish
at the walk-in centers and
continue to support the
Community Health Centers
Will work to remove the
mandated conditions
required to be covered by
insurance plans and
push for tort reform
1
Including
Latino
Leadership
2
Increasing
Young-Voter
Engagement
3
Reducing
Unemployment
& Wage
Disparities
5
Training the
Workforce
4
Improving
Educational
Outcomes
6
Increasing
Access to Jobs
in Urban Areas
7
Improving
Health Care
Access
Response Snapshots
Brief summaries of the candidates responses to seven questions are provided immediately below.
The complete questions and answers from each candidate follow on the succeeding pages,
presented in alphabetical order of the candidates last name.
How would your administration include the voices,
experiences, and leadership of Latinos in our state?
Tom Foley
I am a good listener and I am interested in and respect everyones views. I want to bring the best and
most capable people into my administration and will include people who represent all communities
within Connecticut. In doing so, every communitys voice including those of Latinos will be well-
represented in my administration.
Dan Malloy
An ongoing and open dialogue with community members has to be part of it, also making sure that
Latino individuals are being hired in my administration and in government. For instance, my press
spokesman is a Latino woman, Samaia Hernandez. I appointed the first Latino Supreme Court Justice
(Carmen E. Espinosa), only the seventh woman to serve nationally in that capacity. Weve appointed
other lower court judges who are Latino. So I think making sure that there is a cross-section of Latino
individuals in government as well as having a voice being heard outside the government is important.
Joe Visconti
The voices, experiences and leadership are already included in decision making at the local and state
level. I encourage all community groups to continue their involvement in decision making at every
level of government, but leave the encouragement of individual engagement to the leaders within
these groups.
1
Including Latino Leadership
The Latino population is young and growing. Yet the
younger generation of Latinos has low rates of voting
and citizen engagement. How do you propose bridging
that gap and connecting with this demographic?
Tom Foley
Most young people have lower rates of voting and citizen engagement than older people. I hope that
as governor I can show everyone, including young people, that good government matters and that
they should engage more to ensure government is as good as it can be. The tone and ineffectiveness
of government recently has brought confidence in government leaders to new lows and that has
undoubtedly resulted in people giving-up hope that engaging in politics makes a difference. I hope to
change that in Connecticut.
Dan Malloy
In the broader politic, you hope the right policies motivate people to vote. For instance, education
reform and concentrating on closing the achievement gap among Latino and Black students are
very important. Minimum wage, paid sick days, public housing policy, energy policy that will benefit
peoples pocketbooks, you hope all of that takes care of itself. But of course it doesnt.
So you look at whats the outreach. How do you make people feel they really are part of the equation?
To some extent thats almost like hand-to-hand combat. Its explaining the implications of voting, its
constantly going back to groups to make them understand. Listen, the Malloy administration has put
more into housing in the [last] four years than was put in the prior twenty years. Our concentration on
job growth, particularly in New Haven, where weve been working hand in hand with Yale University,
with unions, with small business on job creation in New Haven and where were also saying to unions,
Hey, you have apprentice programs, youve got make sure Blacks and Latinos are in those programs.
Finally, youve got to be there. I do a lot of radio interviews and talks. I sit down with Latino newspapers,
the weeklies and monthlies, on a regular basis.
Joe Visconti
According to the office of the Secretary of State, 50% of those Latinos eligible to vote are not
registered. The tools are already in place online and at local representative offices for young Latinos
to become engaged. Latino community leaders must encourage the engagement of young Latinos in
the democratic process. I encourage leaders of every demographic to conduct community education
forums that highlight to parents and young Latino adults the importance of voting. Staff from the
Secratary of States Office is able to assist in providing speakers if so required.
2
Increasing Young-Voter Engagement
The unemployment rate for Latinos in 2012 was 16 percent,
more than double the White unemployment rate of seven
percent. On average, Latinos earned 55 cents and Blacks
earned 72 cents for every dollar earned by Whites. How do
you propose to eliminate these gaps and improve economic
opportunity for Latinos?
Tom Foley
To eliminate these gaps, I will ask every large employer in Connecticut to more fairly distribute jobs
among our varied communities and require that work that is paid for with state or municipal funds be
done with local labor to the maximum extent possible so that we keep public money in the communities
that are meant to benefit from that money. I will also require that work that is paid for with state or
municipal funds be fairly distributed within the community including minority communities getting
their fair share of the work. Finally, I will provide small and minority contractor assistance with bonding,
credit, and application support so they can be competitive in bids for public projects.
I also have an Urban Policy Agenda including a plan to boost jobs and the economies in cities which
will disproportionately benefit Latinos who live in cities in higher numbers than in our towns see my
answer to question 5 for more detail.
Dan Malloy
We do have a concentration in certain communities. New Haven is one where I think were having a
very positive impact. We are working and funding an organization [New Haven Works] that is constantly
working to make sure that jobs in New Haven go to New Haven residents, with agreements in place
with Yale University, the Hospital, and elsewhere. Thats a very important effort in New Haven. Its a
model, quite frankly, that could and should be replicated in other jurisdictions. Im very proud that we
stepped forward to fund it through our labor department.
Joe Visconti
Unemployment within the major cities where young Latinos live is very high.
Employment opportunities need to be created closer to where they live.
3
Reducing Unemployment and Wage Disparities
Significant numbers of Latinos have low literacy, limited English
proficiency, and limited education. How do you propose to
improve their educational outcomes?

Tom Foley
To help ensure that every child in the Latino community gets a good education, I plan to fix our
underperforming schools. First, I will allow parents with children in underperforming schools to choose
among other in-district public schools. Second, I will implement money follows the child including a
variable grant amount based on a students needs, which will allocate more money for children who are
learning English in school. Third, I will provide more support for teachers who are the most important
factor in educational outcomes. To improve schools across the state, I will improve transparency and
introduce an AF school grading system to give educators and parents the information they need
to make sure every child is given a good education and ensure that no one slips through the cracks
by requiring that third graders pass a reading test before being allowed to go on to fourth grade and
that high school students pass a regents-style exam before graduating. To boost literacy and English
language proficiency among adults, I will work to make state universities, community colleges, and
other learning centers more accessible and affordable to those looking for continuing education.
Dan Malloy
If Connecticut wants to remain competitive in a global economy, we must invest in education at every
level. At a time when most states were cutting education funding, I steadily increased funding to local
schools and funded thousands of pre-K slots so that all children regardless of zip code or family
income have access to early childhood education. Thanks to my legislation, Connecticut will achieve
universal access to pre-K by 2019. These investments are already paying off in Connecticut with rising
graduation rates, student test scores topping national lists and the achievement gap beginning to close.
Im helping parents start college savings accounts for newborns, and working to make higher education
and skills-based training more affordable.
Joe Visconti
The quicker they learn English as other immigrants were required to do in the past the sooner their
education standards will rise. We must break the cycle of bi-lingual education to facilitate this. Children
should be required to speak and write in English whilst in school. Community leaders again have a role
in this process by encouraging parents to learn English and to engage with their children in its use.
4
Improving Educational Outcomes
What steps would you take as governor to ensure that the
workforce is trained to meet the present and future needs
of the states employers?
Tom Foley
My Plan for Restoring Pride and Prosperity in Connecticut includes more workforce training
programs and better coordination between technical high schools/community colleges and
employers through joint curriculum development, externships for teachers, and tying vocational
school funding to graduation and job placement rates.
Dan Malloy
I think that our educational systems pre-K through 12 as well as community colleges have
not done as good a job as they could in preparing students for the actual work thats in
Connecticut, as opposed to someones idea of whats going to be in Connecticut. So, we know
were a precision manufacturing center. And, we know there are precision manufacturing jobs
going unfilled. Well, we werent training people in precision manufacturing. Ok, lets make that
connection. Lets get these things aligned. Thats why having a center at Housatonic Community
College in Bridgeport and one up in Waterbury is very important. Those two new programs have
an 80% placement rate. To get to 80 percent placement rate in two years is pretty darn good.
Upgrading the technical high schools could have a disproportionate impact on young Black
and Latino individuals. That is a big focal point. So having a superintendent of that system who
is herself Latino is very important. I advocated on behalf on her hiring. If you look how were
upgrading our technical high schools, we are far better preparing students who are entering
careers that are growing. There is also a shortage of people coding. In our high schools, we
should look at coding as an optional math course or an optional language course. If you look at
the under-representation of Hispanic people in technology, thats part of it. Lets address that.
Joe Visconti
Not all of Latinos or for that matter all our children need go on to four years of college. We need
to determine what interest individuals have, rather than telling them what their interest should
be. We need to encourage involvement in trades, nursing, military and other activities rather
than channeling every child towards a four year-college degree, which for many is a daunting
prospect given their inability to even graduate from high school. For too long we have created
the myth that all our children need to attend four years of college, thereby creating the illusion
that this path is superior to the other pathways available to them in fulfilling the American
dream. As stated in a previous answer to question 4, proficiency in English will help young
Latinos no matter which pathway is chosen.
5
Training the Workforce
A significant number of Latinos live in Connecticuts
urban areas. What steps will you take to create a climate
for job growth in these places?
Tom Foley
I will ask every large employer in Connecticut to more fairly distribute their jobs among our varied
communities. If they are only employing people in suburbs, for example, I will ask them to bring some
jobs to our cities. I will require that work that is paid for with state or municipal funds for our cities be
spent on jobs in those cities and be fairly distributed within the cities including minority communities
getting their fair share of the work. To remove impediments that drive off employers and job creators,
I will create new enterprise zones that protect employers and their employees from crime, municipal
red tape, and fiscal uncertainty, support workforce training programs that provide skills needed by local
employers, support public transportation that enables employers to draw from a broader urban workforce
and workers to qualify for jobs farther away from where they live, ensure broadband capacity in our cities
that meets the needs of employers as well as the needs of individuals and that urban energy costs are not
out of line with surrounding areas.
I will support urban job creators and innovators with small business incubators for each of Connecticuts
major urban areas that will provide one-stop shopping for legal, accounting, marketing, human resources,
credit, and business strategy support. I will also provide small and minority contractor assistance with
bonding, credit, and application support so they can be competitive in bids for public projects.
Finally, I will fix the distortions in our tax system that disproportionately hurt urban citizens. I will cut the
car tax by limiting the tax rate to 30 mils which will reduce the car tax in Hartford by 60%, East Hartford
by 30%, Waterbury by 28%, Bridgeport by 27%, New Haven by 23%, and New Britain by 18%. I will limit
the tax on personal property other than cars to 30 mils producing the same percentage savings on those
taxes which will provide tax relief to small businesses in our cities.
Dan Malloy
The biggest employer of Latinos in the New Haven area is the hospital systems. One of the things I have
advocated for is better reporting of their hiring practices. This is not an attack on Yale. Ive been to Yale.
Weve got to make sure its not just lower level jobs that hiring is spread across the hierarchy of the
organization and of any large organization.
In addition, my plan for the Small Business Express really needs to be concentrated in New Haven,
Bridgeport, Waterbury, Stamford, New London, Hartford, Danbury, and New Britain.
Joe Visconti
Past administrations have poured significant funds into urban areas with few tangible results. We need to
critically analyze all methods of encouraging businesses to locate to urban areas as well as examining our
transport systems to ensure that where jobs are currently available, there are ways for urban workforce
to participate. Business associations are the first line of knowledge in understanding new opportunities
in urban and business development regions. There needs to be a closer tie between these types of
organizations, Government and local communities to ensure opportunities that arise are available to
the young urban workforce. I will encourage all organizations involved in community development and
workforce planning to meet regularly and to make available to community leaders forecasts for future
development in urban areas.
6
Increasing Access to Jobs in Urban Areas
How do you propose to ensure affordable access to
quality healthcare for Connecticuts working people
and small businesses?
Tom Foley
The biggest problem with healthcare in Connecticut is that it is too expensive. Our state government
is the largest consumer of health care services in the state. I look forward to working with healthcare
providers to reduce the cost of delivering healthcare service in Connecticut which will save government
money and benefit everyone with lower healthcare costs.
Dan Malloy
Im pretty proud of our effort [with Access Health Connecticut]. Theres only been one state thats been
the best at that. Its us. Nancy Wyman did a spectacular job. Kevin Coonihan did a spectacular job. Weve
had the best rollout in America. Weve halved our uninsured rate. Were gearing up for Nov. 15 for the
opening the coming year.
We did a better job of communication in Spanish than most other states. Our walk-in centers, and there
was one in New Haven, clearly cleaned up in terms of with respect to getting Hispanic individuals signed
up. Over half the people who signed up had no insurance at the time they signed up. Were very proud of
that. Forty-two percent of the people were able to maneuver on line and a good percentage of them were
in Spanish.
Our support of the Community Health Centers or Federal equivalents has been very strong in my
administration. They are a great tool for making sure that people who dont have coverage can still get
quality health care. And thats a system that I want to see grow and flourish, and quite frankly, I would like
to see the hospitals working more with the CHCs as well.
Joe Visconti
Access to health care is not health care. Making access affordable is also not access to good health care.
Public health is currently available as a healthcare safety net. Market forces drive the cost of health care,
but so, too, does the over reach of government in determining what each individual is required to pay for,
whether needed or not. The current mandated conditions required to be covered for every individual who
takes out insurance places an unnecessary burden on the individual and the insurance companies who
provide the cover. I will seek to free individuals from being required to have coverage that they do not feel
is necessary for them in their current circumstance. Tort reform at the state level will be a priority.
7
Improving Health Care Access
Fernando Muiz
Chair
Tara Davila
Yari Duran
Jorge Cabrera
Yolanda Caldera-Durant
Frances Padilla
John Padilla
Shelly Saczynski
Raquel Santiago-Martinez
The Progreso Latino Fund (PLF) has been building capacity
and knowledge since 2003 when Frances and John Padilla
asked a few of their friends to be founding donors. They
and others have built a permanent endowment for grant
making, policy forums and leadership-building activities
of just over a quarter-million dollars. Money raised for the
Fund has been used to sponsor educational forums and
community events a primary strategy and platform for
bringing people together, engaging Latinos and non-Latinos
about issues and providing a vehicle for conversations about
how the issues impact Latinos.
The PLF Advisory Committee, is looking for Latinos and
others to join them to develop Latino leadership and to build
an equitable community. Engaging more Latinos in local
philanthropy and encouraging giving to PLF will accelerate
Latino influence in the regions civic life.
progreso latino fund advisory committee
70 Audubon Street New Haven, CT 06510
203-777-2386 phone 203-787-6584 fax
www.progresolatinofund.org
The Progreso Latino Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven