By John Schwing

WESTPORT — With the Nov. 5 general election less than a month away, candidates in two of Westport’s state legislative districts traded views — and a few barbs — in a debate hosted Thursday by the League of Women Voters.

Topics spanned issues from affordable housing to energy costs to “no-excuses” absentees, but the contenders staked out differences in civil exchanges, a marked contrast with the heated rhetoric that’s enflamed partisan divisions in this year’s national campaign.

Taking the stage in Town Hall’s auditorium were candidates in:

136th state House Of Representatives District: Jonathan Steinberg, incumbent Democrat, and John Bolton, Republican.

26th state Senate District: Ceci Maher, incumbent Democrat, and Kami Evans, Republican.

Candidates in the 143rd state House of Representatives District — a majority Norwalk district that includes a slice of southwestern Westport — are Dominique Johnson, incumbent Democrat, and Peter Bang, Republican. They were expected to debate at an event organized by the Norwalk League of Women Voters, although details have yet to be announced.

Each of the candidates was asked to cite the primary reasons they were running for public office.

Evans, a first-time candidate who has worked in marketing, said, “The concerns of our district are being replaced by special interests and public agendas that don’t reflect our needs at home.” On the campaign trail, Evans said it has become clear that the three issues of greatest concern to voters are “public safety, affordability and local control.”

Maher, formerly a nonprofit executive seeking election to a second term, said she’s worked hard to secure state money for Westport programs, citing $3 million for “the arts, money for the environment, money for education and for sidewalks.”

Bolton, a lawyer for 34 years, asked voters to “keep an open mind” about his candidacy since, as a Planning and Zoning Commission member, he has learned “on the very, very local level, there’s a lot of differences between the [political] parties.” He said he hopes to “bridge that gap,” and if elected, send a “message to Hartford.”

Steinberg, who before being elected to the legislature 14 years ago was a Representative Town Meeting member, grew up in Westport and said he keeps tabs on local concerns by sitting in on town government meetings. His experience and bipartisan relationships at the General Assembly are valuable in fighting for “budget accountability, reasonable affordable housing laws and protecting rights for all.”

Affordable housing, “no-excuses” absentee ballot voting and energy costs provoked some of the liveliest exchanges.

Evans said more accessible housing should be a priority for people “who are here now” but are leaving towns because of affordability, such as teachers, emergency responders and town workers. Maher said the state’s housing deficit of 98,000 units is hurting economic growth and negatively affecting the tax base. And, she added, affordable housing is not just “low-income” housing, but housing that people should be able to afford at all stages of life, from students to young families to seniors.

Bolton, who called the state’s 8-30g affordable law “a bayonet” wielded against communities’ local control of zoning, said its main problem is the consequence of “unfunded mandates” that affect municipal services like infrastructure, schools and public safety. The law, he said, gives too much power to “unelected unaccountable” bureaucrats in Hartford making decisions “on where you live … and the quality of life in your town.”

Steinberg said the “affordable housing crisis” in the state and nation poses one of “the biggest obstacles to opportunity that we have in this country and we need to address it.” Every community should play a part in solving the problem, he said, and “Westport’s been on the right path” with both its local initiatives as well as efforts to shape state legislation that ensures key decisions are made at the local level. He said he wants to “keep a seat at the table” when statewide affordable housing initiatives are considered in the future, and instead replace 8-30g with a “reasonable” alternative that’s not as “punitive” and offers a “better way” to address the problem.

Bolton needled Steinberg on the issue, saying, “You’ve been there for 14 years and you’ve done nothing to modify and make 8-30g less punitive for this town … I will do something, I promise you.” Steinberg condemned Bolton’s allegations as “simply not true,” saying he has tried over the years to forge a bipartisan alternative to 8-30g, which succeeded in making minimal changes. But that is not the answer, he added, “We need to replace it with something that works for all communities in Connecticut.”

A proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would lift restrictions on use of absentee ballots — which appears on the Nov. 5 ballot —- also was a source of disagreement.

Bolton said that although no one should be blocked from voting, he feels the proposed amendment, otherwise known as “no-excuse” absentee balloting, leaves the door open to “the possibility for a lot of abuse and a lot of voter fraud.” Steinberg retorted, “Everybody who is eligible to vote should have an easy way to do that. Period.” He totally disagrees with Bolton on the issue because, he said, Republicans “believe in voter fraud because it’s the only way they can institute voter-suppression efforts … voter fraud is negligible to non-existent.”

Evans, who opposes the measure, questioned the need for no-excuse absentee voting since the state now gives voters the chance to cast ballots during a two-week period of early voting in advance of Nov. 5. Maher, in favor of the proposal, said she favors “universal absentee voting” since “our vote is our voice” and the voice of everyone eligible to vote should be heard.

The candidates also wrangled over the spike in electric bills for customers across the state, with the Republicans blaming the Democratic legislators for failing to act on plans to provide relief. Steinberg, the co-chairman of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, acknowledged that a 2017 state deal to underwrite the costs of energy produced by the Millstone nuclear plant had backfired, with contracted costs increasing beyond projections and that expense now is being passed on to consumers. Nonetheless, he said, the state “has a lot of work to do,” making investments in the power grid and related infrastructure to keep up with growing energy demands.

The issue of abortion rights, so divisive nationally in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, proved nowhere near as contentious locally.

Strong legislation safeguarding women’s reproductive freedom is already in place in Connecticut, Maher said, but added that a constitutional amendment may be needed to provide extra protection in case Congress tries to enact a nationwide ban after November.

Bolton said he supports a women’s right to choose, but as a man feels uncomfortable discussing the issue. That said, he added that late in a pregnancy’s term there should be “reasonable guardrails.”

Steinberg said, as a man, he feels comfortable discussing the issue, particularly to ensure his three daughters’ right to make their own reproductive choices — something he strongly feels the government needs to protect.

Evans said Reublicans want what’s right for families, and abortion is a decision that should be made between a woman and her physician.

More debates

Two future debates are scheduled among local legislative candidates: 

Oct 17: Steinberg and Bolton will square off in a 136th District debate hosted by the Westport Journal.

Oct. 22: All six candidates running in the three districts representing Westport in the General Assembly are expected to participate in an “open discussion debate” co-sponsored by the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce and the Westport Library.