This is Where We Live on Connecticut Public.

I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil.

Jahana Hayes.

I grew up right here in Waterbury.

A single mom, public housing.

I know what it's like to work paycheck to paycheck.

Today I'm in Congress to deliver for every working person fighting for a decent wage and every small business just trying to get by.

That's fifth District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes and the campaign ad talking about her record as a two term U.S. representative.

She's now seeking reelection in what's been described as the most competitive race in Connecticut.

Her Republican opponent is former state Senator George Logan.

Today, Where We Live.

Representative Hayes joins us in studio.

Our conversation isn't limited to our live radio stream.

You can also watch online at Connecticut Public Website, Facebook page or on YouTube.

Or you can call in with your question.

Here's the number.

888-720-9677.

That's 888-720-WNPR.

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at Where We Live.

Such a pleasure to have Congresswoman Jahana Hayes back in our studio again representing Connecticut's fifth Congressional District.

How are you doing today?

Good morning, Lucy.

Thanks so much for having me.

Now, I was thinking back to all the times that I've been able to talk with you and it actually started back when you were still an educator, when you were at National Teacher of the Year back in 2016.

Now you're running for your third term as a congresswoman of the fifth District.

Why are you seeking reelection?

Well, it's been quite a journey from the first time we talked in 2016.

And really all of those experiences are exactly why I'm seeking reelection to be a voice for to make sure that there's opportunities available for every person.

I mean, my story and, you know, the journey of everything that has happened to me is something that only happens here in America.

So to make sure that those opportunities exist for anyone who wants to take advantage of them is just so deeply important to me.

When you look back at the two terms that you've served so far, what do you see as your biggest accomplishments Well, I could have never imagined tha I would get elected to Congress and then be faced with a global pandemic and just all of the challenges that we saw.

But I also am just so proud of what we've been able to accomplish in this Congress.

Well, since I've been elected, you know, the American rescue plan that really targeted the communities that needed the most help.

The infrastructure bill, which we had been talking about for years, Connecticut, will finally see the results of investments in infrastructure, gun legislation the first time in 30 years.

You know, for me to have legislation in the past to act for veterans Just all of these things that I talked about, this is what I'd like to do when I go to Congress, the first investment in climate initiatives that this country has ever seen For me to have been a part of that and to have helped to craft that legislation and vote on it and bring it back to my constituents is the exact reason I went to Congress.

You can join us with your question for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

Our number, 888-720-9677.

Or add your comment to Facebook or on Twitter at Where We Live.

I mentioned that the fifth District is seen and it has been the most competitive House seat in Connecticut.

It's considered a purple district.

WTNH reporting that 21,000 new voters had registere in the fifth District since the first of the year.

So I believe we have, what, 42 days until Election Day.

So what is your message to the constituents that you serve My message is my record.

This is what I've done and this is what I'd like to continue doing.

This district has always been competitive and I never take it for granted.

So I expect every election that I'll have to work for it, that I'll have to communicate to people, that I'll have to remind them of where I stand on issues and what the work that still needs to be done.

So I never take it for granted.

You cannot win the fifth District with just Democrat votes or just Republican votes.

You really have to have a much broader appeal.

So over the next 42 days, my record is what I'm running on.

All of the work that I've done, I'm very proud of of my voting record.

We hear a lot I hear a lot of talk about the percentages.

You know, she votes with Pelosi or she boat with Biden.

And when I say to people, let me talk to you about what I voted for, let me tell you what H.R.

1319 is.

It's the American rescue plan that got vaccinations to almost 600,000 people in this district that helped over 7000 small businesses in 200 plus restaurants survive during the pandemic.

That saved 15,000 families from getting evicted.

Those are the pieces of legislation that I voted for And when I talk to people about that, they realize, wait, those are the things that affect me and my family.

So this was.

Targeted investments in communities that needed it most And I'm going to remind people over the next 42 days, that's what good government looks like It's a tough time for American families and businesses with 8% inflation rate.

When you look back at what Congress has passed and also former presidents, when you think about how that has contributed to where we are right now with inflation, I'm wondering if you can talk about that.

Well, I'm glad you bring that up, because this isn't something that just happened over the last two years or with this administration.

This has been something that has been festering under the surface at a global pandemic and we see record inflation.

Add in the conflict in Europe and, you know, the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

And we see rising gas prices.

There's a lot of lots of things that we need to do, but it cannot be lost on anyone that we have major companies bringing in record profits.

You know, when we look at the price of groceries, the meatpacking industry has a monopoly.

85% of the industry is owned by foreign companies.

So they're regulating the prices.

So we really have to look differently at the way we do business in this country.

We have to transition so that we are more energy independent so that we were not you know, everything is not contingent upon the whims of the global economy.

So all of those things, we have to make investments on the front end.

We were we released while President Biden released the Strategic Oil Reserves to try to bring down the prices of gas.

But looking forward, we have to make sure we're never in this situation again and that's going to require doing things differently.

Back in June, when we had the baby formula crisis, I was surprised to find that two companies literally control the entire market, and that is as a result of just deregulation over the years, the way companies are allowed to grow into these huge monopolies.

I taught history.

You know, Standard Oil had a monopoly smaller than this, and it was broken up.

So we really have to look differently at how businesses and industries just controlled the market.

And record record profits.

Record profits that are not transferred to the consumer.

When we think about the stimulus and the recovery, again, all of this extra cash within, you know, households that maybe some didn't need tha and how that has contributed to inflation.

Congresswoman Hayes, you know, any missteps there?

We think about, you know, with demand being high, especially in the in the pandemic and supply being low.

So there's a lot of conversation about where aid was targeted during the pandemic.

And I can tell you that as a sitting congresswoman, I got calls in my office from everyone, people who were going to lose their job, were going to get evicted, didn't have access to health care, didn't have insurance to get a vaccine.

And because of that, a lot of the normal regulatory restrictions were released because we had to get our aid as quickly as possible.

One of the things I ask people when they say, was it too much?

My question is always, who would you have left behind?

Should it have been the small businesses?

Should it have been the the parents who needed childcare?

The people who needed broadband for their kids to have school virtually?

Who would you have left behind?

And in the moment, when we had a million people that died from a pandemic, when we had we were really in real time getting new information, trying to navigate this pandemic.

We did the best we could with the information we had.

So now as we are recovering, we see communities that are relying on the funds that were released through the American Rescue Plan.

It kept hospitals open.

It kept first responders on the job.

It opened schools safely.

Everyone was talking about we need to open schools safely.

But this targeted federal funds gave the resources to do that.

So my question is always, who would you have left behind?

Because for me, that answer was No.

One.

You know, we really had to, first of all, stop people from dying.

Keep them safe in their homes and then try to stabilize our economy so that we could recover.

So there's a lot of work to do.

And, you know, and as we do, you know, the pos analysis, there's a lot of things we could have done this, we could have done this.

But in the moment, it was to get targeted resource out to the communities that needed it the most in the middle of a global pandemic.

And I think we did a really good job of that.

You can ask your question to Congresswoman Jahana Hayes again.

She represents the fifth District running for reelection against Republican George Logan.

I should mention he'll be on Where We Live in a few weeks on October 18th.

Join us with your question.

888-720-9677.

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at Where We Live.

You know, I mentioned cash in going into the economy.

Let's talk about all the cash going into this.

This fifth District.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican affiliated superPAC, has released two ads backing your opponent, one of which was more of an attack ad around the issue of inflation.

What's your response?

The focus on your claim that Democrats, quote, singlehandedly saved the economy during the pandemic.

Did you want to clarify that?

Well, that was the question about the American rescue plan.

And my comment was in reference to the fact that no Republican voted for the American rescue plan and that did stabilize the economy at the point where we passed that legislation.

That's the money that the ads that the Congressional Leadership Fund are running refer to H.R.

1319, which is the American Rescue Plan.

Every district in Connecticut, every town, all 169 of them are using American Rescue Plan Act funds as they recover small businesses.

Like I said, over 7000 in my district used American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Child tax credit brought 50% of children out of poverty.

And no Republican voted for that.

So in that moment, it's interesting that they play that ad over and over and that one quote, I've been in office almost four years, and this is one statement taken out of context that they're using over and over, but only Democrats voted for it.

You know, there are some clear contrasts, and I'm actually happy that they are choosing to highlight my record as the center of this race, because I'd like to defend my record.

And my opponent also has a voting record in the Connecticut State Senate And when we talk about some of the things that the people in this district care to care about, I think it's going to be very clear to say when this issue came up for a vote, this is how I voted This is how he voted.

So that statement really was about the American rescue plan and the fact that no Republican voted for it and that that investment, that state local investment really infused our economy and stabilize communities in that moment.

I mean, a lot of things happened after that, but no Republican votes.

That's what I meant by Democrats single handedly saved the economy.

When we think about the economy, some economists say we are in a recession.

Do you believe we are?

Well, I think that it's weird because I hear that from economists, but then you see the job numbers and the rate of growth.

And we in some areas are back to pre-pandemic strength.

So I think that we're at a position where there's all of these variables that we never had to consider a global pandemic, a Russian invasion , an economy that's recovering.

So in some areas we see strength and other areas there's need for improvement.

But I think we should all be focused on the solution.

I hear people talk about Democrats closed down the economy.

No one woke up one day and said, let's close schools.

Let's stop the economy and disrupt businesses.

A million people had died and we were trying to stop that So right now, I think that the steps that are being taken are helping us to the fastest recovery that we've ever seen.

Again, you can join us.

8887209677 to ask your question of Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

Especially if you're registered to vote in the fifth District.

When we think about some of the campaign ads that have come out, you know, from whether the National Democratic Party, also the Republican Party, one of your opponent's first ads, focuses on the issue of race.

And drawing on a since deleted tweet from the Democratic State Central Committee that featured language imitating the Curious George Children's Books.

And for our listeners who may not have been following that.

That deleted tweet read in part.

And this is from Hearst, Connecticut.

This is George.

George doesn't live in the fifth District but wants to represent it in Congress.

George's uncle lives in the fifth District.

George says he moved into his uncle's house But has he again?

George Logan and some Republicans saying that this was, in fact, racist?

You've refuted that tweet, that it was in any way derogatory.

What is your response now in light that this is now in a campaign ad and people are saying this?

Well, I really don't have a response for that.

It's unfortunate that this is what he chooses to talk about when there's so many issues.

Lucy I have three black sons and I would never demean or diminish a black man because I know how dangerous that is when you give permission for that to happen.

But I'll also remind you that in 2018, I made the statement When Congress starts to look like us and national Republicans went crazy because they thought us meant black women.

And what I meant by that was mothers and teachers and, you know, people who live and work in our community every day We have to make sure that they're reflected in the Congress recently.

I mean, it's so rich because recently that same Congressional Leadership PAC, their spokesman said, we're running candidates that look like the communities they represent.

So this idea that any time there's any reference to diversity, it's racial.

There are so many issues to focus on in this campaign.

I would like to see where my opponent stands on these issues So to try to revive a conversation about race and attribute it to me, I'm a black woman like he's a black man and I'm just not going to get involved in that.

My campaign and everything that is communicated from me that I am paying for that is my message is going to be about the work that I've done.

So when that tweet came out, you had retweeted it, but then you acknowledged that some may have found that that was derogatory.

And so you deleted it.

I did.

And, you know, that's what a leader does.

You know how to accept responsibility when you're wrong about something.

And what I said was, while I don't think that this is the way it was intended The fact that he was offended by it was enough for me, the same as I would have done in the classroom or anywhere else.

You don't have to have.

Sometimes it doesn't matter your intent.

If a person is hurt by your words or your actions, it's enough for you to say, and now this is over.

And I took the tweet to mean he doesn't live in the faith.

He hasn't lived here.

He was renting his uncle's apartment or whatever in order to run in the Fed.

And just on that note, I've heard him say that I want to run for Congress because to enter to add diversity to the delegation, it's been an all-Democratic delegation.

But it's not lost on me that his representative is also a Democrat.

So he could have ran from his home in Ansonia.

So it just feels like a very opportunistic moves.

But I mean, anybody can run.

These seats are not anointed or appointed.

And I think that in every election and every campaign you should have to work for it.

So I fully intend to to work for this in this campaign and communicate a message of the work that I've done.

We've been spending a lot of time talking about the economy, and I wanted to take a quick call from Ula in Hartford.

Ula, what's your question for Congresswoman Hayes?

Good morning, and best of good luck.

My question I realize you're just one person up there that because I'm middle class, I own my own home.

There is no program for people who are not poor enough to get energy assistance.

Is there any kind of proposals ever for so-called middle class people to, you know, get some benefits for energy assistance, for oil or for gas?

Well, thank you for your question.

We have we're actually I go back to Washington today, and part of what we're working on is expanding funds for LIHEAP, because we know that more families are going to have to excuse me, have to access energy assistance.

But also in the Inflation Reduction Act, there are grants and programs in order to help incentivize single family homeowners to transition to more energy efficient means to upgrade some of their, you know, heating and cooling systems, all of the things that families really need.

We talk about the cost of living.

And one of the things that people really focus on is energy instability.

That's where a large part of most family budgets go.

This Inflation Reduction Act includes legislation that will lower a family's heating and cooling costs, energy costs by about $1800 a year.

So while that seems like a more long term solution, we are working to bring funds back to Connecticut specifically.

I mean, our delegation for programs like LIHEAP and Expanded Energy Assistance, especially right now as we are recovering from this pandemic.

I think that it's important to know in that area, since your question is about energy, there's a clear contrast here.

You know, in Congress, I'm working on solutions to that problem.

My opponent abstained from every vote that would have involved, you know, energy regulation for his employer, Eversource.

That's something that people really need to look carefully, educate themselves on what the voting record of of the candidates are.

I mean, I've never abstained from a vote.

I've taken very hard votes.

I've taken some easier votes.

But there has to be a time where you go on record.

When there was no conflict.

There's you can we can have these really tough conversations to say, how do we ease energy, the cost of energy, especially here in the state of Connecticut for the average consumer.

Again, my guest today is fifth District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

You're listening to Where We Live on Connecticut Public.

She's running for reelection against Republican George Logan and he'll be on the show on October 18th.

You can ask your question.

Representative Hayes here.

Here's our number, 8887209677.

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This is Where We Live on Connecticut Public.

I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil.

My guest today is fifth District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who in 2018 made history in our state as the first black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress.

This fall, she's running for a third term against Republican challenger George Logan, a former state senator.

Now, if you live in the fifth District, what questions do you have for Representative Hayes?

We want to hear from you.

We're live on the radio online at Connecticut Public Website, Facebook or on YouTube.

Add your questions in the comments field or you can call in with your question.

8887209677 or find us on Facebook and Twitter at Where We Live.

Many people know that you're a long time educator.

And so I wanted to talk about education.

And and really, when we think about the national backdrop for this race, the larger playbook by conservatives, education has become a major topic.

Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel attended a recen campaign event, along with your opponent George Logan, where your Republican Senate candidate Leora Levy spoke about the, quote, indoctrination of children that she claims is happening in Connecticut schools.

Meanwhile, we know that the GOP gubernatorial candidate, Bob Stefanowski, has loosely aligned himself with states like Florida and Texas with this introductio of a parental rights, parental bill of rights, rather So, you know, how would you respond to the wa politics has referred to public school education?

This is dangerous.

This is incredibly dangerous.

And I worry about the profession.

I worry about children.

I worry about young people like me who all they ever wanted to be was a teacher now deciding that they don't want to engage in the education profession.

Curriculums are not decided in Congress.

They are decided locally.

Parents are a part of those decisions.

Oftentimes there's board meetings and meetings where it everything is decided on.

So an individual classroom teacher, does it make the decision on what books to use or what to teach?

And parents should already be engaged as partners in their child's education.

But this attack on teachers, on public education is extremely dangerous.

And I've seen it throughout this entire pandemic, where teachers were heroes and then teachers were the ones keeping schools closed.

I've seen where teachers didn't have the supports that they need in order to help students, and there has to be some mutual trust there.

The banning of books, the that's not what teachers do You give kids the information and your job is to teach them how to think critically, not what to think.

And if our children are never exposed to different experiences, different stories, different narratives, and then have the opportunity in a safe space to discuss those things, to question those things, to criticize and challenge their own understanding.

They're not going to be ready for the world that that lies ahead.

So to politicize this is very, very dangerous.

I fought really hard.

I can tell you some of our first conversations when schools were going to close, I was asking the questions that only an educator could ask I was saying, you know, how are these kids going to eat Or what happens in the buildings where they don't have HVAC systems that work?

Or the district's like, I have 41 towns, I have some of the highest performing boarding schools in the world and some of the lowest performing public schools in the country.

What about the schools that didn't have broadband or 1 to 1 devices or Internet?

So really closing those equity gaps is a conversation that we should be pursuing right now so that all kids have access to educational opportunities.

But to create a narrative that doesn't exist and make that the center of a political campaign is extremely dangerous.

And it.

It.

It is deeply concerning for me, someone who education changed my life, you know, having access to public education and teachers and afterschool programs and those supports to risk removing those in some of the hardest hit communities with the kids that need the mos is just a dangerous proposition.

Now, I'm glad you brought up book challenges, which are happening in towns across our state.

We've talked about that on our show and that might surprise some listeners.

They might think this is something that's only happening in red states.

It's also happening here in our state.

And, you know, when we go to your website, LGBTQ plus rights, you know, is is one of the issues on the top of your page about the importance of that.

Tell us why that matters to you so much.

Well, that was something that I really an issue that I grew into.

I would never try to claim that I know everything about or I'm an expert on by biology and chemistry.

I entered that conversation when the former secretary of education said that she would withhold federal funds from school districts in Connecticut that allowed transgender athletes to play.

And while I don't understand everything about transitioning and biology, I understand discrimination.

And it is against federal law to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

My job as a representative is to represent everybody.

So again, the question I was would ask is who who's going to speak for those kids?

You know, if I had a kid in my classroom who was LGBTQ, they're my student.

And I think every teacher feels that way.

So this separating children and and demonizing children again is dangerous.

So we have to really come to a conversation where we can figure out a way to include all children.

But adults targeting children is just wron and should not happen.

And I'm going to fight against that at every turn, because for many of those kids, they need a trusted adult to be their voice because they don't have the strength, the agency or the advocacy to do it themselves.

You can ask your question of Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who's my guest here Where We Live.

Our number, 8887209677.

Or find us on Facebook and Twitter at Where We Live.

Kristen is calling in from the fifth District, I believe the town of Warren.

Kristen, you're on the show.

Yes.

Hi.

Thanks for taking my call.

So I'm a mom of three and I used to be a Republican.

I'm now a registered Democrat and align myself pretty much with the left, but sometimes kind of walking the middle.

And my question is, you know, given how much polarization there is, both in Congress and in the country at large, you know, how what are your plans or how are you planning on working together with your Republican colleagues across the aisle to, you know, get things done in Congress?

Given how much what?

I missed part of that.

I'm sorry, given how much polarization there is.

Yeah.

So thank you for that question.

I recognized the polarization at every level.

And I've tried really hard in Congress.

I've actually been able to pass legislation, bipartisan legislation.

I know how to draft a bill.

I know how to get it to committee.

I know how to talk to people about what is happening in their district and share with them that that mirrors some of the things that are happening in my district.

For example, I had four pieces of veteran legislation that were passed both under President Trump and Biden.

I was able to move this legislation, get Republican co-sponsors, get it passed.

In June, I introduced the Baby Formula Act and I had a Republican co-sponsor.

And literally I went every day while we were on the floor and just talked to my colleagues and said, listen, this is what I'm hearing in my district.

It has to be the same as what's happening in your district.

And I think we continue to do that one conversation at a time, one person at a time making the legislation about people and the people that are affected by it.

And I've seen where we can get some work done.

I've seen where we just passed the PACT Act in Congress, which was the for the first time, veterans won't have to prove that they got a toxic exposure.

We were able to get that passed by just appealing to people about this is how this benefits everyone.

But we we have to do better, you know, at every level.

And there are so many things that are outside of my control when it comes to, you know, legislation at the federal level.

And what I do and this is why I make very intentional decisions about the way I run my campaign I can make a conscious decision to focus on the issues, to not go negative.

I can tell you that I've had even Democrat consultants say to me, you know, had I don't know if this is.

A good lane to travel in.

You really have to punch back, you know?

You have to say this.

You have to do this.

I was in the classroom for 15 years and told kids that government works, that you can have civil discourse, that you can have conversations where you disagree.

I'm not going to go to Congress and now change that.

So really just.

Focusing on the issues, talking about things that everybody has impacted on, reminding our colleagues and there is a possibility to get it done.

We just passed the bipartisan Say for Communities Act, the gun legislation.

These are things that 30 years no movement on.

So there is room for movement.

We just have to work really hard at it and be intentional.

I know how to get legislation moved.

As a contrast.

I mean, my my opponent has never had a bill voted out on the floor, has never had any of his legislation moved .

So bipartisanship is not just about introducing legislation.

It's about actually getting people to buy into it, support it, getting a vote on the floor.

My baby formula bill had like 380 I think it was yay votes.

There's only 218 Democrats, so quite a few Republicans had to vote for this.

And I worked really hard over that week where before the legislation was introduced to talk to every office, to appeal to people, to ask them to support it, to remind them of how important it is.

So I do believe that it is still possible to do that I wanted to fit in another call.

You can join us 8887209677 or find us on Facebook and Twitter at Where We Live.

Amy's also calling in from the fifth District in New Britain.

Amy, quickly with your question.

Yes.

I think you've done a great job.

And what are your priorities for the next time should you win?

And I think you need a stronger attack ad against George Logan, one that mentions your name and maybe an ad with your baby campaign.

Your baby formula campaign.

So my thank you for the question.

My plans in the next Congress, there are some very important things.

So I am the chair of the Nutrition Oversight and Department Operations Subcommittee and the Committee of AG.

And next year is the Farm Bill.

Food security is a major issue for me, making sure that in this country no one goes to bed hungry.

We actually have a White House conference on hunger that is convening tomorrow.

I'm heading back.

I'm headed back to D.C. this evening to really make sure our seniors, our veterans, our children have healthy foods So that's something that is very important to me.

Women's reproductive rights.

Codifying that into law.

I think that it is it there's a sense of anxiety.

The fact that the interpretation of what women's health means can just change from the through the interpretation of of the court.

So I think that that really needs to be codified into law.

I think the child tax credit and really programs that support families.

I want to make sure that we take the lessons that we've learned from this pandemic and say, what do we need to do going forward so that we never find ourselves in this position?

I think that there's a lot of talk about going back to where we were before the pandemic, but for me, that wasn't good enough.

So we've started the conversation and open the door and really begin to challenge ourselves to look at the gaps in our communities.

And I think we really have to continue to work for that.

We were able to pass in the Inflation Reduction Act to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, but that's just for Medicare.

We knew we need to expand that to private insurers and really get health care in a manageable place where people can afford it.

So those are the things that are really my priorities and always education you know, apprenticeships, making sure that people have jobs, making sure that we give people opportunities to stand on their own so that they don't have to rely on government assistance.

I think that I would have if you had asked me in 2018 if I thought we'd be able to accomplish all of these things, I my answer probably would have been no.

But to see the work that we've done in all of these areas, I just want to continue to expand and improve upon that I'm glad that you brought up abortion.

This is something that's also in one of the ads running in this district from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tying your opponent to Republicans like former President Trump and others who want to ban abortion.

Your opponent says that he is against a national abortion ban Do you think that he goes far enough there with his views on that?

Well, I think that when the time came and I had to vote on what that meant, I voted for the Women's Reproductive Health Act so people know exactly where I stand.

The decision for whether or not to have an abortion should between should be between a woman and her doctor.

There's no room for government.

There's no room for me.

So this idea that there's a limit, this is the cut off date That's not for me to decide.

And at the national level, Republicans have already made i clear that they intend to.

And while they've already introduced in the Senate a national abortion ban and the last time that was introduced in the House, I think 160 of my colleagues supported it.

So it has to be very clear there can be no ambiguity on this topic.

And I think the people of this district know where I stand because they know how I voted already on this issue.

We just have a couple of minutes left.

And I wanted to ask you about school safety at the end of this year.

Is the ten years since the shootings at Sandy Hook?

Well, we were all impacted at the tragic mass shooting at Uvalde.

And so we are now seeing school districts bringing in armed security guards to protect the school campus.

You know, as a former teacher.

Do you think that's necessary?

Well, I've always been in support of school resource officers, and I think that that's a really complicated topic because people can have a lot o opinions about it.

But unless and until you're in a school building that's been in a lockdown as a teacher, I didn't feel that.

I could handle the responsibility of of keeping the building safe.

My job was to teach children.

And I know there's been a lot of discussion about should we have law enforcement in school, which is different than armed security guards?

And I know that there's concerns whenever you enter any type of firearm into a building.

But I think that we should have school resource officers.

There's a lot of concern about school to prison pipelines and kids interacting with law enforcement.

But I worked in a building for 15 years where I saw kids have positive interactions with law enforcement, where kid would talk to our school resource officer.

He went to basketball games.

He, you know, stayed after for practice.

And the kids got to know him as a person, not just as a police officer.

So improving on those relationships, building on those relationships, but then also having an honest conversation about gun reform and what that looks like in this country and how do we keep kids safe.

The fact that kids have more locked down drills than fire drills should be deeply concerning for people.

We just with the Safer Communities Act, we were able to just break through the tip of the work that needs to be done.

But there's so much more work that needs to be done in order to keep kids safe in school.

This should not be a problem.

This is a uniquely American problem that we have a responsibility to work on.

And the thing that I really believe that we did over this summer in the Congress was break the stronghold of the gun lobbyists of the oil and gas industry, of the prescription drug industry, and really start to legislate in a way that helps people.

I want to thank Representative Jahana Hayes for coming on the show.

We always get really into a good discussion and then it's time to go.

It goes by so fast.

We appreciate your time.

And I do want to mention that Connecticut Public is hosting a series of debates.

And Congresswoman Hayes, as well as Republican opponent George Logan, will be also coming to Central Connecticut State University, I believe, for a debate in October.

Be sure to watch that.

And again, we'll have your opponent on October 18th here Where We Live.

Thank you so much for your time today.

Lucy, thank you so much.

Coming up after the break, we're going to hear more about this competitive House race.

Paul Hughes of the Waterbury Republican American joins us.

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This is Where We Live on Connecticut Public.

I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil.

We just heard from fifth District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who's seeking reelection.

Her opponent, George Logan, joins Where We Live October 18th.

Now for more on my conversation with Representative Hayes, joining us now in studio here is Paul Hughes, who is a state capitol reporter for the Republican American of Waterbury.

Paul, welcome to our new studio.

Well, thanks.

I have been around for a while.

That's real impressive.

We appreciate you driving up for this conversation.

So what do you takeaways?

You understand the ground game and the fifth District better than most?

So tell us what you've been seeing in this campaign.

Well, we've been seen two, very well, I would say talented candidates out there, you know, fighting for those votes.

I mean, you heard it here on on the radio.

I mean, you know, Representative Hayes is out there.

She's, you know, campaigning on a record.

You know, George Logan is out there pounding on the on the campaign trail, making appearances, you know, trying to connect with people.

He's also speak Spanish, which is a plus in this district as well.

No, I think it's a really interesting race.

And I can understand why it's getting a lot of attention in the state and nationally.

But nationally, yes.

There's a lot riding on whether the Republicans can flip the House.

And so there's this is a heated race.

Can you talk about some of the issues that have come out and even what you're seeing in terms of the money pouring into this district?

Well, yeah, there's a lot more outside spending.

I mean, if you looked at the finance reports from June, I mean, Representative Hayes had like 1,000,006, I believe, cash on hand.

And Mr. Logan had something like 200,000.

So there's going to be a lot of outside spending.

We've already seen it.

You know, we've seen super PACs affiliated with Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.

We've also seen the two sort of House campaign arms of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee pouring a lot of money in this race.

So if folks don't like TV ads and radio ads.

Well, you know, sorry.

It's it's you're going to get a lot of them between now and November 8th.

And I think you guys covered some of the big issues, inflation.

I mean, you know, it's it's it's like, duh.

You know, it's we've got like 8% inflation.

You know, the cost of living is always high in this state.

Taxes are high in the state.

People often feel, you know, complain about that, the level of the burden of the high cost of living and taxes in Connecticut.

So, you know, the economic the pocketbook issues are very big, but you also have the social issues to the the issue on abortion where, you know, there's not really too much of a difference, at least in the stated positions of the two candidates other than Mr. Logan supports parental notification, which um, I think a Quinnipiac poll in May found about three quarters of the people in Connecticut support.

So he's not that far out of step with the voters.

Oh, when we think about some of the issues like abortion, of course, the economy, you know, how does that play out in the fifth District, which is so varied from, you know, wealthy Litchfield County to, you know, urban areas like Meriden, Danbury and New Britain in terms of, you know, the issues that are going to drive voters to the polls.

Well, I think there's a lot of economic anxiety across all income groups.

But you're right.

I mean, you have places like Wat groups of poor people.

And then you have, you know, some of you know, some of the towns in Litchfield County, which, you know, are among the most to do in Connecticut .

So that's, I think, makes the Fifth District kind of a an interesting combination.

But yeah, I mean, you know.

One of the things is the, you know, the government spending.

You know, Mr. Logan is saying, look, hey, you know, the Inflation Reduction Act and the you know, some of these care, you know, coronavirus, COVID, bail outs and the infrastructure.

But this is all, you know, pumping government spending up and then pumping up inflation and as well.

Hmm.

Well, when we think about her opponent, George Logan, this is someone who was a former state senator.

Yes.

And so, you know, Representative Hayes talked a lot about, you know, she's campaigning on her record and what will represent our former Senator Logan be bringing to this race, other than the fact that you mentioned that, you know , he's a talented candidate and he's connecting with voters Well, you know, he does have a record and but we're not really hearing a lot about it.

You know, we're hearing like, well, he voted against bump stocks where most Republicans voted against the bump stock bill back in 2017 or 2018.

That's one of the things that I kind of find is interesting, is we're not hearing too much about his legislative record as much as we are hearing about her congressional record.

But, I mean, it's out there for everybody to see.

I mean, you know, let's face it, you know, these people vote 90% of the time or so with with their party.

You know, the maverick is the guy who votes maybe 85% of the time with the party, you know?

You know, there's not anybody out there that's voting 50/50.

Well, let's let's, you know, sort of dispense with that.

We did spend some time talking about race, specificall George Logan's campaign, where he references Democrats calling him, quote, a monkey.

Yes.

And Jahana Hayes, again, when she we asked her about that tweet, said she didn't think that that was the intent of that tweet.

It was not derogatory.

How did you see that play out?

Well, it was it was interesting because the Democratic Party pushed back hard initially against that.

No, no, no, no.

It's not a it's not a comparison to Curious George.

It's actually something that we took from an American Heart Association ad with stick people.

And this is Jane.

See, you know, it's like, you know, I guess it depends on who you believe.

Certainly, it sounds an awful lot like the the the opening of Curious George.

But then when you go and you look at that American Heart Association commercial, you're like, okay, well, maybe so.

It's one of those things where it was kind of a.

Took on a life of its own and only for the unforced error or not.

But your view of it, I think, might depend on which candidate you support or which party you're affiliated with.

So what are the polls telling us about this race, Paul?

Well, that's the thing about it.

Congressional districts, I guess, are hard for me.

From what I've been told from, you know, independent pollsters sometimes hard to to survey.

But the Republicans and Mr. Logan have been hanging their hat on on a poll, I think, from the Tarrance Group, a Republican consulting firm around earlier this summer And it had the race at 45-45.

And, you know, the Democrats obviously dispute that.

And the Republicans are playing up.

It's like any poll, you know, you don't like the results.

There's something wrong with the poll.

It's it's the methodology, you know, that, you know, one group is oversampled than the other.

But, you know, we really don't have an outside sort of independent measure of where the race stands.

And, you know, although people dismiss polling a lot, it's let's face it, these candidates spend an off on campaigns and political parties spend an awful lot of money on polling.

So, you know, any kind of poll that comes out at least gives people a sense of where race might stand at one point, one moment.

I think they're you know, they should be viewed in that context.

I believe Representative Hayes won the other two elections by double digits.

Do you think, though, this could be a lot closer?

I don't know.

You know, that's that's the interesting thing, because Republicans see her as vulnerable.

But if you look at, you know, her percentage of the vote, I believe it went up from like, well, it was in the upper fifties, but her plurality increased and it was a presidential election in 2020, but she was about 31,800 votes I think in in 2018.

And then, um, I think it was up to 40,000 plus.

So, I mean, you look at those numbers and, you know, you wonder, well, is she as vulnerable as, as Republicans?

Portray or would like to think.

But then again, you know those aren't big you know wins in now blow I shouldn't say not blowouts they were, you know, decent wins.

Right.

Paul Hughes, again, a state capitol reporter for the Waterbury Republican American.

A pleasure to hear from you.

Can't wait to see what the campaign trail brings in the next 40 some days.

Oh, I'm looking forward to the debate that you guys and the League of Women Voters of Connecticut are sponsoring.

I think that's going to be very interesting for voters in the fifth District.

Thank you so much, Paul.

We'll be sure to tweet out information about that Connecticut public debate at Where We Live.

I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil today's show produced by Katie Peligro.

Our technical director is Cat Pastor Robin Doyon.

Akin was our call screener today and special thanks to the visuals, digital and operation teams at Connecticut Public.

We'll be back tomorrow.