Fairness & Protection
for Small Businesses and Farms, who should have help accessing resources for modernization, growth, and remaining competitive without being buried by unnecessary costs.
Corporations and developers seeking public incentives should demonstrate that their projects create meaningful economic value for the communities hosting them. Our farms, family businesses, and local employers deserve the advantages.
Responsible Development
Connecticut is entering a period where new technology, electrification, grid upgrades, and major energy-intensive development could dramatically change how much power our state needs.
Our tax policy should encourage responsible growth without treating our towns, natural resources, infrastructure, or residents as bargaining chips. Major corporations and developers seeking significant public incentives should demonstrate that their projects create meaningful economic value and be able to fund the evidence to prove it.
Reduce Property Tax Pressure
State government should be looking at the entire picture instead of addressing each cost in isolation.
We cannot remain the 2nd most reliant state on the municipal property tax.
When major responsibilities like education and municipal services are underfunded, towns are forced to make up the difference locally. I will push for a stronger and more reliable state partnership that reduces that pressure.
Affordability Plan
Families should be able to afford to stay in the neighborhoods they call home. We must get a handle on the pressures put on local property taxes, childcare, transportation, education costs and more.
A Fair Tax System
I support adding a higher marginal tax rate for those earning extraordinary levels of income, while leaving income below a specific threshold unaffected by additional rates. A fair income-tax structure should help Connecticut better fund education, infrastructure, healthcare, and municipal aid. The lower and middle class cannot afford to keep taking on the majority of the burden. Our goal shouldn't simply be collecting more revenue, either. It should be shifting the burden fairly, while making Connecticut more affordable for the majority of people who live here.
Fight Energy Costs
Ratepayers should not automatically be expected to absorb the costs of major infrastructure expansions that primarily benefit large corporate users or suppliers. Connecticut should continue pursuing energy efficiency, emergency preparedness, competition, grid modernization, distributed generation, and strategies that improve reliability while reducing costs.
No Data Centers or
AI Surveillance
Technology should serve the public without quietly eliminating the public's right to privacy. I will work to establish clear protections now instead of waiting until these systems are already embedded throughout our communities. Contracts involving surveillance technology should be publicly understandable, and elected officials should be accountable for decisions involving its deployment. There's a difference between an "LPR" and AI Surveillance cameras (Flock) and we all should know the difference.
Josh@JoshJamesCT.com for more info
Healthcare For All
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and access to quality care and facilities should not depend on your ZIP code, income, age, or background. Mental Health services should be accessible, geographic care caps addressed, and care for Veterans staffed and stabilized.
My Motto
#JoshJamesForChange