Alexis Gevanter, the Democratic candidate in the race for an open Fairfield County state Senate seat, says her Republican opponent is an anti-science extremist whose views are out-of-step with the suburban district.
Ryan Fazio, the Republican, says Gevanter is a left-wing activist from San Francisco who would raise taxes and bring state oversight to local land-use decisions.
Tuesday’s special election to fill the 36th Senate District seat won’t alter the balance of power in the Senate: Democrats, who hold a 23-12 advantage, will still control the chamber even if Fazio wins. The district, which includes all of Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan, opened up earlier this year when Democratic incumbent Alex Kasser announced she was stepping down.
But the closely-watched race has become a proxy war for both parties and could serve as a prelude to the 2022 legislative and gubernatorial contests. In a politically quiet summer, the contest has drawn attention and high-profile names to lower Fairfield County.
On Sunday, the state’s top Democrat, Gov. Ned Lamont, will host a get-out-the-vote rally in Stamford to drive up turnout for Gevanter. Lamont lives in the district. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who was raised in Greenwich, has also campaigned with Gevanter.
On the Republican side, legislative leaders and two likely candidates for governor in 2022, Bob Stefanowski and Themis Klarides, have spent considerable time with Fazio, knocking on doors and participating in phone banks.
Both campaigns have sought to paint the opposing side as ideological hardliners with values that don’t mesh with those of the moderate voters who make up the majority in an increasingly purple district.
Democrats say Fazio walks in lockstep with national GOP leaders who oppose abortion, pandemic-related public health and efforts to address the climate crisis.
“Republicans can champion extremism, they can attack health care, science and choice, and they can make believe climate change isn’t happening,” said Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party.
Republicans dismiss those assertions, saying Fazio is focused on the core issues voters care about, chiefly taxes and public safety. In their view, it is Gevanter who is embracing causes local voters reject.
“She had Mayor Bronin knocking on doors with her, and it’s no secret that he and his wife [attorney Sara Bronin] are big on taking away local zoning so it kind of reflects on what her vision is if she were to become state senator,” said Patrick Sasser, Fazio’s campaign manager.
Republicans have also portrayed Gevanter as a political opportunist who recently moved to the district from San Francisco.
“It is totally fine that she did not grow up in the district and she’s running,” said Fazio, a lifetime resident of the district who works in commodities markets and serves in the Representative Town Meeting. “The problem is that she’s only lived in the state of Connecticut for three years of her life and she’s running. It is going to be very difficult for someone who has only lived in Connecticut for three years of their life to serve effectively in the state Senate.”
Sasser went further. “She hasn’t lived here very long, and voters should be aware of that,” he said. “As far as San Francisco goes, they have a lot of crazy policies over there, and I don’t know what her voting record is like as a citizen of San Francisco. … You can see that city is struggling. It is constantly being brought up as an area of our country that needs a lot of work.”
Gevanter, a business attorney and gun control advocate, said Fazio’s campaign is borrowing its strategy from the national GOP and using “scare tactics” and coded language to attack her.
“As we have seen across the country, far too many Republicans have developed a playbook of trolling and harassment in an attempt to intimidate strong candidates — especially women — who are running for office,” Gevanter said. “Ryan’s campaign has been trolling me everywhere — in newspapers, over email, on social media, the list goes on and on. … It’s a shame and a disservice to voters.”
Gevanter said she finds the attacks on her as an interloper from San Francisco “especially shocking since I barely lived in San Francisco.” She grew up in the Princeton, New Jersey, area and worked as a legislative aid in Washington, D.C., after graduating from the College of William and Mary. She spent nine years in New York before moving briefly to San Francisco due to her husband’s job transfer. She has lived in Greenwich since 2018.
She said she is focused on issues such as gun-violence prevention efforts, environmental policy — including the transportation and climate initiative, a cap-and-trade proposal to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels — and supporting Lamont’s “fiscally responsible approach to our state’s finances, and his refusal to raid our rainy day fund.”
Fazio said the Democrats have distorted his record as well. “She’s accused me of being anti-science, and I’m not sure why,” he said. “I’ve been a very strong advocate of the COVID vaccine. I highly recommend all adults get it. I think it’s a medical miracle of historic proportions.”
Fazio described his approach to public health policy as “moderate” and “mainstream.” He was opposed to last month’s decision to extend Lamont’s emergency powers to run the state during the COVID-19 crisis, and he says decisions about masking are best left to local communities and individuals.
Fazio has championed his endorsements from the Connecticut Association of Realtors and police associations in Stamford and Greenwich. Genvater has the backing of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters and the Stamford firefighter’s union.
John Blankley, a former member of the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting, is running as a petitioning candidate. He had initially sought the Democratic nomination, but the party selected Gevanter.
