🔒Off-year elections still hold importance; Pro-growth policies a positive step

It's difficult for many voters to get excited during an off-year election, when no major statewide offices are up for grabs.

More attention is already being paid to next year's presidential race, which seems to dominate the airwaves on a nightly basis even though voters won't cast ballots for the U.S.'s next chief executive for another 365-plus days.

Therefore, it won't be surprising to hear about dismal turnouts at election booths across the state Nov. 3. That will be unfortunate because municipal elections do matter, particularly to businesses, which fund large portions town and city budgets.

Municipal elections, for example, provide the best opportunity for businesses to influence and potentially shape how local tax dollars are spent. That, of course, has a direct impact on property taxes, one of the biggest burdens businesses complain about.

Municipal elections also give voters the ability to choose competent leadership, whose policies and management ability will, in many ways, shape the economic fortunes of the community. Anyone who downplays the influence municipal leadership has on where companies or developers choose to do business fails to understand Connecticut's business landscape.

In an Oct. 19 Hartford Business Journal article (“West Hartford's latest building boom leads to new offices, apartments”) developer Dan Matos, who is erecting a luxury hotel in West Hartford, said one of the town's most attractive attributes is stable leadership.

“They're a town that's blessed with good governance,'' Matos, who is a West Hartford resident, told HBJ News Editor Gregory Seay. Its current mayor has served the longest in its history, Matos said, while its town manager is a long-time town employee and resident.

In contrast, the recent collapse of the Dillon Stadium deal combined with news of significant cost overruns related to the Downtown North baseball stadium, has cast mistrust and doubt over Hartford's leadership.

We don't endorse political candidates, but it's clear strong mayors, town managers or first selectman give developers and executives confidence that the investments they make in a community will rise in value or provide a return over time.

This election season provides another opportunity to shape the business landscape in your city and town. Take advantage of the privilege and cast your votes Nov. 3.

The Malloy administration wants to roll back some business tax hikes as part of its renegotiation of the state budget, which virtually fell out of balance as fast as it was passed into law last spring.

It's welcome news to CT Inc., which has absorbed various tax increases under Gov. Malloy since he was sworn into office in 2011. The latest wave of tax hikes, $1.3 billion worth, sent Malloy's approval ratings into a tailspin, sending a clear message to the governor that his budget policies aren't favored by a majority of the electorate.

Among the changes Malloy hopes to implement is restoring the 70 percent limit on R&D tax credits and tweaking some corporate taxes.

Just as important as tax cuts, however, should be a focus on adopting a budget that provides Connecticut long-term fiscal stability. Any tax reductions will need corresponding spending cuts at a time when the budget is hundreds of millions of dollars in deficit. Malloy has proposed cutting the state workforce by 500 positions among other money-saving initiatives.

We're glad the Democratic governor is refocusing on policies that grow the private sector. We hope he can garner bipartisan support to back some of these ideas.

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