Dear Neighbor,
It has been an honor to serve you during my first term. Together, we have accomplished much such as bringing back over $1 million in new state aid to Newington to help improve education and stabilize property taxes, cutting income taxes on social security and pensions for seniors, and preserving an additional 18.2 acres of land on Cedar Mountain. We made great strides in ensuring our community remains a great place to live.
As you know, we now face unprecedented challenges due to health and economic crises causes by COVID-19. It will take our entire community working and uniting together to ensure every resident remains healthy, every local business is open and thriving, and everyone can get back to work and school safely.
You can count on me to work hard for you throughout this recovery. We will get through this and be stronger on the other side.
If you need anything, please reach out to me.
Best,
Coronavirus Resources
For the most up to date information please visit portal.ct.gov/coronavirus
Please wear your mask to help keep everyone safe: The CDC, and Governor Lamont, are continuing to require individuals to wear masks in public when you are unable to “social distance” more than 6 feet away from others.
Unemployment Help:
If you are out of work, you have the right to file for unemployment insurance. Visit www.FileCTUI.com to file your claim or call: 860-263-6975, 203-455-2653, 860-263-6974 or 203-455-2650.
Business Assistance:
The Department of Economic and Community Development is providing assistance as well as updating guidelines for operating safely. Visit business.ct.gov/Recovery.
Housing Assistance:
If you are having trouble paying your rent or mortgage, there are some programs to help you. Visit portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/information-for/homeowners-and-renters.
For all other issues, call 211 and check out my website and sign up for my newsletter for additional information at www.housedems.ct.gov/Turco.
Sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system, which provides text message notifications to users. To subscribe, text the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
Advocating For You During this Time
This has been a remarkably challenging time for all of us. My office has worked with many of you to fix issues with your unemployment applications, help your business apply for aid, and find adequate personal protective equipment. I know that it is during these challenging times when we need government help and services the most. There are clearly areas within state government where we need to modernize, improve technology, and hire additional staff to better handle future crises and serve you better. I pledge to work hard to make these services more seamless.
I am proud to say that we have successfully advocated for many positive initiatives through this crisis that are assisting people to get back on their feet including expanding coverage and access to telemedicine, bringing additional COVID-19 testing sites to our community, expanding affordable childcare options for front-line workers, and delaying due dates for taxes. Please share your suggestions with me at any time on how else I can help you.
Upcoming Sessions
When we began this year’s legislative session on February 5th, I expected to be working on many of the issues that you all have prioritized for me including reducing the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, improving our educational system, and helping to grow our economy and create new jobs.
Although the regular session had to conclude prematurely due to COVID-19, the work does not end there. We will be meeting this summer to address critical areas including how to ensure everyone is kept safe when voting in November and improving police accountability and transparency. I pledge to advocate for Newington and its residents during these important discussions.
Reopening Safely
While we continue to be guided by public health experts on the steps we need to take to safely “reopen,” we also have an opportunity to build a stronger and more robust state ready for any future crises.
Already, we are working to ensure hospitals and health care providers such as nursing homes have adequate stock of PPE and safety procedures in place and we are working with farmers and food banks to protect and localize our food supply chain.
Your stories and experiences are important to helping us improve the quality of life for you. How well did the safety net work for you and your family? How can we do better? What services were not available that you really needed? I want to hear from you!
More than ever, it continues to be an honor and privilege to represent you.