Meet the Candidates: Sen. Joseph Crisco, D-17

Name: Joseph Crisco

Hometown: Woodbridge

Government Experience: State Senate, 1993 to present, Assistant Minority Leader (1995-96), Chief Asst. President Pro Tem (2003-06), Deputy Caucus Leader (2007-10), Chief Deputy President Pro Tem/Federal Relations Liason (2011-present).

Occupation: Consultant

Education: B.S. University of Connecticut, Trinity College

Top Priorities:

• Jobs
• Education
• Health Care Costs and Coverage

What he says:

Connecticut has emerged as a national leader in its responsiveness to health insurance needs of cancer patients and those with other debilitating conditions. Expanded coverage – for breast cancer and colorectal cancer screenings, bone marrow testing, and participation in clinical trials – has been a priority of the Insurance Committee for as longas I’ve been chairman.

I successfully won increased transparency in the state’s insurance rate approval process, and one result was rejection of a double-digit rate increase regulators deemed excessive.

The Biomedical Research Fund (BRF) I established invests tobacco settlement money for research into heart disease, cancer, other smoking-related diseases, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Recently the BRF has become a catalyst to help health care researchers qualify for more extensive federal grants from the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

This past year we enacted major economic development laws – as vice-chair of the Commerce Committee, I proudly supported each. The first provides tax credits and other incentives for business expansion, encourages private sector investment, and designates funding for brownfields remediation to return blighted, urban property to productivity and local tax roles.

Another provides direct economic assistance to bolster Connecticut’s march toward bioscience and life science prominence. Jackson Labs will relocate to Connecticut and add jobs after learning of our investment earlier this year to rebuild the UConn Health Center into a hub of bioscience activity. Collaboration among UConn, Jackson Labs, and Yale will create a nexus of biomedical advances and generate many good jobs.

We also enacted a new employment and job training program to help small businesses. The goal is to help unemployed job seekers, post-9/11 combat veterans, and others receive job training and permanent employment.

I work tirelessly for towns in my district and state residents. I’ll be honored for the opportunity to keep working as your state senator.