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I'm Mark Sudall. Welcome back to Power and Politics. I'm joined now by Democratic state Senator CC Moore. Welcome. Good morning, Mark. How are you? Good, good. Nice to see you again. You as well. Uh, so you recently decided you're not gonna run for reelection. How come? It was a really tough decision. I absolutely love my job. I love representing the district and making life better for people who are living in the twenty-sixth, but There's a number of different reasons. Um, one is the fact that I, and I know this isn't going to be well received by some of my colleagues, and I've had conversations with other colleagues, but I truly believe that um I will be 73 in November and I believe that there are generations below us that want to move up into leadership and the only way for them to do that is to have access and by having someone like myself who is of the boomer generation, I don't want to forestall younger leadership moving up. So that's one of the reasons that I decided, you know, I'll be 75 at the end of that next, uh, session, and maybe the next generations and the two running for my seat are 20 years younger, each of them about 20 years, and they're gonna be making the laws for the next generations. So, that is a primary reason that I looked at. Secondarily, I think that um none of us are given a whole lot of time. I'm very healthy, very energetic, I have tons of desire to keep, you know, to do the work, but none of us know what's coming down the pipe. And I have 2 grandchildren now, which I did not have when I first started this 5 years ago, almost 5 years ago, and I am very excited to spend time with them. And they live far away, very far away, the other side of the country and down in DC and I don't want to, they grow quickly, and I don't want to miss that time of their lives. My children want me in their lives and my grandchildren, they want me in my grandchildren's lives. So, that's pretty much it. Um, this will be my 4th time retiring from, um, different careers, but not including parent being a mom. And because I don't think you ever retire from that, but, you know, that's my thinking. Wow, you've really thought this through, no question about that, a very, very thoughtful answer, I will say as well, um, and certainly, look, I mean, I give a lot of our politicians a lot of credit. This is not an easy time, uh, to be in these roles. So, what are your thoughts about, uh, the state of, of politics right now and kind of the political climate? You know, that is such an interesting question. First off, I really should say that this is not a part-time job. Never should anyone presume that being a, a senator or a representative up in the state house is a part-time job because it is simply not. We are paid about $42,000 a year for what is considered quote unquote a part-time job, but with the needs of community, the current state of politics that you just referenced, the um Uh, the impact of digital, um, information and digital connection on the job, it is a full-time job. And for people who are living in Fairfield County, and, you know, other parts of far away, um, from Hartford, it can be an hour, hour and a half to get to The work, and those are long days, and yes, we get to use Zoom, but you can't underestimate the importance of in-person connections because politics is about relationships. So, that's framing from that perspective, but from the broader sense of politics right now, there is so much coming at us all the time. In one day, we might find out we've lost SNAP benefits and we have to go, you know, coalesce and figure out how we're gonna make that happen and talk with leadership, talk with the governor, talk with our colleagues, and figure out how we're going to keep people whole. You know, and that's just one piece. There's healthcare that's been impacted and the vagaries of politics right now, the ways that we don't know what's happening until we read it in the paper, um, we wake up and find out on a Saturday morning we're in a war. So, you know, this is the kind of thing that's happening all the time. And so that requires a greater degree of immediacy and, and response and draws us away from what is important, which is planning. So, um, and when I say planning, I mean planning on bills, making sure that we're making a difference for the constituents in Connecticut. Now you have been co-chair of the Children's Committee. What accomplishments would you say you're most proud of? Well, A lot, actually, um, one that I can immediately point to is the setting up of the behavioral health advocate, um, site, uh, um, excuse me, position, and the behavioral health advocate. position has, um, I just sat down with him this week to get a recap of where they are, and He is doing and this office is doing great work. So it's Howard Zabronsky is our new behavioral health advocate and we've never had one. We had a healthcare advocate, but for providers and families who had needs around behavioral health, there was no one to turn to. So, yes, there's 211 for information, but there was no one who could be an advocate for families and providers. So, I'm extremely happy about that. The other thing that I'm very pleased with, two other things. One, I'm the tri-chair of the Children's Behavioral Health Oversight and Planning Committee, and that is doing great work at looking at breaking down silos across Connecticut in terms of service provision. And um making sure that we are, yeah. I'm sorry we ran out of time. Thank you so much. Yes, I know it goes quick, right? It does go quick. Sorry, Mark. OK, thank you. Early childcare endowment. State regulators approved the controversial sale of aquarium water company. That story next.

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700,000 aquarium customers are about to get a new water company and higher bills this week. State regulators approved aquariums takeover by the Regional Water Authority in New Haven. Now it's a massive $2.5 billion deal. Purer raised concerns about how it is being financed. Plus, because RWA is a public utility, they don't need state approval to raise customers' rates. The commissioners defended their decision. It promotes local control, creates public ownership, and fosters stability and continuity. The new authority will be governed by individuals from the communities it serves, not by a board of directors. RWA projects up to 8% rate increases each year until 2040. Any increases need approval from the utilities board, which is made up of members from local communities. The new Aquarian Water Authority says, quote, This approval allows the Aquarian Water Authority to move forward with the acquisition and transition to a locally governed, not for profit model focused on reliable service, accountability, and sustained investment in the system. A new Quinnipiac poll a new national poll from Quinnipiac University reveals some key points from voters, including where they stand on the war with Iran. 42% of voters think the conflict will make the world less safe. 35%. It will make the world safer. 20% think it will make no difference. Answers also show a deep divide between parties. 79% of Republicans think the war will make the world safer, while 74% of Democrats think the opposite. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim is seeking re-election. It would be his fourth straight term. Ganim was mayor from '91 to 2003 before going to prison on corruption and bribery charges. He served seven years. He was then re-elected in 2015 and has been mayor ever since. I love the job. We want to rebuild and fortify every neighborhood in this city, um, continuing improving the quality of education, adding more money. I mean, we've got the mill rate at the lowest levels in recent history. Crime and public safety, the same, lowest levels in history, but there's more work to be done. We need affordable housing and holding the line and seeing a cut in the mill rate, the largest cut in the mill rate and the city's lowest mill rate in its recent history now, is going to make the city more affordable for all of us. So I look forward to the job. Now the race is still a ways away. It's not until November of 2027. That's all our time. I'm Mark Sudall. Thanks for watching.

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Former First Selectwoman of Westport Jen Tooker and State Sen. Ceci Maher join the program this week.

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