Lennon Means Business

Republican delegates in Windsor, Hartford and Bloomfield handed the reins over to Windsor's Malvi Lennon Wednesday, as they nominated the candidate for state senate to run in November's election against Democrat incumbent Eric Coleman.

"I am thrilled," said Lennon of her nomination. "I am also very grateful to everyone who encouraged me to run, and (everyone who) supports my campaign."

The news, announced by Lennon's camp Thursday, is not the first good news for the candidate, who, running on a "jobs, taxes and education" platform critical of democrats currently in Hartford, has picked up endorsements from former Ambassador Tom Foley, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Sate Senators Len Suzio and Joe Markley, among others.

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For Lennon, the key issue needing to be addressed in Hartford is jobs. And in order to create jobs, the state can do more by doing less, she says.

"I spoke with someone the other day... he described his experience of starting a business in Connecticut as trying to swim across The Sound against the tide, with weights strapped to his ankles and arms," she says.

To improve entrepreneurs' experience in the state, Lennon says Hartford legislators can "Get out of the way."

"Let business people do business," she suggests. "That doesn't mean let them take advantage of people, but let them do business... become their partner. Help them. Don't be there to tell them what they can't do. Be there to tell them what they can do, and how they can best do it."

Lennon faces a democratic state senator in Coleman who has occupied the 2nd-District seat for 20 years; however, she believes she has a number of things working in her favor.

First is legislators' approval of "a retroactive tax increase, the largest in the history of our state, and (one) that every single democrat voted in favor of," she says.

"Not one of them had the backbone or the faithfulness to their constituents to say, 'You know, Governor, this is wrong. These people are hurting. They have no savings. What do you mean you're going to take more of their money. Are you crazy?'"

Lennon also believes her not being a career politician in a positive.

"I bring a different perspective," she explains. "I'm not a politician. I'm a regular, every day person. I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm a grandmother — just an average every day person that deals with the laws and the regulations and the taxing that they fabricate in Hartford, and we have to pay for."

Running with the slogan "Putting people before politics," Lennon says she understands the key to affecting meaningful change in Hartford comes from listening to the people, regardless of party affiliations.

"You're here for the people," she says, "not for the party, not for the politics, but for the people."