The Connecticut Republican Primary On Tuesday August 14th-Part 2-The Governor

For remaining Connecticut voters who both are registered as either a Democrat or as a Republican there will be a primary this Tuesday August 14th to choose candidates for state wide offices.  This column is a continuation of yesterday's endorsements for the Republican primary.  Today I will examine the candidates for Governor and make my endorsement.
Sixteen candidates declared their intentions to run for Governor before the state convention.  Five are remaining vying for the victory on Tuesday.  Three have no political experience and two have political experience.  The Connecticut Republican Party once again has the non politician rich person influence in their candidates as has been seen over the years starting way back in 1992 when millionaire Brook Johnson defeated Convention endorsed United States Senate candidate Chris Burnham in a primary.  Johnson then lost to Chris Dodd in the general election and was never heard from again.  Connecticut is in horrific economic shape with one of the highest aggregate tax rates in the country, $80 billion dollars of short and long term debt along with unfunded liabilities and is at or near the bottom of 50 states in the areas of business development, business creation, new jobs created (less than 6000 jobs  since 1989.)
Coming out of the state convention Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton won the party nomination with one vote over the 50% needed to gain the nomination on the third ballot.  Boughton ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2010 with unsuccessful candidate Tom Foley.  He was also a State Representative from 1999 to 2003.  In my opinion he is a moderate/liberal Republican who has done a good job in Danbury which has traditionally been Democratic.  His 10 point platform includes phasing out the state income tax over ten years, cutting state spending, and making Connecticut business friendly again to name several areas.  His plan can be viewed at boughton2018.com/10-point-plan.  Boughton is an interesting candidate as he does have experience in Hartford as a former legislator and knows the bureaucracy of Hartford.
Gaining enough delegate support out of the convention to primary Boughton is former Trumbull Selectman Tim Herbst.  Herbst is a principled conservative in our liberal state.  Depending on what you read Herbst either saved Trumbull financially or has driven Trumbull to the ground.  In my opinion he did what he needed to do in Trumbull to get it back on its feet financially and helped grow the town economically.  I do know that he raised taxes there due to state mandated programs that the town was required to provide, however this is an issue in all 169 Connecticut towns and cities including in fiscally conservative Wallingford (where taxes have been raised under a fiscally conservative Republican Mayor).  Herbst ran for State Treasurer in 2014 losing by less than 20,000 votes in that election showing to me that he has both name recognition and is electable on a state level.  He is offering an exceptional plan to help restore law and order in Connecticut and is offering also a strong economic plan.  His website offers more information at timforconnecticut.com.
The third candidate that came out of the Convention with enough support to enter the  primary was non politician Steve Obsitnik who is a Navy Veteran and a High-Tech CEO.  He offers an outsider view of the states problems and has major plans to help create jobs in the state.  He offers his ideas and platforms on his website steveobsitnik.com.
The two other candidates who are running for Governor petitioned their way on the primary ballot avoiding the state convention.  In my opinion this is both good and bad.  Good in the sense that they are saving their money and resources to avoid the convention while bad in that they are ignoring the party process and its local towns and cities committees to get their points across.
Bob Stefanowski who was a registered Democrat in October 2016 then registered as a Republican in July 2017 and has not voted in any elections for 16 years is a self funded candidate running in this primary.  His economic plan that was developed with Dr. Arthur Laffer includes phasing the corporate income tax and business equity tax over two years, phasing out the state income tax over eight years and the elimination of the estate tax.  His plan can be viewed at bobforgovernor.com/economic-plan.  Stefanowski has a hard core group of supporters but I question his lack of votes over the years.
David Stemerman is also running a self funded campaign and has similar economic plans as the other candidates looking also at public/private partnerships to help rebuild the states infrastructure.  In my opinion he is the most analytical of all of the candidates and has a strong background to start the long process of fixing Connecticut.  His platforms can be viewed at davidstemerman.com
Five candidates running who to vote for?  I have been inundated with mail, email, phone calls, calls from friends all urging me to vote for their choice.  Each candidate has strong qualities and each candidate has weaknesses.  One will win on Tuesday.
I am going to vote for Tim Herbst.  I know my decision will upset some voters and will be embraced by some voters.  In personally talking to him, reading his platforms, studying his record and campaigns, I feel Tim Herbst has the drive and determination to take back Connecticut this November.  His youth which many feel is bad, (I ran for Town Council In North Branford when I was 22 years old back in 1981) is an asset in my opinion.  He is and has been a principled conservative in our liberal state.  I believe after much study, analysis and thought a Herbst/Markley ticket can be the impetus for the overdue change in Hartford's government. 
I know many feel the same way as I do.  Good luck to all Republican candidates on Tuesday.