McGorty & Perillo Host Evening of “Pizza & Politics”
Legislators meet with residents at AriBella Restaurant in Shelton
In the wake of a recently-concluded legislative session where majority Democrats and Governor Dannel Malloy pushed through a massive $1.5 billion tax hike, State Representatives Jason Perillo (R-113) and Ben McGorty (R-122) met up with Shelton residents at AriBella Restaurant for an evening of “Pizza and Politics” on July 13th to discuss the results of the work of the legislature, and what it means to the community.
The legislators spent a couple hours informally discussing the state’s economic condition over pizza and other refreshments, highlighted their efforts to right the state’s fiscal course and took questions from the roughly thirty-five people in attendance. The two legislators also discussed local issues affecting Shelton such as downtown redevelopment as well as national issues and the 2016 presidential election.
“Everyone has a stake in what the legislature did during the past session,” said Rep. Perillo. “I appreciated the opportunity to meet up with interested Shelton residents to let them know what took place during the past session, and how they can expect it to impact their lives. Let’s face it, everyone is going to feel that $1.5 billion tax increase, whether they are a small business owner and find it harder to create new jobs and make payroll, or a parent who won’t be able to take advantage of the tax exemption on clothing and footwear under $50 to clothe their children because it has been taken away. I wanted to share what took place and listen to the reactions and comments from residents.”
“This was a challenging legislative session, and the results are going to be felt by everyone,” said Rep. McGorty, who just concluded his first full session since being elected a year ago in a special election. “You can bet that when the governor promised no new taxes and ended up signing a whopping tax hike people are going to have a lot to say about that. We heard from residents of all walks of life, and I appreciated the opportunity to personally discuss these issues with them.”
Both legislators indicated that they would schedule other forums for Shelton residents to come out and discuss state issues in the near future.