By Elizabeth Barhydt
Ryan Fazio announced his campaign for governor in the same way he has approached his public service: grounding himself in Connecticut, and particularly in Greenwich, where he was born and raised.
The state senator, who represents Greenwich, Stamford, and New Canaan, told the Sentinel, “Connecticut’s the only place I’ve ever called home. I was born here, raised here, and now I got engaged here. And Amy and I will build a life here and hopefully we can make it a great place for everybody, for the next generation as well.”
That personal milestone came earlier this month when Fazio proposed to Amy Orser in Waveny Park in New Canaan, the site of their first date. “She said yes,” he recounted. “And now I’m very happy to announce that she’s my fiancée. We’re over the moon and really happy about the life we get to build together.”
Days later, Fazio announced his campaign for governor, a move that reflects not just his ambitions but his argument that Connecticut can no longer afford one-party rule in Hartford. “It’s my home. I think it’s a great place with great people, but I think it deserves a better class of leadership,” he said.
A Record in the Senate
Fazio, 34, has used his Senate seat to frame himself as a reformer willing to fight but also willing to deal. On energy, his signature issue, he co-authored Senate Bill 4 this year, which cut $100 million annually from the public benefits charge on electric bills.
“Electric bills are too damn high in the state,” Fazio said. “They have been, and they will continue to be unless much more significant reform is passed, which is why I’m running for governor. That said, I was part of a negotiation and coauthored a bill that was passed into law this year… the first modicum of relief to electric bills that we’ve seen in decades in the state.”
Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat, credited Fazio for his work in the bipartisan deal. “I was appreciative of the governor’s kind words giving me credit for moving the negotiations and the bill forward and ultimately into law,” Fazio said. “My attitude’s always been we should find common ground where we agree.”
Fiscal Guardrails at Risk
For Fazio, the affordability crisis is about more than energy. He has warned repeatedly about the state’s “fiscal guardrails,” the 2017 budget reforms that capped spending and debt while steering excess revenues into longterm savings. According to the Connecticut Mirror, Democratic leaders in Hartford are already loosening those rules, arguing they restrict needed investment.
Fazio sees danger in that. “If the fiscal guardrails are breached,” he told the Sentinel earlier this year, “it will undo the one of the biggest bipartisan successes of the last decade in Hartford.”
Now, fiscal conservatives argue, those guardrails are failing because of legislation the Governor signed into law.
Campaign and Coalition
The campaign, Fazio knows, will be a lift. Connecticut’s public financing system requires gubernatorial candidates to raise $350,000 from donations of $250 or less to qualify for a multimilliondollar campaign grant. “It’s enormously important for us to raise $350,000 from small and medium dollar donations,” he said. “We need to finalize the job faster than any other candidate.”
He said the campaign had already raised $20,000 in its first 48 hours, but the real test will be maintaining momentum into the September 30 fundraising deadline. “It’s difficult to get a thousand people to donate $250 like this,” he admitted.
Still, Fazio points to his Greenwich roots as his greatest political resource. At the St. Roch’s Feast in Chickahominy just days after his announcement, he was met with what he described as “gratifying support from people I’ve known for decades.”
The Political Stakes
Strategically, Fazio’s bet is that the appetite for change in Connecticut is real, and that Democrats’ long-running dominance could be vulnerable if voters feel affordability slipping further away. Whether Governor Lamont runs again or not, Fazio framed his candidacy as inevitable. “Even though I think we’re going to win the nomination, we are starting from behind and must earn every vote, Fazio said. “Our campaign will be new and energetic and we will work harder than anyone else.”
For Greenwich, where Fazio’s political career began and where his family and fiancée now anchor his life, the campaign is both a homecoming and a launchpad. “It was the most special thing I’ve ever had the opportunity to announce,” he said of his engagement. His candidacy is now the next announcement: a Greenwich native seeking to lead the state.
Gov. Ned Lamont, who also hails from Greenwich, has not yet announced his plans.
