Trying to make government more accountable

By Scott Benjamin

NEWTOWN –From the time Hoss and Little Joe rode their thoroughbreds along the Ponderosa, television networks have targeted 18-to-55-year-olds – who drive Nissans, order Big Whoppers and SCUBA-dive at Sandals.

But when it comes to candidates winning elections, the folks trying to place five Bingo chips in a row at the senior picnic carry more influence.

“I’m tired of being forgotten,” says Amybeth Laroche, a member of Newtown’s Board of Finance.

“18 to 55 is one of the major age groups in Connecticut,” she remarked. “But I have heard too many people say, “ ‘ They don’t pay attention. They’re too busy.’ “

Laroche, the Republican nominee in the 28^th state Senate District, will not turn 40 until shortly after November 3, when she will be on the ballot. She will likely face another millennial – Democrat Rob Blanchard, who won his party’s convention nomination in May.

Blanchard is the deputy Majority Leader of the Fairfield Representative Town Meeting and until recently the director of communications for Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich).

The district includes Fairfield, Newtown, Easton and Bethel.

Laroche said she visited Newtown when she was in her 20s, grew in love with it and moved there three years ago.

Laroche declared that candidates cater to the crowd who watched the General Hospital wedding of Luke and Laura in their college dorm rooms because they show up on election day.

Democrat former President Bill Clinton has said, “If people 30- and under voted at the same rate as those 55 and older, you would have a different U.S. Congress.”

“Absolutely,” exclaimed Laroche.

“Those two age groups need to come together and we need to stop separating them,” she explained.

Laroche complained that many of the municipal government meetings in Newtown are at “the bewitching hour” on weeknights when young families can’t attend.

To promote her campaign she has scheduled a series of Saturday morning and afternoon playground meetups in the district through mid-June to mid-July.

Laroche has a seven-year-old daughter who is in first grade at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. She coaches her softball team.

She is an engaged, but the wedding is “on hold” until after the election.

“When we start planning, something else pops up,” Laroche says with a laugh.

The last time the district elected a Democrat, the Oakland A’s of Charlie O' had just scored a three-peat and Steve McGarrett closed Hawaii Five-0 by saying, “Book ‘em Danno.”

It was 1974.

The Democrats targeted the district in 2024 with Blanchard on the ticket against Republican moderate Tony Hwang of Fairfield, who was seeking a sixth term. Hwang prevailed with more than 54 percent of the vote. However, Hwang never got to the comfort zone of 55 percent in his six victories in the district.

Bob MacGuffie of Fairfield, the Republican nominee in the Fourth Congressional District in 2024, said that Laroche “has a lot of tenacity.”

Laroche, a contracts manager and negotiator, has, according to her campaign bio, “managed over $7 billion in Department of Defense contracts, negotiated complex agreements, and uncovered waste and inefficiencies in both federal and corporate budgets.”

She attended Dutchess Community College in New York state and earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Leadership, graduating Magna Cum Laude, from Rider University in New Jersey.

Laroche said part of the reason she is running for the state Senate is that there are comparable administrative jobs in Virginia and Texas that pay at least $40,000 a year more than in Connecticut.

“That’s because we’re taxing so much in this state, the wages can’t keep up,” she declared.

“People are filing bankruptcy at 6.6 percent in Connecticut,” said Laroche.

Related to that, Laroche said, “I think we need to eliminate the income tax.”

The top two finishers in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary, Bob Stefanowski of Madison and former Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, made that pledge, but critics said they never had a plan.

Laroche said over time it could be done.

Would it require zero-based budgeting, which has been endorsed by Republican gubernatorial nominee Ryan Fazio, the state senator from Greenwich?

She said there are obstacles of, “Undoing years of Democratic rule. You would have to undo all those little nuances.”

Wall Street Journal columnist Andy Kessler recently wrote that almost two-thirds of the people 30 and under approve of socialism.

Laroche attributes that to college professors who “are indoctrinating a lot of this Marxism and socialism.”

In some towns the Board of Finance hold considerable power. Republican former Brookfield First Selectman Bonnie Smith once said, “You can’t spend money without approval from the Board of Finance.”

Laroche called her initial months on Newtown’s Board of Finance “extremely eye-opening.”

She said that in reviewing the budget there “were two or three” municipal departments that “were really fantastic” in providing detailed analysis.

“But everybody else was asking for more money than trying to fix what they have. The needs become the wants,” Laroche lamented. “It is chaos tactics.”

She said she initially became interested in the 28^th District seat when Hwang announced last fall that he was running in the special election for the vacant seat for first selectman of Fairfield.

Laroche thought, “What is going to happen? There is a missing component. You need a plan” on what will happen if Hwang is elected first selectman and his state Senate seat becomes vacant.

Hwang lost his bid for first selectman. He was criticized during the campaign by some Republicans, including former Trumbull first selectman and 2018 GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Herbst.

Herbst wrote a scorching letter to the editor to Patch.com, stating that, “Tony Hwang does not financially support other Republican candidates, nor does he meaningfully assist those on his own team. He treats public office like a personal branding exercise, routinely appearing at public events wearing clothing emblazoned with his own name, as if he were promoting a personal clothing line.”

Laroche announced in February just after Hwang’s defeat in the first selectman’s election that she had endorsements from four major elected officials connected with the state Senate district.

This spring, Hwang announced that he would not seek a seventh term.

Laroche was unanimously endorsed in May at the Republican convention.

Laroche said she has sent voice-mail and e-mail messages to Hwang, but as of late-May had not received a response regarding getting his endorsement in the race.

Government professor and Scholar-In-Residence Gary Rose of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield stated that Hwang’s loss in the first selectman’s race in Fairfield “further portends problems for the Republicans to hold onto senate district 28.”

He added, “The Democrats with Rob Blanchard as the party’s candidate have a very real chance of flipping this district “Blue.” Blanchard will be helped with Governor Lamont at the top of the ticket and the rise of straight ticket voting in CT. Hwang was a phenomenal campaigner who held onto his senate seat with old-fashion retail politics. The Republican candidate to win this race will have to campaign at the same level of energy that characterized each of Tony’s campaigns - a difficult model to emulate.”

With gasoline prices escalating since Operation Epic Fury in Iran began on February 28, Laroche said she supports suspending the 25-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and the 39-cent-a-gallon levy on diesel fuel for two months, as state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield has proposed.

Harding has said there is about a $60 million surplus in the special transportation account that could pay for the temporary suspension, and state officials could decide after two months whether to continue the gas tax holiday.

Laroche supports the call by legislative Republicans to eliminate the public benefits charge on electric bills, which, among other things, provides funding for needy rate payers.

She commented, “Instead it is putting a band-aid on that and letting people get things for free.”

Supporters of the public benefits charge have said that, among other things, it provides funds for home weatherization, energy audits and rebates on high-efficiency appliances to help residents recue long-term consumption.

“We’ve enabled a lot of people without giving them the tools to be successful,” said Laroche.

Lamont has said that Republican President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which the president signed last summer, has caused shortages in food programs and Medicaid funding in Connecticut.

Said Laroche, “He keeps blaming Trump. Trump has never been governor.”

Lamont and Fazio both support banning iPhones in the public schools.

Laroche exclaimed, “If you’re going to ban the phones, then you also should ban the iPads.”

She said iPads have been deterrents to “critical thinking.”

“The brain doesn’t retain as much,” Laroche explained.

On another topic, municipalities began installing speed cameras last year. Now there are 15 that have at least received approval.

Laroche commented, “I think the initial idea of the speed cameras is great. I know they wanted everybody to be safe. But now there are gaps and holes. I think it needs to be determined how wide these things are going to be used.”

She agreed with Matt Corey of Manchester, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, who has said towns should increase the number of officers patrolling the roads.

Said Laroche, “We need to stop using so much technology.”

Blanchard stated, "When I knocked on doors across Fairfield, one of the most common concerns I heard was traffic and pedestrian safety, particularly from parents of McKinley Elementary students worried their children didn't have a safe route to school. Fairfield's traffic safety cameras are not about politics or revenue; they're about preventing tragedies and addressing those concerns. I'd rather a driver receive a violation in the mail than have officers deliver devastating news to a family.

"At the same time, supporting safer roads does not mean the program is beyond review. The town should continue evaluating its effectiveness, listening to residents, and making adjustments where warranted. Cameras are one tool among many, alongside traffic-calming measures, roadway improvements, signage, and targeted enforcement. This measure received bipartisan support because traffic safety is a community issue, not a partisan one.”

What do women bring to government?

“Women can multi-task,” said Laroche. “Women know what the groceries cost and we pay the bills.”

Regarding the baseball demographics, she said the 28^th District – being in Fairfield County – has more Yankee than Red Sox fans.

Having grown up in Rhode Island, Laroche followed the Red Sox and Patriots. Her favorite Red Sox player was Hall of Fame designated hitter David Ortiz.

What elected officials does she most admire?

She names a baby boomer – former New York state Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey, who made a bid for the Connecticut GOP gubernatorial nomination this year – a member of Generation X – state Sen. Rob Sampson (R-16) of Wolcott and a millennial – Fazio.

Laroche said of Fazio, who has endorsed her campaign, “I like his temperament. The way he presents himself. He is a great resource of knowledge.”

Resources:

Interview with Amybeth Laroche, Patch.com, on Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Phone interview with Amybeth Laroche, Patch.com, on Monday, June 1, 2026.

E-mail interview with Amybeth Laroche, Patch.com, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

Phone interview with Bob MacGuffie, Patch.com, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.

E-mail interview with Rob Blanchard, Patch.com, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

E-mail interview with Gary Rose, Patch.com, on Thursday, June 4, 2026.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/our-champagne-socialists-3534e4b4?mod=author_content_page_1_pos_2

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/harding-calls-least-two-month-gas-tax-holiday

https://ballotpedia.org/Connecticut_State_Senate_District_28