Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley laid out his plans for education and taxes in front of New Britain City Hall on Wednesday.
Foley called the outline his "Urban Policy Agenda" and said the plan is specifically designed to improve Connecticut's cities and towns.
"Connecticut's future is no better than the future of our cities," Foley said during a press conference Wednesday.
On taxes, Foley said one of his first goals would be to cap personal property taxes 30 mils, which could help middle- and lower-income families save money, specifically on cars.
“The car tax is simply too high in our cities and distorts markets," Foley said. "People deserve to drive the kind of car they want and can afford and the car they own shouldn't affect where they choose to live.”
Foley's plan to cut car taxes could lead to savings of approximately 60 percent in Hartford and around 30 percent in places like New Britain, Bridgeport and New Haven.
Foley says his plan would cost the state about $30 million in tax revenue.
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He said it wouldn't throw any wrenches into his plan to keep spending flat in Connecticut for two years if he's elected, even though the amount of money going in would decrease as a direct result of the tax cut.
"Thirty million dollars is a very very small amount in a $21 billion dollar state budget. I think we can run this state on $21 billion dollars and reimburse cities for the lost revenue by reducing the car tax,” Foley said.
Democrats say the plan doesn't make any fiscal sense.
Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat from Berlin who serves as the House Majority Leader, said tax cuts don't pay for themselves.
"What priorities are not important? What is willing to cut?" Aresimowicz asked. "What are the services that our residents need on a day to day basis that he’s going to get rid of to provide these cuts?”
Democrats said any tax plan that doesn't have details on how to pay for reductions is simply empty rhetoric.
On the issue of education, state Democrats came out firing against Foley earlier in the day after the release of a campaign political ad in which Foley says children in failing schools can't find opportunity once they leave.
Once again, Democrats criticized Foley for his lack of specifics in the 30-second ad.
"We need to see the facts and at some point in this election. I hope Tom Foley will start providing facts and not little soundbites that he thinks voters in the state of Connecticut will just buy and vote for him on," said Aresimowicz.
Democrats said they're concerned that a Foley administration could strip resources from urban schools.
Foley says he wants to inject free-market principles into some of the state's lowest performing school districts and would work to institute a student transfer program for some districts.
"We’re going to give them the choice" Foley said. "If they’re in a lousy school, we’re going to give them the ability to go to another school and if that’s hard on the school that’s leaving, that’s not the children, that’s the fault of the adults at that school and maybe other factors.”
Foley said parents would have a good idea about the performance of the schools based on a new A-F grading system he would propose.
He wants state and local education funds to "follow the child" but insists that if students leave failing schools, it's best for everyone, even if money leaves schools where the cash is needed.
Foley said he's not afraid to challenge some of the state's lowest-performing schools with what amount to threats when it comes to student achievement.
"Children will get moved from those schools and they will lose resources and eventually if they aren’t able to recover and fix it they’ll get reconstituted, just like we’ve reconstituted schools in Hartford," Foley said.
