Olha Yarynich, Contributing Photographer

State Rep. Roland Lemar, a Democrat, is running for an eighth term in office with the goal of loosening Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails in order to invest more in public education, among other priorities.

His Republican and Independent opponent, the businesswoman Andrea DiLieto Zola, said those spending limits should generally remain in place — except for education funding.

The race for the 96th General Assembly district, which encompasses the eastern part of New Haven and part of East Haven, pits a longtime incumbent against a political newcomer. Seats at the State Capitol in Hartford are the most local positions up for grabs in next month’s election, garnering far less attention than the presidential election at the top of the ballot.

But after a sixth straight year of state budget surplus, this spring’s legislative session is likely to feature debates between some Democrats who favor freer spending and others, including Republicans and Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who defend the caps on spending that have helped stabilize the state’s financial position in recent years.

“The guardrails served us well but now are constraining us to the point that we can’t make strategic investments,” Lemar told the News, “and that’s going to hold the next generation of residents back.”

He believes that adjusting the guardrails would allow the state to address “chronic” underfunding in public schools, particularly in high-need municipalities and school districts like New Haven’s.

Lemar, a former alder, was first elected to the General Assembly in 2010. He currently serves as the House chair of the Transportation Committee.

In an interview with the News, Mayor Justin Elicker applauded Lemar’s work on transportation and environmental policy, such as a planned bus rapid transit system in New Haven.

“There’s a lot of focus on, particularly in presidential years, the presidential election and national politics,” Elicker said. “But the reality is these state and local elections have, in many ways, more influence, direct influence, on people’s lives.”

Zola, a business owner who is in the process of opening a cafe in Wooster Square, previously ran for the Ward 8 alder seat in Wooster Square in 2023, losing the race to incumbent alder Ellen Cupo by a margin of 70 percentage points. She has since joined New Haven’s Republican Town Committee as a Ward 8 co-chair.

Last month, Zola received the Independent Party’s endorsement, on top of the Republican one, meaning that her name will appear on two lines of the ballot.

“I actually really like him,” Zola said of Lemar, having seen him in passing around town. “A lot of the people I’m meeting, they just don’t know much about him either, and that’s why I think that, if they’re ready for positive change and they want someone new in the seat, I would be the best choice.”

Asked about his opponent, Lemar said that he was unfamiliar with Zola’s positions, although he had met her “a few times” over the years. He added that, as the incumbent, he was running on his accomplishments, rather than “making promises to people.”

Both campaigns have relied largely on door-to-door canvassing. 

According to Lemar, the door-knocking strategy has proved itself most effective, allowing him to talk with constituents about their priorities and concerns. He said that events such as meet and greets, as well as town hall meetings, generally attract pre-existing supporters whose opinions may not be representative of the entire district. 

“What it’s important to focus on and discuss is: What do the constituents want?” Zola said. “They’re talking about lowering the cost of living, which I think is No. 1, the most important.” 

She specified that electricity costs and taxes are too high.

Zola, who sometimes works as a Title I interventionist, an educator who helps students struggling with reading and math, said she is most personally interested in education policy. She praised Elicker, who recently announced proposals to invest millions in New Haven’s struggling public schools, for “trying to improve the school system.”

Elicker has called for the state to change its fiscal approach and provide more funding for New Haven Public Schools. Following last week’s news of a sixth consecutive budget surplus, Republicans in the state Senate warned that Democrats will upend the “smart fiscal guardrails that Republicans fought to put in place in 2017.”

When asked about her preferred fiscal policy, Zola at first said she supports Elicker and Lemar’s suggestions that the state increase its education investments. But she called for bipartisan collaboration on the issue and wrote in a text to the News, “I remain steadfast in my party loyalty” to Republicans. Zola said she would back an exception to guardrails to permit increased education spending.

Lemar faced the same Republican opponent, Eric Mastroianni, in his past three bids for reelection — 2018, 2020 and 2022 — and won with 81, 76 and 89 percent of the vote, respectively.