Stephanie Thomas

Stephanie Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from New York University in 1991 and a master's degree in nonprofit management from the New School in 1996. Thomas' career experience includes owning a business and working as a fundraising consultant. She has been affiliated with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Women in Development, Nonprofit New York, the Carver Center, and the Norwalk Housing Authority Scholarship Fund.[1][2]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Stephanie Thomas is the endorsed Democrat for Secretary of the State in the August 9 primary. She is a current State Representative and small business owner who knows what it takes to build herself from the ground up. Stephanie is running because she believes civic education and community engagement are key to protecting voting rights and reconnecting people to our government and the voting process. The government should work for all of us, whether you are a business owner, voter, consumer, or those often left behind.

Stephanie graduated from NYU and received her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management. As a small business owner, she has spent three decades advising and problem-solving for nonprofit organizations. Experienced in business strategy and fundraising, Stephanie understands what it takes to grow and maintain a successful enterprise and the value of integrity and transparency.

As Vice Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Stephanie sponsored and helped pass a variety of voter-focused bills such as automatic voter registration at state agencies and resolutions to advance early voting and no-excuse absentee ballot voting.

Stephanie is passionate about civic engagement. She is a natural leader and consensus builder, with an insistence that government work for all.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

You cannot force people to vote, you must inspire them. Civic education and civic engagement for young people and adults are necessary to complement voter access. Community members and leaders must be engaged to educate the public on our voting methods and voting rights.Implement early voting and no-excuse absentee voting to fuel civic engagement and increase ballot accessibility. Ensure all of our towns implement fair, safe, and accessible elections, and maintain a trusted and transparent relationship with our Town Clerks and Registrars.Utilize the power of data to provide information to businesses across the state to help them tap into available programs, funding, and resources.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Stephanie Thomas is a fierce advocate for protecting voting rights, expanding accessibility to the ballot, implementing early voting, and fostering civic engagement. Due to the language in the state constitution, Connecticut is not able to allow for in-person early voting by simply passing a law to do so. Consequently, Connecticut is one of only several states that allow no form of early voting.

This year in Connecticut, the state must implement a strong outreach campaign to reach voters to educate them about the question on the ballot to support early voting. Once this initiative is approved by the general voting public, a bill would need to be raised to support early voting in Connecticut and undergo the usual public hearing process and pass a vote in both chambers - the House and Senate - in order for early voting to be adopted.

Campaign website

Thomas’s campaign website stated the following:

TRANSPARENCY, ADVOCACY, AND INTEGRITY

My Top Priorities

Ensuring that our towns have the resources and infrastructure to implement fair, safe, and accessible elections (from tabulators to telephone help)!

Serving as a leader in cooperation with ROVAC and CTCA to work with the General Assembly to implement early voting and no-excuse absentee voting when those ballot measures become law.

Using the power of data to provide information to businesses across the state that will help them tap into available programs, funding, and resources.

Serve as a convener and open up channels of communication with all the stakeholders of the office: from community groups and voting rights advocates to businesses to frontline election workers.

Transparency

Focused on communication and transparency, ensuring that information is made public on a timely and clear basis and that residents can easily find the information they need.

Committed to partnering with all groups and political parties in an open and transparent manner.

Advocacy

Determined to continue the work that Governor Lamont and Secretary Merrill have spearheaded to utilize technology smartly – streamlining paperwork and creating one-stop-shopping for Connecticut’s businesses and entrepreneurs.

Committed to work with schools, community organizations, religious institutions, and other stakeholder groups to foster greater civic engagement. Voting is the very underpinning of our democracy, and apathy is winning as many elections as are our political parties.

Committed to bring town clerks and registrars of voters to the table to discuss their challenges and find 21st Century solutions to ensure that every city and town succeeds.

Committed to ensuring every Connecticut city and town has the funding and resources it needs to educate their electorate and implement fair and safe elections.

Integrity

Focused on restoring trust in our elections by fair dealing and embracing listening tours around the state even after elected.

Committed to ensuring access to the ballot box for all eligible voters through an increased focus on voter registration efforts.

Committed to ensuring that all voters are enfranchised; will further solutions that benefit all voters such as individuals with disabilities, caregivers, business owners, holders of multiple jobs, college students, and others who require effective access to the ballot box.[3]

—Stephanie Thomas’s campaign website (2022)[4]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Voter access, affordable health care, small business assistance, and public transportation improvements are just a few of the issues that I support strongly. However, I am running because I believe apathy has been winning as many elections as Democrats or Republicans because politics have replaced governance.

I have always tried to embody public service in my community through my work with the nonprofit

sector and my volunteer activities. I see government as a natural extension of this work and believe that I can make a difference across a number of issues for my district through my ability to listen, build consensus, make tough decisions, and most importantly, serve as a proactive voice for values that are often labeled Democratic, but I believe are human values.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

It is time to bring urgency to the legislature. Solutions cannot move at a glacial pace any longer.Voter access is the first step in ensuring that our democracy reflects the wants of it's citizens. Connecticut has some of the most restrictive voting rights in the county which need to be changed.Intervention is always more expensive than prevention. Let's focus on prevention and innovation to move Connecticut forward.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

*We need to ensure that our healthcare is accessible and affordable - in times of crisis and always.

Systems that will make it easier for residents to vote such as no-excuse absentee ballots, online requests for absentee ballots, early voting, and Automatic Voter Registration.

Our natural resources are one of the best things about living in Connecticut and should be protected.

We need gun laws that expand upon the work of activists and legislators to make Connecticut an even safer place.

We need 21st century infrastructure to have a 21st century economy.