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Our Issues

Hartford voters deserve the very best from our government. We deserve a City Council that will stand up and for the issues that matter to our residents, our businesses, and our communities. We are committed to making real changes to improve Hartford.

JOBS

Hartford faces many challenges, but ensuring that residents have good jobs that can support a family and provide healthcare is the most important solution to many of the problems we face.

We support expansion and enforcement of Hartford’s “Living Wage” ordinance to ensure that jobs in Hartford provide enough income to support a family above the poverty level. Working Families is also committed to improving our local hiring and responsible contractor policies to ensure that city contracts and economic development projects provide good jobs to Hartford residents. Further, we propose a "green jobs" public works project to create jobs and save money in the long run.

Read more about our plans to bring good jobs to Hartford residents.

HOUSING

Housing should be affordable for city residents, including affordable rental and purchase options. We support affordable housing standards that ensure that new housing developments include units that are affordable to low-income families. We also support investing in first-time home ownership programs for families buying their house in Hartford.

EDUCATION

While some schools have made progress, too many of our schools are still falling behind and too many students are not getting the education they deserve. Improving the quality of our public schools will not happen over night, but it is critical to the future of our communities. Our focus is to attract and retain the highest quality teachers that reflect the diversity of Hartford’s communities, and to ensure that our school system provides options that are appropriate to students with a wide range of abilities and interests. Working Families supports "in school suspension" to address discipline problems in the classroom.

Most importantly, we recognize that greater parental participation is the key to ensuring stronger student achievement and we are committed to working with the Board of Education, PTOs, and community organizations to increase community and parental involvement in our schools.

HEALTHCARE

Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The city can play a key role in ensuring greater access to quality, affordable healthcare. City healthcare clinics should have extended hours to make affordable healthcare accessible to families that often have to balance work and childcare obligations. We also support greater enforcement of “Charity Care” that is available at area hospitals so all residents can receive the care they need regardless of insurance status.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Hartford residents suffer from some of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes, and other environmental-related disease. It is unfair and unacceptable that environmental hazards are concentrated in poor urban areas like Hartford. We support environmental justice policies including retrofitting school buses to reduce pollution and blocking the expansion of the Hartford incinerator or any other environmental hazard.

Working Families is also committed to Green Jobs, a public works program to remodel public buildings and utilities for energy conservation and efficiency.

ARTS DEVELOPMENT

Our cities should be not just livable, but worth living in. To that end, Working Families supports investment in local arts. Arts development in Hartford should work to enrich the arts community/experience for the residents of Hartford first, then the larger community.

 

Paid for by Working Families Campaign Committee. Deborah Noble, Treasurer.