Alexandra Bergstein. Photo: Alex Bergstein for State Senate
Democrat Alexandra Bergstein has announced she will run for Connecticut Senate in the 36th District, the seat occupied by Scott Frantz, who is in his fifth term.
The 36th Senatorial District includes the Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford.
Bergstein became familiar to many Greenwich residents through her efforts as director of “Greening Our Children,” for which she spoke against the use of recycled tire rubber, “crumb rubber,” for use in municipal and public school playgrounds.
She is also a leader in the non profit Greenwich Community Gardens and co-founder with Deirdre Kamlani and Dita Bhargava of the Parity Partnership, which promotes gender equality in the workplace.
The three co-founders of the Parity Partnership, Alex Bergstein, Deirdre Kamlani and Dita Bhargava with Senator Blumenthal.
“Our core values are being challenged and partisanship is rampant. We thought it couldn’t happen in CT, but it has. Our State Senate is now divided 18 Republicans, 18 Democrats. And nearly every vote falls along party lines. The partisan agenda from Washington has come to Hartford. Is that what we want?” Bergstein wrote in an email on Sunday.
“We don’t have to choose one over the other,” she continued. “We can fix our finances, and invest in infrastructure and education to drive economic growth and create jobs. And we can advance Gun Safety, Public Health, the Environment and Women’s Equality.”
In her announcement, Bergstein emphasized the priority she gives to gun safety, saying, “Gun violence is now part of every child’s reality … but we can change that! Did you know that ‘ghost guns,’ which are partially assembled weapons without serial numbers, can be purchased off the internet without background checks?”
Bergstein said the CT legislature had a chance to ban ghost guns this year. But, she said, “In the final days of the session, they punted. …The gun lobby in Connecticut has become much stronger in the last two years and we need leaders who stand up to them.”