Leading Business Organizations Endorse Lavielle Candidacy
CBIA and NFIB ENDORSE GAIL LAVIELLE FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Leading Organizations Acknowledge Lavielle’s Commitment to Helping Businesses Grow and Create Jobs
WILTON, October 11 – Gail Lavielle today announced that the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Connecticut Save America’s Free Enterprise (SAFE) Trust had endorsed her candidacy for State Representative of Connecticut’s 143rd Assembly District.
The CBIA is Connecticut’s largest and broadest-based business membership organization. It is the leading voice of business and industry at the State Capitol and before state administrative agencies. According to John R. Rathgeber, CBIA president and CEO, “Gail Lavielle will take steps to create fiscal policies that move the state in the right direction, welcome businesses, and create jobs. She knows our future depends on it. We need lawmakers who are committed to restoring business confidence in our state so that employers will invest, grow, and create jobs here. And we need leaders who are committed to solving our fiscal problems by making fundamental changes to reduce the size and cost of state government.”
The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. Tim Goodrich, NFIB Regional Public Policy Director, said that the NFIB Connecticut SAFE Trust’s endorsement was based on Lavielle’s understanding of the “issues important to small business” and her commitment “to the needs of thousands of Main Street businesses and their employees in Connecticut.”
Gail Lavielle is a candidate for State Representative of the 143rd District, which includes parts of Wilton and Norwalk. A former business executive, she worked for more than 25 years in finance, marketing, and communication, holding executive leadership positions with Fortune 500 corporations, and held Series 7, 66, and 31 securities licenses.
Lavielle’s background also includes extensive work in education and transportation – two areas that are critical to Connecticut’s ability to attract businesses. At UConn, she teaches upper-level courses to undergraduates to help prepare them for business careers. As a member of the CT Public Transportation Commission, appointed by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, she has defended the interests of Wilton, Norwalk, and all of Fairfield County on issues including the upgrading of the Danbury branch line, rail station parking and access, the renovation of the Wilton train station, and the development of pedestrian and bike paths, including the Norwalk River Valley Trail. She also serves as an appointee of House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero on the state’s Advisory Council for Professional Standards for School Administrators.
In Wilton, Lavielle serves on the Board of Finance and the Energy Commission. She holds an MA from Yale, an MBA in finance from UConn, and a BA from Cornell. She and her husband of 25 years, Jean-Pierre, are active in many service, civic, and cultural organizations.
# # # # #
Last May, the Senate chair of the Appropriations Committee was asked during a floor debate why the state’s impending deficits of more than $3 billion per year weren’t being addressed. Her answer: “We are hoping for an immediate and abrupt turnaround in the economy.” Hope is not a financial strategy. Read Gail's op-ed from The Hour in the Issues section.
The NFIB, the nation’s leading small business association, has endorsed Gail Lavielle’s candidacy for State Representative, because she “will be committed to the needs of thousands of Main Street small businesses and their employees in Connecticut.”
CBIA, the CT Business and Industry Association, has endorsed Gail because, "She will take steps to create fiscal policies that move the state in the right direction, welcome businesses, and create jobs. She knows our future depends on it."