Chris Rosario, a state representative from Bridgeport and chair of the Black and Latino Caucus, joins Brett to talk about what it was like growing up in the state's largest city, the latest on the state budget, his favorite Bridgeport Bluefish memory, and more. 

Here's a transcript of the interview:

Brett Broesder: Hello, and welcome to the Tomorrow's Jobs Podcast. I'm your host, Brett Broesder. I'd like to introduce our guest today, State Representative, Chris Rosario, from the largest city in the state, Bridgeport. Representative Rosario, welcome to the program.

Chris Rosario: Hey, Brett, how you doing? Thanks for having me on. I'm looking forward to a great conversation.

Brett Broesder: Great. I'll tell you what. On that note, I wanted to ask you about your childhood. Can you tell me a little bit about your upbringing?

Chris Rosario: Sure, absolutely. I was born and raised here in the City of Bridgeport. My parents came to Bridgeport in 1978 with my older brother and older sister, so I always joke around and say I was made in Puerto Rico because my mother was four months pregnant when she came to Bridgeport, but I was born here at Bridgeport Hospital and grew up on the east side of Bridgeport. Attended Bridgeport Public Schools and I love the city. The city's welcomed our family with open arms and it's an honor for me to serve in the State House and to give back to the city that's been so great to our family.

Brett Broesder: That's fantastic. So, you went to Bridgeport Public Schools, Warren Harding High School to be specific. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience there?

Chris Rosario: Sure, yeah. No, I went to Harding High School where I was very active in sports. I played track, I mostly played football and it was one of those things where, growing up in the inner city, it was difficult and going to Harding High School, we had our challenges. I had my challenges, but definitely it really shaped me and molded me and it's made me the person that I am today, especially being a part of the Harding Football program. Coach Cole and many of my teammates that I still keep in contact with today, it's been an influential part of my life.

Brett Broesder: What is one of the biggest challenges that you had to overcome and how has it impacted you today?

Chris Rosario: Well, one of the challenges that I can say growing up in Bridgeport, being a teenager, a young adult, was my mother had to experience health issues and my older brother was incarcerated for the majority of the part of the time I was in high school. I have an older sister and she got married and ended up going with her husband into the service. She didn't serve, but her husband did, so every summer, my mother would send me to wherever they would go to kind of keep me out of trouble. Although I wasn't really a military brat, but I did kind of live that life. Wherever they went, that's where I spent my summer. Whether it would have been Rhineland Air Force Base in Germany or mostly Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. That, in essence, really helped keep me out of trouble, but with that being said, you know, we still had our challenges.

My mother had health issues and we didn't have a head of household, so I was thrust into the workforce early because I had to pay the rent. That was one of the issues that I had to overcome, but my mother was, she still is an extremely hard worker, and that's where I get my work ethic from is from my mother and my father. My father passed away when I was 10 years old. He had health issues, so he was a carpenter, he was a very hard-working man. I get my hard work ethic from my mom and my dad.

Brett Broesder: That's great and I'm really sorry to hear about your father. With your upbringing in mind and becoming the head of the household at such a young age, following graduation and obviously, we knew each other from our time at City Hall, can you take us through your journey after graduating from Harding High School to making it into City Hall?

Chris Rosario: Absolutely, absolutely. After school, as I said, I had to enter the workforce early and I, in turn, ended up working for MetLife Long Term Care in Westport mainly as a, you know, the sales line. I worked on the sales line for a little over six and a half years. I did a little bit of internal wholesaling on the sales line with group, long term care, disability, so that, it really prepared me in dealing with people of all different types of backgrounds and nationalities and different personalities and working in a team environment. Obviously, playing sports, that helped prepare me to work in a team environment, so being in that world really helped me get prepared, to that road to City Hall and with that being said, I ended up applying for a job with the Bridgeport City Council. After working for MetLife, I started working as the Legislative Liaison for the Bridgeport City Council and under the Fabrizi administration and Andres Ayala was the Council President at the time.

I worked there for a little under two years and I had met State Senator, at the time, Bill Finch. When he became Mayor, I worked on his campaign and he asked me to be a part of his staff. I was one of the first members of Mayor Finch's staff when he first took office in Bridgeport, the election's 2007, he took office late 2007, early 2008. I was a mayoral liaison and I handled many issues. Community affairs issues, constituent service issues, whether, may have been tax issues or anything under the sun.

One of my first days on the job for Mayor Finch, it was, he got sworn in. I remember vividly, he got sworn in on a Saturday and that Saturday night, there was a tragic fire on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. Unfortunately, there was a family that perished. It was a mother, father and small infant child and there were two surviving children, both only spoke Spanish. My first job was to help translate for the children for the Red Cross. Right then and there, I knew that this was not fun and games, this was not all glam and fun. This was real life. You're dealing with real life and death situations and that really opened my eyes to what was ahead.

Brett Broesder: Wow, so I don't want to backtrack here too much, but when you went from MetLife and transitioned to becoming the liaison for the City Council, what helped you most during that transition and what were you most shocked about moving into government life?

Chris Rosario: Well, what helped me a lot, obviously, was being on the sales line, you had connections with people. However, they were mostly over the phone. Whereas, with dealing with constituent issues on the City Council and also in the Mayor's Office, you're dealing with people hand to hand, face to face. One thing that I enjoyed the thrill of hitting your goal and hitting a benchmark in the private sector, however, the thrill of meeting new people and really helping change lives, that's what really drew me to the whole public sector. I want to say those are the two things where you really get to work with people and make that connection, however, that intimacy of actually knowing the family and working on the public sector, that's what I really enjoy.

Brett Broesder: That's great. I know you said Andres Ayala was the sitting Council President when you had started working for the City Council as the liaison to the Mayor. I know he is very important in your life. Can you tell me a little bit about when and how you met him?

Chris Rosario: Sure. Andres Ayala, he’s been a big brother to me. He’s been a mentor to me. I actually met Andres at a Bridgeport Bluefish game. I want to say around 2004, early 2004. And at that time, the quality of life issue, problems at that time, there were these little mini-dirt bikes, they were pre ATV … The stuff that we’re going through now, so he had done a press conference on that. I had taken a particular issue because they were really prominent in our neighborhood. So, I got the chance to meet him at the Bluefish game and discuss the things he was working on. He gave me his business card and said if I wanted to get in contact with him or get involved more in the public sector, to get in contact with him, which I did and the rest is history. I got to work on the Diane Ferrell for Congress campaign. I worked on the Kerry Edwards campaign. And in turn, I got to meet some really amazing people and it helped me on the journey I am on today.

Brett Broesder: I know two of the folks you got to meet on the Diane Ferrell for Congress campaign were Adam Wood and Rueben Felipe, two good friends of both of ours, and several other younger folks that work in Bridgeport politics and other places statewide. And, obviously working for the Bridgeport City Council in 2007, when a sitting Mayor decided not to run, leaving the possibility for Bill Finch to run as a candidate for mayor … It just must have been such a wild ride, I would love to hear about it from your point of view.

Chris Rosario: Yeah, sure. Absolutely. I remember vividly, John Fabrizi, by the way, John's a very good friend of mine. I thought he was a tremendous Mayor. He was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the City of Bridgeport. He still loves this city, but I remember that summer, he had gone through his issues and there was a vacuum. They weren't sure who they were going to be backing for Mayor. When I say they, the party. I know Chris Caruso was interested in it. I know he had run in the past and he was ... Actually, according to polling, he was in the lead and Bill Finch was chosen by the party to take the mantle over from John Fabrizi.

Brett Broesder: To clarify, that race was a State Senator, Mayor Bill Finch, versus State Representative, Chris Caruso. Correct?

Chris Rosario: Yes, yes. You had that dynamic happening and I had gotten to meet Adam Wood and Ruben Felipe in 2004 and during those earlier campaigns. Over that time, we had gotten the chance to work on two or three different election cycles together. We'd gotten to know each other very well and it was just a partnership and a team that we were all able to get together as young Democrats in the City of Bridgeport. I know right now, there's talk, the Greater Bridgeport Young Democrats are making a lot of noise, but we really helped pave the way for a lot of that movement that's happening now, back in 2004, 5, 6, 7, and we were able to accomplish what many people can't. We won that mayoral campaign and won reelection four years later. I'm really proud of all the work that Mayor Finch has done and what our administration stood for. It's one of those things where I can tell my children that we really made change in the City of Bridgeport.

Brett Broesder: That's amazing. You were talking a little bit before about your time in the city and a couple of days into Mayor Finch's administration, going through such a tragic situation, but obviously you dealt with so many more of those tragic situations during your tenure with the City of Bridgeport. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey from starting in the Mayor's Office through to becoming Anti-Blight Director for the City?

Chris Rosario: Sure. I was doing many community projects for the Mayor and I'd always been the behind the scenes guy when it came to the political, in the political sense, I've always helped everyone out. To be honest with you, I didn't really have any interest in running for office. I just wanted to give back to my city and over time, I had an opportunity in 2012 to run for State Representative and I had just gotten the Blight Director job. My daughter at the time, I want to say, was nine or ten months old. I think that factored in with the fact that, to be honest with you, it's very scary to run for public office. I decided to not seek election in 2012. Unfortunately, the person that was there at the time, she had gotten into some issues with the law and it was kind of a snowball effect where people were really ... They knew I had had some interest, so they really were talking to me about really reconsidering running for the 128th District State Representative seat. I was adamant that unless I had full support of my family, I wasn't going to do it.

That summer of 2013, there was some local council elections and, as I said, I help everybody out. I was working on a council campaign and I had gone out to dinner. My son, he asked me, he said, "Hey Dad, how's that campaign going?" I told him how the campaign was going. He says, "Dad, why don't you run?" He says, "I would help you." That kind of started the snowball effect. My wife said, "Yeah, you should run for State Representative," so after that dinner, summer of 2013, once I got the blessing of my family that said you should really do this, that's when I kicked things into high gear and started kicking the tires on possibly running for State Representative.

Brett Broesder: That's great. How has it been, obviously, going from that point to winning and having a victory by such a large margin, in what was shaping up at first to be a very difficult primary, but obviously you being what is now known as a really great campaigner and putting in the hard work. From that point of winning, through to going into the General Assembly and session starting, what were the biggest challenges you found? Maybe even the biggest challenges you didn't expect to have when you got the State Legislature, even with your background having worked in municipal government?

Chris Rosario: Well, you know, one of the challenges, to be honest with you, when I first ran, I had this notion in my head. It's like, okay, I'm going to do this and with everything I do I'm going to give my best. Jumping in, it literally was like jumping from, you know, not to say that municipal level's the minor leagues, but I knew it was different and I knew it was a different level. I had to work the hardest I've ever had to work in my life. To go in and, I want to say the first month, I felt a little lost. I felt a little lost in the sense of I was trying to be like other people that were up there. After a while, and I was kind of spinning my wheels, and I just said, "Forget this. I'm just going to do what got me here." I threw everything, I went in there with my mind, I was like, I need to be like Representative So and So because they're doing it this way and I need to be like Representative So and So because they're doing it that way. I said, "You know what? I'm the best me that I can be," so I just threw all that out and just was being the best Chris Rosario that I can be. I think that's really kind of set me apart from the me that got there when I first got sworn in.

Brett Broesder: What would you say is your biggest legislative accomplishment since coming into office?

Chris Rosario: There's been a lot. One of them, obviously, it was the Bridgeport Thermal Loop legislation. Although it did get vetoed by the governor, it's something that we worked on for three years and we're still working continuously with the Governor's Office. I think of working under Mayor Bill Finch and his vision and idea of sustainability. I believe that that project is on the cutting edge and I'm proud of the work that we've done with that. I'm proud of all the work that we've done with mixed martial arts and working on the entertainment industry for Bridgeport. There are so many, but yeah. I want to say the Thermal Loop is one of the things that I'm very proud of.

Brett Broesder: That's great. Let's talk a little bit about the Mixed Martial Arts bill. Obviously, I know that was championed by you and was one of the more interesting narratives that played out in this past legislative session. Can you take us through your journey working on that bill from start to finish?

Chris Rosario: Sure. Speaking of my good friend and mentor, Andres Ayala, that was one of the pieces of legislation that he had worked on and he had gotten passed. However, in the implementer bill, I want to say in 20, I want to say if it was 15 or 16 they had put some language in there that pretty much is like a poison pill to make sure that it didn't happen in the State of Connecticut. It was one of those things where if you're following mixed martial arts, it's one of the growing sports in not only the state and the country, but the world. No pun intended, we wanted to beat New York State to the punch last session, but unfortunately, they got a chance to do it before we did. The return on their investment really paid off. We were hoping to do the same in the State of Connecticut considering the fiscal crisis that we're in. We want to inject some life into our arenas outside of the tribal lands, so we want to inject some life into the XL Center and also into the Webster Bank Arena.

That was one of the things that I, from day one when I first got elected and sworn in, that I wanted to work on. We were very fortunate to get it done. It was a long and twisted road to get there, but we got there. I do want to thank the Speaker of the House, Joe Aresimowicz, we call him A to Z, because he really believed in it and he backed me up on it a thousand percent. I also want to thank my colleagues from the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. Many of them, Representative Angel Arce, he also championed the bill with myself and also from across the aisle, my good friend, Kurt Vail, Representative Kurt Vail from Stafford Springs. Right after session our freshman year, he says we've got to come back next year and do mixed martial arts and he co-introduced the bill and I want to thank him for that.

Brett Broesder: You mentioned the fiscal crisis a bit. When it comes to the economic impact mixed martial arts will have on Bridgeport, I know that Tesla coming into the state and potentially to Bridgeport, with the bigger footprint than it currently has here, will require a change of the law in Connecticut to now allow direct consumer sales from car companies, including Tesla, to drivers. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that law change and what you, as a supporter of it, see in the future for it?

Chris Rosario: Sure. I've been a supporter of Tesla coming to Connecticut ever since 2014. I believe that in order for Connecticut to get out of the funk that we're in, we have to change and adapt. I was watching the documentary about Tower Records and it's the same story, like many of these other big box chains, that they start off, they grow big, they don't adapt to the marketplace, and then they collapse and they're out of here. Tesla, electronic vehicles, Thermal Loop, mixed martial arts, and so on, and so on, and so on, these are growing markets and these are the markets that we need to be in as a state. Craft breweries, the things that are cutting edge, the things that are changing, that's what Connecticut needs to be a part of and if we're shutting doors on these markets, then we're just going to continue to be in the doldrums that we're in.

With that being said, Tesla, I've been a big supporter of them coming in. Right now, there's a conversation with the dealerships, the auto dealers. I actually had one of the dealers contact me, one of them in my district, BMW Bridgeport. I appreciate all that they're doing for the City of Bridgeport and the market that they provide. The product that they provide, but I don't think they're in direct competition with the combustible engine. I think they're a whole separate thing. If BMW Bridgeport can provide jobs for the City of Bridgeport and Tesla can provide jobs, I'm for providing jobs no matter which way they come. If it means Tesla coming in and expanding in Fairfield County, preferably Bridgeport, then I'll be supportive of that.

Brett Broesder: Well, I think you are uniquely positioned to talk about that issue, obviously, for a number of reasons. One of them being your background with anti-blight, having been the director of the Anti-Blight Department for the state's largest city. Knowing that there is enough area to go around, to bring in different companies that come in, clean up run down properties, put them back on the tax rolls, and create tomorrow's jobs.

Chris Rosario: Yeah, absolutely. Especially when you look at Bridgeport's fertile ground. We have so many brownfields, that land that's just sitting there that we can put a Tesla processing plant or BMW processing plant, whatever type of facility that we can build on those I'll be supportive of. One of the main things that they've come up and asked me, they've said, "Chris, why you've been supportive of Tesla? Nobody from your district drives a Tesla," which may be the case, however there may be some people in my district that are technicians, that can sell a Tesla, that can fix a Tesla, that can help build the facility that they will be occupying. There's more to one way to look at things. It doesn't necessarily ... I think it's classism. Just because they live in my district doesn't mean ... They can drive a Tesla, they can afford it, but you're looking at they're separating people by class. They can definitely work for the company directly without having to drive a Tesla.

Brett Broesder: On that class piece and bringing tomorrow's jobs to your district and elsewhere across the state, I know you sit on the all-powerful Appropriations Committee and serve as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Early Education. Clearly, school finance has become a major issue in the state as the fiscal situation is in the process of being dealt with. Can you tell us a little bit about where you see the school finance situation going, but also how the budget conversations overall have gone from your perspective?

Chris Rosario: Well, you know, first and foremost I want to thank Representative Toni Walker, the Chair of Appropriations, for helping appoint me as the Subcommittee Chair, Elementary Education and Appropriations. That has been a challenge, I will tell you, considering the fiscal constraints that we're in. Had I been there in the 90s when we were flush with cash and then you could dole out money here and there, but that's a whole other issue. With that being said, everybody's been talking about Judge Moukawsher's ruling on ECS funding and until we get serious as a legislature, I know there's others, Currey, Rojas, SB2, a different formula on funding for education. Until we get serious about really, really funding our schools equitably and fairly, including all schools of choice, whether it be magnets, charters, whatever the case may be, we're just going to be stuck in the doldrums, as I said before, like the entire State of Connecticut. The trend for states and cities that are, we're probably going to touch upon GE and Aetna and these companies leaving, they want, the millennials and just anybody, they want to live in a place where it's cool, it's hip, and where they can live and raise a family.

Unless we get serious about funding education, we can build all the cool, hip cities. New Haven could be the coolest, hippest city, Hartford could be the coolest, hippest city, and Bridgeport could be the coolest, hippest city. But unless we're doing something about education in these cities, then we're going to be back into square one because we're going to have the same flight that we had in the 60s and 70s where once it's time to leave and raise a family, they're going to go to the suburbs because the urban centers can't provide a great education.

Brett Broesder: To your note about Aetna and GE, Aetna is obviously going to New York City where there's been major infrastructure and transportation investments. GE is going to Boston where the same thing has happened. Now, taking that back to your district, there's a proposal started under Mayor Finch, and I know Senator Ayala had a major impact on this as well, of putting a second train station there to revitalize the area. Can you tell us a little bit about that project and your thoughts on it and where you see that going?

Chris Rosario: Sure. The Barnum Station is something that I've been completely supportive of. I've been working with the Governor's Office to help make that a reality, but with everything in this world, it all comes down to funding, so we're looking to see where we can make those improvements to get that station funded and also to ... Not only the train station, beyond the train station. The housing opportunities that can be around it, the economic development opportunities, the transit orientated development that can spur and really transform neighborhoods around the train station.

We're hopeful that once the Barnum Station gets up and running that we can look at other opportunities such as light rail or busing or ... I know there's a lot of talk of ... I'm going to be talking a little wonky here. The Hyperloop, I'm not sure if you've heard of the Hyperloop that Elon Musk has been working on. That could be maybe 20, 30 years down the road, but maybe that could be the future of transportation, especially with the northeastern corridor. I know there's a pilot program to run a Hyperloop from New York to DC, so maybe we're on that stop when they do the New York to Boston.

Brett Broesder: It would be fascinating. It definitely would revitalize that neighborhood.

Chris Rosario: Yeah, absolutely. I know there's a lot of talk of, I've been the supporter of tolls, electronic tolling, whether they be Lexus lanes separated by, you know, if you wanted to, congestion pricing. I'm a big supporter of that, but also, we have to look at our health and our environmental impacts. You can expand the roads all you want, you can put as many tolls as you want. Many of those roads come through urban communities and asthma rates increase. If we could look at other opportunities to, with electronic or driverless cars or low emission vehicles, to get those on a road, then that's something that will be impactful for everyone.

Brett Broesder: That's great and I know that in your area, over by the second train station, there's a Remington Arms building. It has a deep history and has been a spot that is prime for Brownfield remediation. It's received from Brownfield funds, but would love to hear your thoughts on that area and how critical Brownfield funds are to revitalizing those rundown properties.

Chris Rosario: Well, if it wasn't for Brownfield remediation funding, many of our old, urban factory towns, like Bridgeport, like Waterbury, or Cleveland or Detroit, they really would be left out in the cold. The needed Brownfield remediation fundings really helped kickstart development, jobs, and turn neighborhoods around, but with that being said, the Remington Arms area, my vision for that area, I can see retail, housing, the transportation, this could really change the east side of Bridgeport and that whole region. You have Bridgeport Hospital there, you have the new Harding High School, it can really take a neighborhood and transform it in a generation.

Brett Broesder: Looking forward to 2018, what do you see as your potential legislative priorities?

Chris Rosario: Well, 2018, I would like to get this budget done before 2018. I would like to get this budget done before 2018, but with that being said, definitely economic development. Anything with an urban twist to it. Getting our urban centers revitalized. Have them be economic drivers and supporting the region. I think that's going to be a big priority for 2018. Getting our urban areas back on the right track because if our urban areas aren't back on the right track, then we're going to see more companies leave.

Brett Broesder: Well, one spot in Bridgeport that received some Brownfield funds for revitalization and is now thriving is Brewport. On that note, I know one of the bills that you supported this year was the Farm Brewer's Bill, which we advocated for. Cheers for doing that. It's a great thing for the state, but what is your favorite Connecticut craft brewed beer?

Chris Rosario: My favorite Connecticut brewed craft beer, I would say at Brewport I believe there's a ... It's called the Barrett. Is it the Barrett Brothers?

Brett Broesder: Yeah.

Chris Rosario: They have a Barrett Brothers brew. I think it's a dark ale. That's really good. They also have a, I want to say there's an orange, something with like a blood orange in it. That's really good. Anything Two Roads is great, but Brewport is really a shining light in the south end. People from all over the state visit Brewport. People from New York State come over to visit Brewport and just recently I saw there was a study or an article how Brewport's one of the most searched businesses in the State of Connecticut on Facebook, so kudos to them. Cheers to them and cheers to Mr. Barrett.

Brett Broesder: That's great. What book do you give as a gift to people more than any other?

Chris Rosario: What book? I would say it's a book that's been gifted to me that I always tell everybody to read. The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones, which was given to me by Bill Finch and it's been ingrained in my brain. That's one of the books that I always tell people that they have to read.

Brett Broesder: What do you do to relax and why?

Chris Rosario: What do I do to relax? I am the biggest nerd in the world. I love super hero culture. I go to Comic Cons, watch all the super hero movies, so I'm big into that. I'm always keeping track of what's happening in that world. I have a friend of mine who owns and operates a super hero website called HeroicHollywood.com, Umberto. He actually works for a Hollywood trade called The Wrap. He gives me the up to the minute scoop on what's happening in that world. Also, I've been trying to incorporate bettering my fitness so I've been going to the gym and getting on the treadmill. That helps me relax and cut some stress out of my life. Other than that, just being with my kids, my daughter. Going to her baseball games and stuff like that. I just like to do regular stuff. Watch sports and football season coming up. I'm really excited about that. That's kind of the things I do to relax.

Brett Broesder: Who is your favorite super hero?

Chris Rosario: My favorite super hero? Batman. Batman.

Brett Broesder: Why?

Chris Rosario: Because you know what? Everybody has super powers and Batman's just a regular guy. He's just a regular guy. He's a multi-billionaire, but he's just a regular guy. He's a mortal and he's not afraid to mix it up with everybody.

Brett Broesder: Understood. What's your favorite Bridgeport Bluefish memory?

Chris Rosario: Favorite Bridgeport Bluefish memory. I want to say when they, if it wasn't their first year, maybe their second year when Jose Canseco came to the Harbor Yard. I guess he was playing for the New York Bears and him hitting home runs in batting practice off of the arena that they were building at the time. The arena, I don't even think that they were open or operational. They were still building it. I remember him hitting home runs off of the roof and over the roof over there. That's one of my favorite Bluefish memories and seeing some of my former, you know, I'm a Yankee fan. Seeing Ruben Sierra at the time, Mariano Duncan, they were Yankees. I remember seeing them coming, and Roger Clemons, coming into little Bridgeport. Those are great Bluefish memories.

Brett Broesder: Who's your favorite mixed martial arts fighter?

Chris Rosario: Favorite mixed martial arts fighter? I have to say, even though he's going through some issues and is coming back, Jon Jones, Jon Bones Jones. He's been a great champion and I'm glad that he's back and back on top. I wish that he can keep it together off the Octagon.

Brett Broesder: Any advice you would give to somebody who is young, like yourself, and looking to run for elected office?

Chris Rosario: Be true to yourself, work hard, and there's going to be a thousand people that might tell you no, but always keep searching for the person that's going to say yes.

Brett Broesder: Anything else you'd like to add?

Chris Rosario: Yeah, no. Just, I'm really honored and humbled that you wanted to interview me and I wish you nothing but the best with the podcast and with everything you're doing. It's an honor and privilege to serve the State of Connecticut and never in a million years did I ever think that this would ... If they asked me 20 years ago that I would be a State Representative, I'd tell you you're stone cold crazy. I still amaze myself when every time I walk into the chamber, you know, I equate it to somebody stepping onto Yankee Stadium for the first time or Fenway Park for the first time or some storied place. I still can't believe it and it's something that my dad would definitely be proud of.

Brett Broesder: Chris, it's an honor and a privilege to have you on the show and thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast. Keep up the great work and thanks to all you listeners out there for listening to another episode of the podcast. We will be back next week. Cheers.

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