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I got on Public Safety because I was the administrative Chief of Police in East Lyme because we had a Resident Trooper program at the time.Īnd I thought the best thing would be the Energy committee because Millstone Station, which is the largest generator of electricity in New England, is right smack in the middle of our district. I got on the Appropriations Committee because we had seven balanced budgets with surpluses in the Town of East Lyme, so I wanted to do that. When I got to the state, it certainly was a little more partisan then – we were 21-15 in the State Senate, Democrats having the majority. By the time we left, through the end of the Great Recession, we had actually grown the pension as a result of the expertise of Republicans and Democrats that had populated that Pension Committee. But, together, we worked to create solutions that made a difference for the town of East Lyme. I think that conversation set the tone and I got a lot of wonderful volunteers from the Democratic party to assist in managing the community and it was not about who got the credit for being a savior or being the one that solved the problem. I appealed to them for help, that we needed people with passion and people that understood the process, people with experience working on things like a pension committee that I wanted to start because the bank that handled all of the town’s pension money – I think it was around $5 million at the time – was teetering and asking for support as many of the banks across the country did at that time. The first thing that I did in early 2008 was to attend a meeting of the Democrat Town Committee in East Lyme, realizing that they were 40 passionate and committed people to the betterment of the town. I certainly had management experience, but I had no municipal CEO experience to bring to the table. When I was first elected first selectman in December of 2007, that was another beginning of a big change in our country as we were entering the Great Recession. I came to it from a businessman’s perspective and a leader of the small community of East Lyme of about 18,000 people. I started in the General Assembly in January of 2015. I don’t think that that’s been good for our country and for the state – although it’s not been anywhere near as prevalent here in Connecticut. There used to be disagreements on policy and people would get excitable, but never the polarization that we’ve had over the last eight years. The national political scene changed a lot in the last eight years. I think we saw a number of those opportunities happen over the last eight years. I’m hopeful that my successor and those to follow share that same belief and share that same belief that we have a great country – but we have to come together in ways to solve it. This really is just the greatest country in the world when you can start from a humble beginning and end up having your name on a seat in the Senate circle. This interview has been edited for clarity.ĬTEx: What are the highlights of your eight years as State Senator? What do you want to be remembered for?įORMICA: The first thing that I want to bring to mind is just how fortunate we are to live in this great country, in this great state and just to have the opportunities that I’ve had to serve in elected office over the last 31 years – 23 years in East Lyme and eight years in the Senate – and to operate my business freely and to raise my family. He has owned and operated Flanders Fish Market in East Lyme since 1983. Formica previously served in East Lyme as First Selectman in East Lyme and on the Board of Finance and Zoning Commission. Three years later, Formica continued the energy conversation - peppered with issues that are important to him– with a consistent blend of looking toward the future and emphasizing collaboration as the path to solving problems not only in politics but in business and family life.Īs co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, Formica, a Republican, was instrumental in the state’s decision to sign a power purchase agreement with Dominion in 2017 to keep the Millstone nuclear power plant in operation.
It was a fitting bookend to our 2020 interview when Formica talked about energy opportunities, protecting the fishing industry and a range of issues with a certain optimism and an emphasis on bipartisanship. Paul Formica sat down in December to talk with CT Examiner by zoom about his political career, energy policy, and what’s next for him. Before retiring from his seat in the legislature, State Sen.
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