The new state legislative session starts in January, and there will be some new faces in the Chambers.  Republican JP Sredzinski this week won election to the open House District of Monroe and Newtown.  During a Newtown Bee forum he introduced voters to his thoughts on the job.  He says there are three main pillars to state government: public safety, education and infrastructure.

During this legislative campaign season there was one thing many of the candidates agreed on, that Common Core education standards need to change.  Sredzinski says the teachers and administrators should have been involved in the implementation process.

Stefan Pryor, who has served as the state’s education commissioner for nearly three years, announced in August that he would not seek a second term, should Governor Malloy win re-election. Pryor has been a source of controversy as he oversaw the rollout of Malloy’s education reform efforts, including teacher evaluations and education standards

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One of the items on the General Assembly's agenda in January will be the recommendations from the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission.  Sredzinski is a 911 dispatcher in Stratford.  In that role, he says he sees every day the struggles that people with mental health have.  He would have liked to have seen last year's legislation go even farther on mental health care reforms.  Sredzinski says the state has a tendancy to send down unfunded mandates to towns, but he hopes the state would come through with funding for this area.

The new legislative session opens on January 7th.