James “Jake” Dunigan is an unaffiliated candidate running for the State Representative seat for the 41st District, which includes parts of Groton and Stonington, including Mystic. His opponents are Democrat Aundré Bumgardner and Republican Robert Boris. Joe de la Cruz, the incumbent since 2017, is not running for reelection.
Dunigan worked for Electric Boat for 10 years, and took night classes for four years at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He recently graduated and has left Electric Boat this year to pursue a career in law.
Previously, he earned degrees in civil engineering and architectural engineering from Drexel University in 2008 and has worked in the defense industry for most of his career.
In conversation with CT Examiner, Dunigan emphasized the importance of good governance and finding common ground. He said that as an unaffiliated candidate he will answer to the voters rather than to a party. He also said that the way to make Connecticut affordable is to provide jobs that pay workers enough to cover the costs of housing and healthcare.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity
CTEx: What are the main points of your platform and your key goals?
DUNIGAN: I think my main reason for running is that I got to the point where I was just fed up with the way that we talk about politics and the environment that we’re in that actually prevents us often from really talking about the policies themselves; from really engaging in a...
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