Harry Arora - Ballotpedia

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Connecticut House of Representatives District 151

Successor: Hector Arzeno

Harry Arora (Republican Party) was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing District 151. He assumed office on January 29, 2020. He left office on January 4, 2023.

Arora (Republican Party) ran for election for Connecticut Treasurer. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Arora completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Harry Arora earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi in 1991 and a graduate degree from the University of Texas, Austin in 1995. He also earned an MPA from Harvard University in 2018.^[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Arora was assigned to the following committees:

Human Services Committee, Member
Labor and Public Employees Committee, Vice Chair
Energy and Technology Committee, Member

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2022

See also: Connecticut Treasurer election, 2022

General election

General election for Connecticut Treasurer

Erick Russell defeated Harry Arora, Jennifer Baldwin, and JoAnna Laiscell in the general election for Connecticut Treasurer on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erick Russell (D / Working Families Party)	52.4	652,031
		Harry Arora (R)	44.9	559,123
		Jennifer Baldwin (Independent Party)	2.0	24,709
	Submit photo	JoAnna Laiscell (L)	0.7	8,564

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,244,427
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Connecticut Treasurer

Erick Russell defeated Dita Bhargava and Karen DuBois-Walton in the Democratic primary for Connecticut Treasurer on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erick Russell	57.5	63,808
		Dita Bhargava	22.8	25,282
	Submit photo	Karen DuBois-Walton	19.7	21,853

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 110,943
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Harry Arora advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut Treasurer.

2020

Regular election

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151

Incumbent Harry Arora defeated Hector Arzeno in the general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Harry Arora (R)	53.1	7,332
		Hector Arzeno (D)	46.9	6,477

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,809
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Hector Arzeno advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Harry Arora advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151.

Special election

See also: Connecticut state legislative special elections, 2020

General election

Special general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151

Harry Arora defeated Cheryl Moss in the special general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 151 on January 21, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Harry Arora (R)	54.4	2,345
		Cheryl Moss (D)	45.6	1,965

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,310
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Connecticut's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Connecticut District 4

Incumbent Jim Himes defeated Harry Arora in the general election for U.S. House Connecticut District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Himes (D)	61.2	168,726
		Harry Arora (R)	38.8	106,921
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	4

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 275,651
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Harry Arora completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Arora's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Harry is the endorsed Republican candidate for Connecticut State Treasurer.

Experienced: 25 years of experience in finance and investing with proven leadership in the state legislature as the ranking member of the labor committee.

Prepared:

MPA, Harvard Kennedy School MBA, University of Texas, Austin Bachelors of Engineering, Delhi University

Dedicated: Left a successful career in investment management five years ago to serve the public interest - not a career politician.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Define a Strategy to Fix Connecticut's Finances As your next state Treasurer, I will define a strategy to fix Connecticut's finances. We have excessive outstanding debt, and our pension fund is grossly underfunded. Debt payments and pension catchup payments make up a third of our budget. Past and current Treasurers, including my opponent, have used the Treasurer's office to advance their political and social agenda with a massive cost to our citizens. My vision is to focus the Treasurer's office on a robust financial strategy to improve investment performance and reduce our total debt.
Reverse the debt binge From 2016 to 2021, our total state debt increased from $65 billion to $100 billion. This level of debt is excessive and unsustainable. My priority will be to reduce this debt and repair our balance sheet. I will increase due diligence on our debt issuances and bonding program. I will also work to extend our maturities at low-interest rates when market opportunity arises. Reducing our debt service expense will allow the state to reduce taxes and/or invest more in selected programs.
Improve and Protect our Pension Returns Our pension funds have consistently underperformed a passive index of US stocks and bonds. We would have returned an extra $8 billion over the last four years if we had followed an indexed strategy. In addition, we paid nearly $800 million in investment fees in the previous five years. As your State Treasurer, I will stop this underperformance through improved asset allocation. I will ensure our pensions meet and exceed market returns and that we do not pay excessive investment fees. I have studied our portfolio in detail and have a plan to put our pension fund on a firm footing

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Work to Reduce Inflationary Pressures

Print and spend policies cause prices to rise. Every day, Connecticut residents are struggling with their energy bills, grocery bills, and everything else. Our state government can reduce inflationary pressures by stopping excessive spending. I will work diligently to ensure we focus on policies that mitigate inflationary pressures.

Reform State Unclaimed Property Program
Ensure that the unclaimed property claim process is resident friendly and expeditious. Currently we have thousands of pending claims and it takes months to get a reclaim. As a result, many residents give up on their claim.

Promote Financial Literacy

Financial Well-being: Provide information, education, and tools to help CT residents improve their financial health. Help residents with easy to understand tutorials on borrowing, investing, budgeting, insurance, and identity protection.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Experienced

Leadership Experience: Founded and led a successful investment management business for almost two decades. Strategic thinker with proven record of achievement.

Finance Experience: 25 years of experience in portfolio management. Proven risk manager with a track record of outperformance. Strong understanding of macro trends and fixed income.

Government and Legislative Experience: State representative for Connecticut's 151st District and Ranking Member of Labor Committee. Experienced with the legislative process.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Experienced

Leadership Experience: Founded and led a successful investment management business for almost two decades. Strategic thinker with proven record of achievement.

Finance Experience: 25 years of experience in portfolio management. Proven risk manager with a track record of outperformance. Strong understanding of macro trends and fixed income.

Government and Legislative Experience: State representative for Connecticut's 151st District and Ranking Member of Labor Committee. Experienced with the legislative process.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Harry Arora did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

“	I believe in Freedom, Opportunity and Compassion. I am running for the United States Congress to protect our freedoms, to ensure that we stay a land of equal opportunity for every American, and to provide compassion and improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our society. I believe in efficient small government, market economy and fair trade; I believe in protecting our individual freedoms, liberties, and the right to privacy; I believe in compassionate conservatism which provides an effective safety net for the neediest. ^[2]	”
—Harry Arora^[3]

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Connecticut

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Connecticut scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2022

In 2022, the Connecticut State Legislature was in session from February 9 to May 4.

Connecticut AFL-CIO

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor policy.

Connecticut Business & Industry Association: Senate and House

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Connecticut Citizen Action Group

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.

Connecticut League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

Family Institute of Connecticut Action: Senate and House

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Connecticut State Legislature was in session from January 6 to June 9.

Connecticut League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Connecticut State Legislature was in session from February 5 to May 6. The legislature held a special session from July 21 to July 27.

Connecticut AFL-CIO

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor policy.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

See also

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Connecticut Treasurer

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 29, 2022
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on January 17, 2018

Political offices
Preceded by -	Connecticut House of Representatives District 151 2020-2023	Succeeded by Hector Arzeno (D)

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