Michelle Embree Ku

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

I’ll do what I can to support Connecticut’s access to federal funding by supporting legislation that bans open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles. This measure is crucial not only for public safety, but also to ensure Connecticut is eligible for federal transportation funding. Currently, Connecticut is one of the few states that doesn’t comply with the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and this hinders our ability to secure crucial federal funds for road construction. Learn more

Education

Michelle’s work on education will not stop at ECS funding. She will also back initiatives that strengthen special education services, improve school safety, and support healthy learning environments, including clean air and strong building standards. Connecticut education advocates are already pushing for better special education funding and more predictable district support, and Michelle will join those efforts to make sure Newtown benefits from a stronger statewide system. Learn more

For Newtown, this means fighting for a formula that better reflects what it actually costs to run a high-quality public school system and provide for students with additional needs. Michelle understands that special education, classroom support, and school operations all require dependable resources, not one-time fixes or short-term patches. She will advocate for policies that help relieve pressure on local taxpayers while making sure Newtown students get the support they need to succeed. Learn more

Michelle will work side by side with colleagues in the State House to move bills that strengthen the Education Cost Sharing formula and make school funding more fair, predictable, and responsive to rising costs. Connecticut lawmakers are currently considering proposals to raise the ECS foundation amount, phase in increases, and tie future growth to inflation so school districts are not left behind year after year. Michelle will push those proposals forward, support budget negotiations that protect local schools, and make sure Newtown has a seat at the table when funding decisions are made. Learn more

Environment / Energy

Protecting open space and natural resources will also be a priority. Michelle will fight to preserve local land, waterways, and coastal areas—not just for environmental reasons, but because they are critical to our quality of life, property values, and long-term economic health. She will also support practical recycling and waste reduction efforts that actually work for residents. That means improving local systems, reducing confusion, and making it easier—not harder—for families to do the right thing. Michelle understands that environmental policy must be both responsible and realistic. Her approach focuses on solutions that protect taxpayers while delivering measurable results—not unfunded mandates or empty promises. Learn more

She will work to strengthen local infrastructure so our communities are better protected from flooding and severe weather. That means securing state funding for stormwater management upgrades, improving drainage systems, and investing in resilient roads and bridges that can withstand extreme conditions. Michelle will push for smart energy solutions that lower costs while reducing emissions. She supports expanding access to clean, affordable energy options like solar, especially for working families who are often priced out of these programs. She will advocate for policies that stabilize energy costs and reduce dependence on volatile fuel markets. Learn more

Healthcare

Mental health is healthcare, and Michelle will treat it that way. She will support increased funding for mental health services, integrate mental health care into primary care settings, and expand crisis response programs so people can get help when and where they need it. Learn more

Too many residents struggle to find timely appointments, especially for primary care, mental health services, and specialists. Michelle will push to expand provider networks, incentivize healthcare professionals to serve underserved areas, and support telehealth options that make care more convenient—particularly for working families and seniors. Learn more

Contain Healthcare & Energy Overhead: Drive state-level healthcare purchasing pools, hold insurance companies accountable, remove Pharmaceutical Benefits Manages, and invest in grid modernization to bring down utility costs for public facilities over time. Learn more

Michelle will work to bring down out-of-pocket costs that strain family budgets. She will support measures to cap prescription drug prices, expand access to generic medications, and increase transparency so patients know what care will cost before they receive it. She will also advocate for policies that prevent surprise medical billing and hold insurance companies accountable when they deny necessary care. Learn more

Housing

Second, the total housing stock calculation should be examined carefully to ensure that market-rate units added through 8-30g projects do not systematically cancel out the affordable units added in the same project. A law designed to produce affordable housing should not be structured in a way that makes producing enough of it mathematically impossible. Learn more

The most urgent reform is also the most fundamental. The denominator problem that makes the 10% threshold structurally unreachable for towns like Newtown must be addressed directly. This means two things. First, the weighting of deeply affordable units – housing that serves families at 50% or below area median income, not just 80% – should be increased so that towns making genuine progress toward real affordability can earn meaningful credit rather than watching the threshold recede. Learn more

Connecticut’s manufactured housing communities are home to thousands of working families and seniors across the state – people living in genuinely affordable housing right now, today, without any state subsidy or deed restriction on file. Newtown has multiple such communities. They should count. The state should take on the administrative work of identifying and crediting existing manufactured housing toward a town’s affordable percentage, without requiring residents or park owners to navigate a deed restriction process never designed with them in mind. This is a straightforward fix that would more accurately reflect the affordable housing landscape in towns like Newtown and give communities fairer credit for what they already provide. Learn more

When the state makes it financially viable to build in the right places, developers will build in the right places. Right now, there is no such incentive – and the result is development wherever land is cheapest and approvals are hardest to deny. Learn more

Infrastructure / Transportation

When elected to represent Newtown in the House of Representatives, I’ll press for the expansion of I‑84 to three lanes from Waterbury to the New York state line. This goal is not without precedent. Since 2001, several studies, including the “I‑84 Corridor Deficiencies/Needs Study” and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) conducted from 2009 to 2011, have highlighted the critical need for improvements. Despite these studies, the DEIS was never published, and subsequent action stalled due to a lack of funding. The need, however, remains as pressing as ever. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

Update the ECS Formula & Fully Fund Special Education: Modernize base funding and fully fund the Special Education Excess Cost Grant so local taxpayers don’t shoulder unexpected cost spikes. Learn more

Expand Direct Relief: Increase the state Property Tax Income Tax Credit and strengthen state-funded circuit-breaker programs to protect seniors and fixed-income residents from rising valuations. Learn more