Election Season Begins

By Colleen Gundlach

Two long-time Northwest Corner residents will fight it out between now and November to win the 64th district seat in the state House of Representatives. Brian Ohler, a Republican from North Canaan will be running against William Riiska, a Democrat from Salisbury.

Both men have run for the House seat in the past. Ohler was narrowly defeated in 2014 by incumbent State Representative Roberta Willis, losing by 116 votes. Riiska ran against incumbent Republican John Rigby in 2010 and was also narrowly defeated, by 35 votes. Riiska also ran for State Senate in 2012 and 2014, and was defeated by Clark Chapin in both elections by wide margins.

Ohler, 32, was born and raised in North Canaan and is a veteran of both wars in the Middle East, a recipient of three Army Commendation Medals and four Purple Hearts. Now he owns a consulting firm, Patriot Safety Group, which focuses procedural operations in medical and academic environments. Ohler also serves as an elected member of the North Canaan Board of Finance and has been spearheading local efforts to raise community awareness of the local heroin and opiates addiction crisis.

“Too many lawmakers have pursued tax hikes, budget gimmicks and short-sighted fiscal policies as solutions to our state’s fiscal troubles,” says Ohler. “But those plans have failed, keeping Connecticut stuck in what’s been branded a ‘perpetual fiscal crisis.’ They (legislators) have repeatedly ignored the obvious warning signs and now we’re seeing the ramifications.”

Riiska, 63, grew up in Winsted and is the son of a former mayor of that town. He later moved to Norfolk where he lived for many years before relocating to Falls Village and later to Salisbury. He graduated from Albany Law School in 1977 and has practiced law in the area since then. He was a member of the Norfolk Planning and Zoning Commission for 12 years, serving time as both chairman and vice chairman. As a member of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, he has served on the Government Relations Committee and was its chairman for 12 years.

“At the state level we have created a morass for ourselves,” says Riiska. “We need to figure out how to get ourselves out of it. I want to see the hard questions asked. We need scrutiny and I am good at scrutinizing.” He states that he has been immersed in the issues for several past election cycles and says he has a good handle on the important issues that he describes as jobs, the economy and the budget.

Both candidates plan an active summer of campaigning. Voters in the 64^th district will have an opportunity to choose between these candidates in the general election on November 8. The 64^th district consists of the towns of Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon and sections of Goshen and Torrington.