Norwich ― Sharp political party divisions were evident during a debate Thursday that featured two state House and two state Senate candidates.

The League of Women Voters, the Norwich Free Academy Young Voters Society and the Norwich NAACP youth council hosted the debate at NFA. Incumbent 19th District Democratic state Sen. Cathy Osten and Republican challenger Jason Guidone and 46th District Democratic incumbent Derell Wilson and Republican challenger Nicholas Casiano participated.

All four candidates fielded a question on whether the state should be involved in helping to meet housing demands for the thousands of workers Electric Boat in Groton is hiring.

Casiano emphasized his Libertarian viewpoint of less government regulation and deep spending cuts throughout the debate.

He said without regulations that make it cost prohibitive for developers to build housing, the region could meet EB workers’ housing demands. And by cutting taxes, residents would be better able to afford housing.

Osten and Wilson countered that it takes a partnership of the public sector and private developers to meet housing demands. Wilson said aging housing stock in the region needs to be updated and made safe for residents.

“We can’t just drop this on our municipalities to do the work,” Wilson said.

Osten pointed to the $111 million transformation of the giant Ponemah Mill in Taftville into over 300 apartments, assisted by state grants and tax credits. She brought the EB human resources director to the mill and said the director planned to use it as a recruiting tool.

“And by the way, a lot of the rules and regulations make safe housing,” Osten said.

Guidone countered that Ponemah is “expanding on the taxpayers’ dime” and he would reduce the government’s role.

“Since when is it the government’s job to provide housing?” Guidone said. “It seems a natural occurrence in a market that a developer would provide housing in a necessary capacity when it is needed in an area. So, we’re taking a free market and we’re making it a government market. That is socialism, Marxism. We’re moving toward communism, and I don’t like that. It’s terrifying actually.”

NFA students asked several questions relevant to their situation, including the cost of school lunches now that COVID-19 pandemic era free lunches have ended.

Osten said the state legislature has been working for the past two years to increase funding for free breakfast, lunch and after-school meals.

“We’re not quite there yet,” she said.

She said the state used federal American Rescue Plan Act grants to help pay for meals, and the federal government expanded free meals, including in summer.

Guidone complained that school meals are not very nutritious, with items such as pizza and fried cheese ― “assuming there are some vegetables available,” he said. He said the state should provide quality food to improve students’ performance.

He said while free school meals remove the stigma for some students, he blamed state policies for a poor economy that makes free meals and a recently expanded veterans’ food pantry necessary.

“School lunches are great,” Guidone said. “I plan on getting to a point where they’re not necessary to give out.”

A student asked the two House candidates what personal values they would bring to governing the state.

Wilson, 32, a paraeducator, said his life experiences have influenced him. He said he watched his parents advocate for his three younger special needs siblings. He became drawn to education to advocate for youths who cannot advocate for themselves.

Casiano, 41, a U.S. Navy veteran and now a defense contractor, said public service has been ingrained in him, along with being frugal. He said wasting people’s tax money amounts to wasting their time, since they worked to earn that money.

“Whenever I look at a budget line item or any kind of spending, it’s: ‘Is this in the best interest of people and their tax dollars?’” Casiano said. “And if it’s not, then it has to be, ‘no.’”

c.bessette@theday.com