Deena is running for State Representative in CT's 12th District, covering the northeast portion of Manchester. A registered Democrat herself, she will be head-to-head against one other person on the ballot, the incumbent. There is NO Republican on the ballot, meaning there is no worry of a "spoiler" in this election
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About Deena
Deena Steinberg, resident of Manchester and a registered Democrat, is stepping into the ring to challenge the district’s multi-decade incumbent. In the absence of another major party stepping up and taking a leadership role in challenging that incumbent, Deena will challenge him on the Yankee National Party’s ballot line in a head-to-head contest at the ballot box in 2026.
Deena grew up near Philadelphia (go Phillies!) and migrated to Connecticut to get her BA in history and American studies at UConn, graduating magna cum laude. At UConn she did an Independent Study on the impact of America’s diversity on the labor movement. Deena started and ended her career at the Dept of Social Services (DSS) where she held various roles from caseworker to Training and Organizational Development Manager, helping to create programs like the Traumatic Brain Injury program that moved people out of nursing homes by providing services in their communities (also saving money to boot!). She played a key part in developing a partnership between DSS & the Department Of Corrections to expedite medical coverage to inmates about to be released into our communities, an especially valuable connection that helps prevent problems caused by stopping psychiatric meds abruptly, with 32% of inmates now having active mental health disorders.
In between her time employed by DSS, Deena worked in Child Protective Services where she encountered the heartbreaking lives of too many children and considered what Government does or could do to help or hinder their outcomes. Later, at Planned Parenthood League of CT, she oversaw grants to several other family planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs such as at the Hill Health Center. She volunteered as a patient counselor in the New Haven PPLC clinic to experience how things really work. She worked as an Outreach Social Worker for Elders in several towns, helping people get benefits like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and housing and trouble-shooting the many obstacles they faced in our complex system of safety nets.
While a DSS caseworker in New Haven, she helped found the first union to seek collective bargaining and strongly believes that unions are not only vital to restoring the middle class but also a check on the runaway power of corporations, the uber rich, and the politicians who cater to them instead of We,The People. She believes the decline of unionization by 70% since 1954 has contributed greatly to the obscene inequality in opportunities and wealth that we have today.
“The throughline of all my experiences is that the traditional Democratic approach to solving problems with a multitude of programs narrowly limited in scope is too complex, gap-ridden, and costly to administer,” said Deena. “My experience working within the public benefits system has led me to an eye-opening study of Social Democracy in places like Scandinavia, where freedom is found in the security and opportunities that comes from a system in which basic necessities like healthcare, education, and pensions are financed with fair taxation. I’m running for State Representative to help make benefit programs simple, uniform, and universal.”
“I am running to advance fresh ideas like a Public Healthcare Option in Connecticut and across New England; I strongly champion Ranked Choice Voting, which would allow us to vote for new candidates and ideas without a “spoiler effect” that gives the election to the party even further from what we want. Most of all, I want to see a shift in politics from unregulated monopolies, unfair taxation, scapegoating of immigrants and people of color, and a zero-sum game of economics where one can only win if someone else loses, to an attitude of working together for the common good. There’s an awesome opportunity coming with AI (Artificial Intelligence, not the steak sauce) to make sure the huge profits from productivity gains don’t flow just to the top, but serve us all.”
“Both Bernie Sanders and believe it or not, Steve Bannon suggest that a substantial portion of the profits from AI should go to the public. It’s urgent to create a new movement for a government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people, starting at the local, state, and regional level now, before it is too late.”
Deena’s vision for the future is clear, bright, and directional: it’s about moving forward, not going back or endlessly fighting to keep the status quo.
Deena grew up near Philadelphia (go Phillies!) and migrated to Connecticut to get her BA in history and American studies at UConn, graduating magna cum laude. At UConn she did an Independent Study on the impact of America’s diversity on the labor movement. Deena started and ended her career at the Dept of Social Services (DSS) where she held various roles from caseworker to Training and Organizational Development Manager, helping to create programs like the Traumatic Brain Injury program that moved people out of nursing homes by providing services in their communities (also saving money to boot!). She played a key part in developing a partnership between DSS & the Department Of Corrections to expedite medical coverage to inmates about to be released into our communities, an especially valuable connection that helps prevent problems caused by stopping psychiatric meds abruptly, with 32% of inmates now having active mental health disorders.
In between her time employed by DSS, Deena worked in Child Protective Services where she encountered the heartbreaking lives of too many children and considered what Government does or could do to help or hinder their outcomes. Later, at Planned Parenthood League of CT, she oversaw grants to several other family planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs such as at the Hill Health Center. She volunteered as a patient counselor in the New Haven PPLC clinic to experience how things really work. She worked as an Outreach Social Worker for Elders in several towns, helping people get benefits like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and housing and trouble-shooting the many obstacles they faced in our complex system of safety nets.
While a DSS caseworker in New Haven, she helped found the first union to seek collective bargaining and strongly believes that unions are not only vital to restoring the middle class but also a check on the runaway power of corporations, the uber rich, and the politicians who cater to them instead of We,The People. She believes the decline of unionization by 70% since 1954 has contributed greatly to the obscene inequality in opportunities and wealth that we have today.
“The throughline of all my experiences is that the traditional Democratic approach to solving problems with a multitude of programs narrowly limited in scope is too complex, gap-ridden, and costly to administer,” said Deena. “My experience working within the public benefits system has led me to an eye-opening study of Social Democracy in places like Scandinavia, where freedom is found in the security and opportunities that comes from a system in which basic necessities like healthcare, education, and pensions are financed with fair taxation. I’m running for State Representative to help make benefit programs simple, uniform, and universal.”
“I am running to advance fresh ideas like a Public Healthcare Option in Connecticut and across New England; I strongly champion Ranked Choice Voting, which would allow us to vote for new candidates and ideas without a “spoiler effect” that gives the election to the party even further from what we want. Most of all, I want to see a shift in politics from unregulated monopolies, unfair taxation, scapegoating of immigrants and people of color, and a zero-sum game of economics where one can only win if someone else loses, to an attitude of working together for the common good. There’s an awesome opportunity coming with AI (Artificial Intelligence, not the steak sauce) to make sure the huge profits from productivity gains don’t flow just to the top, but serve us all.”
“Both Bernie Sanders and believe it or not, Steve Bannon suggest that a substantial portion of the profits from AI should go to the public. It’s urgent to create a new movement for a government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people, starting at the local, state, and regional level now, before it is too late.”
Deena’s vision for the future is clear, bright, and directional: it’s about moving forward, not going back or endlessly fighting to keep the status quo.
About the Yankee National Party
Deena is running to bring new ideas into the conversation, push for better policy for the people of Manchester, and to bring attention to the importance of third parties by running on a third party line. To learn more about the Yankee National Party, the party Deena is running with, click here.
Deena for Manchester. Josh Kelly, Treasurer. Approved by Deena Steinberg.
