The night Denise Nappier was elected state treasurer, John Rowland was re-elected governor in a landslide. Senator Chris Dodd coasted to a fourth term as U.S. Senator and George W. Bush was re-elected governor of Texas. The top story on the evening news was President Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky and the impeachment process was percolating. Adam Sandler’s “the Waterboy” was tops at the box office.

Much has changed since then, and now Nappier is seeking a 5th term after being re-elected in 2002, 2006, and 2010. The Hartford Democrat arguably faces her toughest opponent, Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, who has been criticizing Nappier’s record for most of this year.

In an interview that aired Sunday on Face the State, Nappier defended her record, and disputed some of the numbers being used against her. We also talked about why she feels she should be re-elected, and about concerns from state workers that the pension funds Nappier managed, won’t be fully funded when they need them.

Also Sunday, our Face the State flashback takes us back twenty years, when age became an issue in the race for governor. Incumbent lieutenant governor Eunice Groark was old enough to be a mother to opponent John Rowland, and a much older sister to her other challenger Bill Curry, but it wasn’t her age that was being criticized.

Watch our interview with Denise Nappier right here:  http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10709958