She took the lead in drafting and implementing Connecticut's coastal management laws that protect coastline and valuable resources.
In 1986 Belaga chose not to run for re-election to seek the 1986 Republican nomination for governor.
At the convention, she was supported by liberal Republican leader and 1962 gubernatorial candidate John deKoven Alsop of Avon whose town was the first to cast its votes and who memorably announced his vote with the statement "the best man for the job is a woman".
[4] Belaga subsequently captured the party nomination in a three-way gubernatorial primary in September 1986, beating state senators Richard Bozzuto and Gerald Labriola, but lost the November election to Democratic governor William A.
[5] In 1989 Belaga was appointed by George H. W. Bush as Region 1 (New England) Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).