Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Text of Dannel P. Malloy’s inaugural remarks

  • by CT Mirror Staff
  • January 5, 2011
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Thank you all for joining me today and welcome to all of the distinguished public servants here, members of the clergy, other honored guests, my extended family, friends and all the citizens throughout our great state, a special mention to my great friend Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, and a special mention to the former First Lady Nikki O’Neill, the wife of the late great Governor O’Neill, and my beloved wife, Cathy, and our terrific boys, Dannel, Ben and Sam.

 

Thank you for being here to mark a crucial cornerstone in our democracy – the transfer of responsibilities and the conveyance of hope for our collective future, from one gubernatorial administration to the next.

 

I wanted to express my gratitude to each of you for being here and sharing this moment with me.  And I also want to talk with you about this moment in Connecticut’s history, our great challenges, what I see as a crossroads of crisis and opportunity; and how if we are all willing to engage in a shared sense of sacrifice, we can realize shared prosperity for everyone in Connecticut.

 

I would like to start by acknowledging my predecessor, who knows something about sacrifice and public service.  Governor Rell stepped into the role of Governor at a time when our state was in a different kind of crisis, a crisis of confidence in the character and intentions of its leadership.  She worked tirelessly to restore that sense of respectability, and she will hold a special place in our hearts because of her efforts.

 

There are many others who know about sacrifice and public service, heroes worthy of Connecticut’s proud 375-year history – and they are the brave men and women from our great state who are serving in our Armed Forces in two wars and across the globe today. I hope and pray that we will have peace someday soon. And I thank them for their dedication to their country.

 

 

———————————————

 

Today, I stand before you deeply honored by the office I am assuming, and by the essence of integrity, trust, hope and potential that this office represents for the people of Connecticut.

 

Humbled by the sense of history that lives within the soul of our great state.

 

Thoroughly grounded by our modern-day challenges.

 

Yet intrinsically optimistic about our prospects for a prosperous future which itself is worthy of the foundation that our ancestors worked so hard to give us.

 

And what a foundation it is.

 

In our innovative heyday we had more patents issued per capita than any other state in the union.  We defined the American industrial revolution on a global basis and consequently enjoyed the highest per capita income of anywhere in the nation.  We will forever be home to the world-class legacies of Harriett Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Eli Whitney, Prudence Crandall, and so many others.

 

Perhaps nowhere was our character better defined than by Abraham Davenport of my hometown of Stamford when he spoke about The Dark Day in 1780.  He was a public servant in Hartford when a mysterious episode brought darkness to the daytime skies throughout New England.  There was a prevailing belief that Judgment Day was upon the land, threatening a shutdown of the Legislature, when Davenport stood and said:

 

“I am against an adjournment. The Day of Judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”

 

Today, we could use a few candles.  Because as most people in Connecticut know, ours is not a pretty picture.

 

Today I see an economic crisis and an employment crisis, both fueled by an unfriendly employer environment, a lack of educational resources, a deteriorating transportation system, and an enormous budget crisis of historic proportions.  All coddled by a habit of political sugarcoating that has passed our problems onto the next generation.

 

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the next generation is here.  And we bring enough energy to make Abraham Davenport proud as we shine a light not only on Connecticut’s problems, but on workable solutions that will leave our great state much better than how we found her.

If Davenport would be proud of our work ethic, my late mother would be proud of our mission.

 

My parents both worked very hard while raising eight children, but my mother, who was a nurse, knew I was different.  She knew I had learning disabilities, but she never let those challenges overshadow my strengths.  She never gave up on me, and in doing so she taught me to never give up, to press on, to recognize challenges but focus on strengths, and possibilities.

 

She focused her children on the importance of character, hard work, dedication, and love of family.  And she repeatedly challenged us to leave the world a better place for having been here.

 

And that is our mission: to leave Connecticut a better place than we found her.

 

I see boundless opportunities to do just that.

 

We will need to reach deep to our roots, those of strength yet compassion, steadfastness yet innovation.  And, most importantly, we will need to solve our problems together – by pursuing with great urgency not Republican ideas or Democratic ideas, but good ideas that know no political master or agenda.

 

I will be addressing a joint session of the General Assembly in just a few moments, where I will begin to outline the framework for making Connecticut a better place.  And I will provide a great deal more detail in my Budget Address later next month.  In those addresses I will put forth ideas, and I will issue challenges for new and courageous ways to understand and solve our most intractable problems.

 

I believe that Connecticut’s best days are ahead – if we join together in what must be a shared, emerging movement for rational, honest, achievable change.  A movement that restores economic vitality, creates jobs and returns Connecticut to fiscal solvency by establishing our means and living within them.

 

We will do these things so that in the future we can celebrate shared prosperity for us all, which on balance can only come from shared sacrifice from each of us.

 

It’s not going to be an easy road, but the question is not whether we can overcome our challenges and emerge a winner.  We already know we can from our history.  And I know from personal experience that we can. When I became Mayor of Stamford, it was a classic case of a dying industrial city. We transformed it into a world-class financial center – sparking an economic, cultural and environmental renaissance that gained national attention.

 

I believe the people of Connecticut are willing to make sacrifices if “shared sacrifice” is really shared, that we understand where we’re going, and that it is sacrifice with a purpose.

 

At this crossroads of crisis and opportunity, I believe we will hold fast to our heritage – while we reach deep, rally hard and choose well to leave Connecticut a better place.

 

To all of you, thank you.  God bless you, God bless the Great State of Connecticut, and God bless the United States of America.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CT Mirror Staff

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Man jailed on $155k bond dies of COVID-19
by Kelan Lyons

This is the sixth incarcerated person to die from the virus this month.

Senate leader pitches new state property tax on high-value homes
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state Senate’s highest-ranking Democrat proposed new taxes on high-value homes and the capital gains of Connecticut's highest earners.

It’s time to standardize arts grants in Connecticut
by Mandi Jackson and Daniel Fitzmaurice

What all arts organizations need most right now is multi-year, unrestricted general operating support with simplified, fair processes for accountability. This would allow the arts community to better respond to the needs of Connecticut residents instead of the political process, lobbyists, or wealthy donors.

Accessory dwelling units are a good thing
by Toni Gold

Connecticut’s large, old houses are a resource that any town should treasure — not just for their charm and historical value, but because of their potential for adaptation. One tool that can help ensure the viability of these structures is zoning, and particularly zoning for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). There’s a movement to  legalize ADUs statewide. It’s a good idea whose time has come.

New Haven and Yale: Giamatti and DiLieto:  A historic moment? Or a model? 
by Neil Thomas Proto

The City of New Haven’s effort today to seek an increase in financial contribution from Yale is more historically justified than is often recognized.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion It’s time to standardize arts grants in Connecticut
by Mandi Jackson and Daniel Fitzmaurice

What all arts organizations need most right now is multi-year, unrestricted general operating support with simplified, fair processes for accountability. This would allow the arts community to better respond to the needs of Connecticut residents instead of the political process, lobbyists, or wealthy donors.

Opinion Accessory dwelling units are a good thing
by Toni Gold

Connecticut’s large, old houses are a resource that any town should treasure — not just for their charm and historical value, but because of their potential for adaptation. One tool that can help ensure the viability of these structures is zoning, and particularly zoning for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). There’s a movement to  legalize ADUs statewide. It’s a good idea whose time has come.

Opinion New Haven and Yale: Giamatti and DiLieto:  A historic moment? Or a model? 
by Neil Thomas Proto

The City of New Haven’s effort today to seek an increase in financial contribution from Yale is more historically justified than is often recognized.

Opinion A call to save arms: is vaccination really the solution?
by Genevieve Diamant

Economic modelling done by professional statisticians is often used to claim that the ounce of prevention provided by a vaccine is much better than the pound of cure that well-funded hospitals, fully staffed with professional nurses and doctors, using effective pharmaceutical remedies, can provide. But is this actually true?

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO