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

With the session over, Malloy reclaims the stage

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • May 10, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy closed the annual session of the General Assembly early Thursday with a speech that attempted to reset the mood and message of an administration that struggled keep the breakneck pace of its first year.

With a 10-minute, 30-second speech delivered minutes after midnight, Malloy showed uncharacteristic touches of humility, even as he boasted of great progress since taking office 16 months ago in a state with a stagnant economy, an aging population and, in his view, a dour outlook.

“Over the course of the last 16 months we have pushed more change through these chambers than has occurred in Connecticut in a very long time — positive, meaningful change,” Malloy said.

Unemployment and crime are down, the state finally will allow the Sunday sales of liquor, and he and the legislature eventually agreed on education reforms, but only through a compromise reached with just days left on the legislative calendar.

Failure to deliver on education reforms would have been a political disaster, especially for a governor whose first year was an unbroken string of legislative victories. But Malloy said he was not declaring victory.

Aware that last year’s $1.5 billion tax increase did not completely erase the deficit of more than $3 billion he inherited upon taking office in January 2011, he cast the state’s finances as much improved, but not totally repaired.

“We’ve changed our state’s finances. We’ve closed the worst-in-the-nation deficit, and we are firmly committed to keeping our books honestly for the first time in a long time,” Malloy said.

On another night, at another time, that would have been an applause line.

But Malloy was interrupted with applause only as he offered praise to departing legislators, focusing on Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, the oldest member of the General Assembly, and House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, who is leaving to run for Congress.

The governor ran through the list of changes on his watch, careful to share credit with his audience.

“We’ve changed our blue laws to bring us in line with our neighbors — and we’ve begun the process of making our liquor laws more consumer-friendly,” he said.

Left unsaid: Malloy wanted more, but the legislature rejected his call for the abandonment of price controls. Still, the ban on Sunday sales was dropped only because he demanded it, as a convenience for consumers and a way to capture some lost Sunday sales to New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We’ve changed our election laws — and in the process we are making it easier for people to participate in our democracy,” he said. But Malloy ignored the passage of a campaign finance disclosure law that his legal counsel challenged as unworkable and possibly unconstitutional.

“We’ve changed the way that we respond to major weather events — and in the process, the state and its utilities will be better prepared to handle emergencies.”

The latter was approved only hours before Malloy spoke, despite bipartisan support. The late approval, however, was due to legislative horsetrading, not problems with the administration.

“We’ve made more intelligent changes to our criminal justice system — and in the process we have continued to restore confidence in the system’s accuracy and fairness,” Malloy said. “Those changes are part of the reason crime is at its lowest rate in 44 years.”

When he talked about the education reforms, he again was careful to credit the legislature, even though his fellow Democrats balked at Malloy’s original proposal to limit the role of unions in troubled schools, an idea largely rejected in the legislature.

“And now, thanks to votes you made over the past few days, we’re changing our public school system,” he said. “We’re putting more education dollars into our lowest performing districts, something almost no other state is doing — and we’re ensuring that those dollars will be spent wisely.

“We’re creating a thousand additional seats for young children to have a chance at pre-kindergarten learning experiences. And we’re recognizing and supporting our teachers, administrators, parents and students in ways they’ve been asking us to do for years.”

Malloy acknowledged the difficulties in reaching passage.

“That’s a lot of change. It’s required a lot of tough decisions to be made. Along the way, I have to admit, it’s ruffled a lot of feathers. That’s because change is hard,” Malloy said. “Let me say it again: change is hard. But change is also necessary. While the world changed, and while states around us changed, Connecticut failed to make the changes it needed to.”

Malloy said that is no longer the case. But the governor whose favorite adjectives are big, bigger and best toned down the rhetoric about his own administration, at least for the night.

“Before my friends on either side of the aisle get nervous, let me say that I’m not declaring victory or suggesting that our work is done. Far from it,” Malloy said. “But just as it would be a mistake to declare anything resembling victory, it would also be a mistake not to acknowledge how much good work has been done in the past 16 months.

“You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished, but we should all remember how much more work there is to do.”

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

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Pandemic eases, and complicates, legislating
by Mark Pazniokas

The legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee co-chairs skipped the masks, but they were very socially distant.

Health issues carried weight on the campaign trail.
by Victoria Knight | Kaiser Health News

Even with the Democrats’ newfound Senate majority, differences in health policy between the party’s moderate and progressive wings will persist.

Trump’s pardons included health care execs behind massive fraud
by Fred Schulte | Kaiser Health News

At the last minute, President Donald Trump granted pardons to several individuals convicted in huge Medicare swindles that prosecutors alleged often harmed or endangered elderly and infirm patients while fleecing taxpayers. “These aren’t just technical financial crimes. These were major, major crimes,” said Louis Saccoccio, chief executive officer of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, […]

‘It’s a nightmare:’ A growing number of seniors are unable to book vaccine appointments as problems mount
by Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso

The state acknowledged Friday in an email to local health workers that some residents are waiting days for a callback.

Panel recommends small, inflationary pay hike for state officials
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut's part-time legislature hasn't received a pay hike since 2001. The annual base-pay for senators and representatives is $28,000.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

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