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

Lamont’s first week starts with bacon, eggs & nuclear subs

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • January 14, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Gov. Ned Lamont chatting with Jeffrey S. Geiger, the president of Electric Boat.

Groton — Gov. Ned Lamont got an early start Monday on his first full week in office, attending a 7:30 a.m. briefing by Electric Boat, the submarine manufacturer that is poised to double its waterfront workforce and approach Cold War employment levels in the next decade.

Lamont joined U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney and state legislators from across eastern Connecticut in a hotel ballroom here for a bullish update by EB’s president of the past five years, Jeffrey S. Geiger.

EB has $15 billion in government contracts, and its workforce recently topped 17,000 for the first time since 1992, Geiger said. Its Connecticut workforce is 12,500, including 6,000 engineers and designers and 3,000 men and women building and overhauling submarines at its shipyard on the Thames River.

Geiger is optimistic that new overhaul work is coming that will save the company from a dip in its shipyard employment before construction on a new Columbia class of ballistic submarines that will double employment by 2029 and keep it in growth mode for decades beyond that. EB hired 2,200 in 2018 for a net increase 1,110. It expects to add 1,400 jobs this year, with 900 in Connecticut.

“I think I know what we need to do here. I know that this is a part of the state where we have the wind at our back,” Lamont said in an interview after the briefing. “You heard those numbers. They are extraordinary numbers.”

Lamont, who mingled with lawmakers before sitting down for a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, said Connecticut will be a partner in that growth, primarily by ensuring the company has access to a qualified workforce. He called Electric Boat an “engine of growth.”

“There is a role that the state’s going to play to facilitate that — a limited role. That’s all I can do is a limited role, but that’s why I’m here, and why I keep coming back.”

Lamont campaigned at EB and visited the company once since winning election in November.

“Right now, we don’t have the infrastructure to support the growth that Jeffrey is talking about.  Shame on us,” Lamont said. “I’m talking about workforce. I’m talking about development. I’m talking about housing. I’m talking about education. I’m talking a little bit about transportation. Shame on us if we lose that opportunity.”

Lamont is trying to find a messaging sweet spot in his first days. He is trying to convince a state with a shaky view of its own finances and future that economic growth is at hand, while not overpromising with unrealistic expectations. 

The state has had successive quarters of economic growth and has recovered all the private-sector jobs lost in the Great Recession, but  Lamont still faces a projected deficit of about $1.7 billion — less than half of what confronted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy eight years ago, but a deep hole, nonetheless.

MARK PAZNIOKAS :: CTMIRROR.ORG

From left, Sen. Paul Formica, Scott Bates, Rep. Jese MacLachlan and Gov. Ned Lamont. Formica and MacLachlan are Republicans.

“You can see me struggle with that every day,” Lamont said. “First, we have to go over this chasm. I try. Everywhere I go I say this budget is going to be really hard, and I’m going to be asking a lot of all of you. And that includes the  business community and the labor community and taxpayers. I’ve got to solve this thing.”

He is making that outreach in public and private settings. Lamont, who lives in Greenwich, intends to use the Executive Residence in Hartford to network with lawmakers. He is planning a dinner with labor leaders.

“People need to get to know me,” he said. “We’re not going to get through this if we demonize each other.”

Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, whose district includes New London, said Lamont’s initial approach to the legislature is welcome.

“He’s opening up the tent and trying to get as many people as possible in,” Formica said. “The fact is he wants everybody involved, at least at this point. So, we’re happy to give give him the benefit of the doubt and try to work with him. He’s a personable guy, and he’s got a good business background.”

Lamont, who hopes to spend every other weekend at his home in Greenwich, spent his first weekend as governor in Hartford. His wife, Annie, and three children explored the area. They made stops at the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Wadsworth Atheneum.

One of the benefactors of the Wadsworth was J.P. Morgan, who had successive generations of Lamont ancestors as his partners.

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 Mark is a co-founder of CT Mirror, a frequent contributor to WNPR and a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
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.

The game is changing. Chris Murphy says he’s ready to play.
by Mark Pazniokas

The question for Sen. Chris Murphy no longer is where might he go next, but what can he do now.

Joe Biden takes office: ‘At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.’
by Mark Pazniokas

America took a deep breath and watched Joe Biden uneventfully inaugurated outside a Capitol invaded two weeks ago by rioters.

Lamont sets the stage for a debate on marijuana taxation by mid-2022
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The governor's draft bill proposes taxing marijuana and erasing convictions for possession that occurred prior to Oct. 1, 2015.

Legislative leaders support extension of Lamont’s emergency powers during COVID
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

The governor's emergency powers expire Feb. 9 unless he asks lawmakers for an extension within 72 hours of that date.

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