The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/author/mpazniokas/)
Keith, with Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, won first prize in investigative reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2012 for a series of stories on the Board of Regents for Higher Education. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 24 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut's transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut. E-mail him at kphaneuf@ctmirror.org.
Connecticut Democrats stepped up their campaign Tuesday to fill in the gaps of Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Stefanowski’s promise to phase out the state income tax over eight years — arguing it would come at a steep cost to local schools, municipalities and property taxpayers. Continue Reading →
Connecticut received Monday what is likely to be a federal overseer’s final assessment of the progress made by the Department of Children and Families during the tenure of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Commissioner Joette Katz, saying the state is closer than ever to ending nearly three decades of federal supervision. But not before the next governor takes office. Continue Reading →
Ned Lamont aired the first general-election commercial the day after his Democratic primary win, staged his first public event the same morning, and has been campaigning daily ever since, backed by a unified Democratic ticket. His Republican opponent, Bob Stefanowski, has been off the air and off the trail since winning his primary last Tuesday. His campaign promises that Lamont will have company soon enough. Continue Reading →
Standing outside the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective, the Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz, tried Thursday to draw Republicans into a debate over abortion, gay marriage, Donald J. Trump and the Family Institute of Connecticut. The invitation was declined. Continue Reading →
Bob Stefanowski is the latest in a series of outsiders from the world of business to win a Republican primary for top-of-ticket statewide offices in Connecticut, none of whom were able to beat their conventional Democratic opponents in the fall. But those races for governor and U.S. Senate came before the ultimate outsider, Donald J. Trump, captured the White House. And none of them followed the path taken by Stefanowski. Continue Reading →
Bob Stefanowski won the five-way Republican primary for governor Tuesday night after ignoring Connecticut’s GOP establishment, opting out of the state’s public-financing program and repeating one outlandish campaign promise like a daily affirmation: He will “rip costs” from state government and make its income tax disappear over eight years. Continue Reading →
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy voted Tuesday in the first Democratic gubernatorial primary since 2002 in which he is not on the ballot, but offered no endorsement of either would-be Democratic successor — an acknowledgement that his unpopularity makes his kind words a liability. But he showed no reticence in condemning every Republican contender for assuring the GOP base of their fealty to President Trump: “They have become Trump-like, perhaps mini-me Trumps. And that’s a disturbing reality.” Continue Reading →
Connecticut Democrats and Republicans go to the polls Tuesday to bring clarity to the unruliest of political seasons, making choices that not only will determine the major-party nominations for governor, but could forever change how candidates seek access to the primary ballots and encourage them to make sure a friendly super PACs is ready to supplement their campaigns. Continue Reading →
With carefully calibrated appeals to gun owners and social conservatives, Timothy Herbst is looking for the sweet spot in Connecticut politics on Tuesday: How far to the right can a gubernatorial candidate go to distinguish himself in a crowded Republican primary, yet remain viable in November? Continue Reading →
The biggest contributions to CT Rising, an independent-expenditure group promoting the gubernatorial campaign of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, came from the New York offices of a trash hauler with an affiliate in Danbury, according to a campaign finance report filed Saturday. Continue Reading →
If a candidate holds a press conference and leaves without taking questions, is it a press conference? Don’t ask Bob Stefanowski. Continue Reading →
The five Republican candidates for governor navigated their final pre-primary debate Wednesday by staying in well-established lanes, broadly sketching approaches to stabilizing Connecticut’s finances and growing its economy, while carefully dodging potential distractions like gun control and abortion. Continue Reading →
Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim was more aggressive Tuesday in questioning why Ned Lamont might be reluctant to support a convicted extortionist for governor than Lamont was in challenging Ganim’s fitness to lead Connecticut after seven years in prison for using his office to routinely shake down city contractors for bribes. Continue Reading →
If you want to see the five Republican gubernatorial candidates in more than the 30-second commercials now filling the airwaves, there are two more chances — a 90-minute debate tonight at 7 p.m. at Fairfield University and one Wednesday afternoon on WFSB, Channel 3. Continue Reading →
With the gun lobby, it seems to be all or nothing. Susan Hatfield, the endorsed Republican candidate for attorney general, said Friday that her opposition to untraceable 3D-printed firearms — a position the President Trump has hinted he might adopt — has cost her the support of the state’s largest gun owners’ group, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. Continue Reading →