The main event today is the inauguration of Dannel P. Malloy as Connecticut’s first Democratic governor in a generation, but the day also belonged to 24 new House members and five new senators who began their legislative careers on a day of celebration and sober talk, endings and beginnings. “Guess what? We may be dysfunctional […]

Susan Bysiewicz completed her last duty as secretary of the state at 10:22 a.m., administering the oath of office to the state Senate and presiding over the chamber until Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, was formally re-elected to his leadership post. “Good morning, everyone,” Bysiewicz said. “We are calling the Senate […]

The resignation of nine Democratic legislators will take effect when the 2011 session of the General Assembly opens at 10 a.m. Wednesday, leaving six empty chairs in the House and three in the Senate to be filled by special elections in late February or early March. Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, who was named Tuesday evening […]

Dan Malloy takes office Wednesday as the state’s 88th governor and its first Democrat in a generation with his administration still a work in progress: He has named permanent leaders for fewer than half the state’s 23 major agencies. Malloy, 55, is scheduled to take the oath at 2 p.m. at a ceremony in the […]

Rep. Deborah W. Heinrich, D-Madison, who was an early supporter of Dan Malloy’s campaign for governor, was named today by the governor-elect to a cabinet-level position that doesn’t yet exist — to lead a Community Nonprofit Human Services Cabinet. “I have been clear that getting our fiscal house in order will require a shared sacrifice on […]

Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, will be the last legislator to land a job in the executive branch before the door slams shut tomorrow on movement between the legislative and executive branches of government. Caruso, who was a supporter of Dan Malloy in the pivotal city of Bridgeport, will be a special advisor to the governor […]

One son is an actor in New York. Another sings in a collegiate choral group in Virginia. To understand their father, know that House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, sees himself as a performer, too. Cafero loves public speaking. And on Jan. 5., once the clock runs out on the terms of Gov. […]

There was a Mike Fedele sighting today. The lieutenant governor hasn’t been seen much since the election. He took a pass on attending the testimonial dinner for his boss, M. Jodi Rell, who never quite got around to endorsing his run for governor. But Fedele was seen chatting in the Senate chamber with Nancy Wyman, who […]

State Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden, agreed today to plead guilty to misdemeanor larceny charges in connection with double-billing travel expenses, which covered the cost of a girlfriend accompanying him to legislative conferences. He will resign his seat in the General Assembly. Gaffey, 51, a senior member of the Senate and the co-chairman of the […]

Gov.-elect Dan Malloy today said he intends to keep on Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s well-regarded commissioner of Veterans Affairs, Linda Schwartz. “With her experience as a veteran and a nurse, Commissioner Schwartz brings first-hand knowledge to the job that few others have,” said Malloy, who becomes governor Wednesday. “Her dedication to improving the lives of […]

Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams’ hold over his top leadership post has been considered shaky for a while, leading to all sorts of delicious speculation about an exit strategy. Would he take the state auditor’s job? Would he get a job from the Malloy administration? If so, who would move up in leadership? […]

Former U.S. Rep. William Ratchford, a former state House speaker from Danbury who later represented western Connecticut in Congress, was remembered Sunday by Attorney General-elect George Jepsen as “a kind, compassionate man” and an advocate for high ethical standards in government. Ratchford, 76, died Sunday in Arlington, Va., from complications from Parkinson’s disease. Jepsen said […]

Richard Kehoe, who was Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s special counsel and liaison at the State Capitol, will be following Blumenthal from the AG’s office to the U.S. Senate, serving as the new senator’s state director. Kehoe, who also is a town council member in East Hartford, was one of several staffers named Friday. Maura Downes, […]

Rep. David McCluskey, D-West Hartford, is joining the exodus of legislators headed to the executive branch. Gov.-elect Dan Malloy today named McCluskey, a supporter who served on his campaign policy team, to the Board of Pardons and Paroles. His departure will force a special election in a district that primarily covers the Elmwood section of […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell was a calming, reassuring presence in July 2004, when John G. Rowland was chased from Hartford by an impeachment inquiry and federal investigators. She leaves office knowing something else is required now, someone with a harder edge. And that’s not her. “My mother used to have this expression, I’m sure all […]