Let’s give Lamont more credit for his work so far

mark Pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

Gov. Ned Lamont makes a point.

OK, so Ned Lamont isn’t FDR. He hasn’t yet passed 15 bills. His toll and regionalization proposals became toxic issues. Stevie Wonder could see that coming. But he put it out there anyway, largely because our states to the south (New York) and north (Massachusetts) have been able to pull themselves out of fiscal doldrums by adopting the very same strategies.

So let’s give him credit for what he has done.

Even before he was governor, Lamont helped to secure Infosys’s investment in Hartford, which has honestly struggled to get new, big corporations to say yes to making the city home  – although as a resident I appreciate the insurance companies’ financial commitment and Stanley Black & Decker’s much-welcomed presence.

He has ensured the most diverse administration in some time, which matters as the state’s demography changes. He walked the talk in terms of the importance of teachers of color as a means to close the state’s shameful achievement gap by proposing legislation that would do just that. And he worked his networks to secure a $100 million investment from the Dalio Foundation to support Connecticut educators and students. I’d call those Xs in the win column.

Lamont’s style of pressure-testing ideas, assembling a table that includes diverse voices, and getting his influential friends to buy into the Nutmeg State deserves affirmation.

No, he isn’t FDR. Maybe he’s just Ned. Can’t that be enough for now?

Andréa Comer lives in Hartford.

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