The Newtown Action Alliance, a gun-control group formed after the Sandy Hook shooting of December, has demanded House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., allow votes on dozens of gun control bills that run the gamut from an assault weapons ban to establishing federal funding research on gun violence.
Politics
Stories about CT politicians, elections, state legislation, the state’s congressional delegation and the impact of federal legislation on Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
Joseph H. Harper Jr., a legislative icon, dies at 70
Joseph Harper, a Falstaffian, old-school Democratic politician who zealously protected his New Britain district while playing a pivotal role in the 1991 budget fight that led to passage of the income tax in Connecticut, died Sunday. He was 70.
Posted inPolitics
Shawn Wooden endorsed for treasurer, faces 3-way primary
Former Hartford City Council President Shawn Wooden won the Democratic endorsement for state treasurer Saturday, but will face off in a primary with fellow Hartford lawyer Arunan Arulampalam and former Wall Street trader Dita Bhargava of Greenwich.
Posted inPolitics
Tong wins endorsement for AG, faces three-way primary
Rep. William Tong of Stamford won the Democratic endorsement for attorney general Saturday, but will face former federal prosecutor Chris Mattei of Hartford and Sen. Paul Doyle of Wethersfield in a three-way primary for the nomination.
Posted inPolitics
Bysiewicz endorsed, but dogged by surging Zimmerman
The Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor will be settled at an August primary between former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz of Middletown and Eva Bermudez Zimmerman of Newtown, whose protest candidacy blossomed into a full-blown campaign in just three days.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont wins, while Ganim fails to qualify for primary
Democrats endorsed Ned Lamont for governor Saturday, putting their stock in a wealthy Greenwich businessman who became a national figure in 2006 with his antiwar challenge of U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman. They rejected an 11th-hour plea by Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim to overlook his criminal record and place him on the primary ballot. But they offered only lukewarm support to Lamont’s running mate, Susan Bysiewicz.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats nominate Lembo, Merrill for third terms
Democrats nominated the unopposed Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo by acclamation and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill by a roll call vote Saturday, an easy warmup before tackling contested endorsements for the other underticket offices of attorney general, treasurer and lieutenant governor.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy delivers a pep talk and a heartfelt farewell
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is not seeking re-election after two terms, said control of Congress and the General Assembly is crucial to preserve values protecting women, minorities, immigrants and working-class families, as well as public safety.
Posted inPolitics
A collision of insider politics, open primaries and race
At the chaotic conclusion of a congressional nominating convention, teacher Jahana Hayes briefly had at least 171 votes, the minimum necessary to win. Young spectators, some of them Hayes’s former students getting their first peek at politics, wildly cheered Connecticut’s endorsement of a black woman for Congress. It turned into something else, with angry questions from the NAACP, complaints about the role of a U.S. senator — and just a whiff of a voting irregularity.
Posted inPolitics
Ganim the last to oppose Lamont at convention
Intrigue over down-ballot races for lieutenant governor, treasurer and attorney general are expected to dominate this weekend’s Democratic convention as an unopposed U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is nominated by acclamation for a second term Friday night and Ned Lamont is poised to win the endorsement for governor on a single ballot Saturday.
Posted inPolitics
DeLauro: Cut farm bill handouts to the wealthy, not food stamps
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is about to vote on a farm bill that will reduce eligibility for food stamps, a move that has caused a partisan split, with most Democratic lawmakers opposing the legislation. If the changes become law, they could impact tens of thousands of food stamp recipients in the state.
Posted inHousing
Trump housing plan would make the poor pay more
WASHINGTON – Wendy Allen of New Haven has so little income she pays the minimum rent under a public housing assistance program, yet that modest fee would triple in size under a proposal championed by the Trump administration. Housing advocates say the plan to change federal housing policy could undermine the state’s efforts to eliminate homelessness and place low-income families and individuals under new economic stress.
Posted inPolitics
Haspel confirmed as CIA director; Blumenthal, Murphy vote ‘no’
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Gina Haspel as the first women to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, a move that was opposed by both Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Chris Murphy. The Connecticut senators said they were concerned about Haspel’s involvement in CIA torture sites.
Posted inPolitics
Jahana Hayes, Art Linares to run in primaries
Two candidates who narrowly lost convention endorsements for Congress and state treasurer, Democrat Jahana Hayes and Republican Art Linares, said Thursday they will seek their parties’ nominations in primaries in August. Hayes is a candidate for Congress; Linares for state treasurer.
Posted inPolitics
Floor challenge promised to Bysiewicz as Lamont’s L.G.
Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, who had a conversation with gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont about the possibility of becoming the Connecticut Democrats’ first Hispanic statewide nominee as his running mate before he picked Susan Bysiewicz, said Wednesday night she will seek the nomination for lieutenant governor Saturday.