An open congressional seat is usually a rarity, drawing interests from a number of candidates and often national attentions, but the contest for Connecticut’s 5th District seat is not playing out that way, at least not yet.
Politics
Stories about CT politicians, elections, state legislation, the state’s congressional delegation and the impact of federal legislation on Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal, Murphy sponsor bills to help homeowners with crumbling foundations
WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s U.S. senators on Wednesday introduced a pair of bills aimed at helping homeowners with crumbling foundations, but conceded it will be an “uphill fight” to win congressional approval of the legislation.
Posted inMoney
Hartford bailout maxes out state’s credit card — for now
Connecticut’s bailout of the city of Hartford will max out the state’s ability to borrow this summer — at least temporarily — House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Wednesday.
Posted inPolitics
GOP fails in its courtship of Bill Petit for Congress
He was flattered. The calls came from people like U.S. Rep. Steven Stivers of Ohio, the chair of the GOP’s congressional recruiting arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee. But William A. Petit Jr., a state legislator with name recognition born in tragedy, was unpersuaded. He is not running for Congress.
Posted inPolitics
D’Agostino endorses former rival Tong in AG race
Rep. Michael D’Agostino, D-Hamden, a commercial litigator who quickly became an unexpected champion of progressive politics in a short-lived exploratory campaign for attorney general, endorsed Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, on Wednesday in the four-way race for the Democratic nomination for A.G.
Posted inTransportation
Aresimowicz promises House vote on tolls
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said Tuesday he intends to call a vote next week on legislation making an initial commitment to implementing electronic highway tolls, despite Republican opposition that could brand Democrats as the party of tolls.
Posted inPolitics
New GOP and Dem budgets would still cut Medicare Savings Program
While Democrats and Republicans both want to blunt the looming roll-back of a program that helps disabled and low-income elderly in Connecticut pay for medical care, their plans will still cut off tens of thousands who’ve come to rely on it.
Posted inPolitics
Inspector General investigating Interior’s handling of CT tribes’ casino issue
The Interior Department’s official watchdog on Monday confirmed it is investigating why the agency rebuffed a request by Connecticut tribes to approve changes to its gaming compact needed to win state support for a new casino in East Windsor.
Posted inMoney
Parties sharply divided over higher ed, labor costs, transportation
Democrats and Republicans offered sharply contrasting spending plans for the next fiscal year. While they shared some common ground involving municipal aid and health care for the elderly and disabled, major disagreements involving labor costs, higher education and revenue stand in the way of another bipartisan budget agreement.
Posted inPolitics
Bysiewicz challenges Lamont over campaign financing
NEW HAVEN — A sharp moment in an otherwise collegial candidate forum Sunday probably reflected the current pecking order in the crowded Democratic race for governor: Invited to challenge any rival with a question, Susan Bysiewicz targeted Ned Lamont, the decisive winner of a recent Connecticut AFL-CIO straw poll.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Union president: Workers have postponed strike — for now
David Pickus, president of SEIU 1199 New England, appreciates the value of the care provided to the disabled by thousands of Connecticut workers. But he’s not sure state legislators do. He’ll be finding out in a few days, he says, when he meets with state officials to determine whether they can come to wage and program funding terms that will avert a strike tentatively scheduled for next month.
Posted inPolitics
Labor support not enough to keep Mike D’Agostino in A.G. race
Two weeks after winning a straw poll at an Connecticut AFL-CIO political convention, state Rep. Michael D’Agostino, D-Hamden, ended his exploratory campaign for attorney general Friday. He instead will seek a fourth-term in the House of Representatives.
Posted inMoney
Competing CT budget plans rely on April tax bonanza
Democratic and Republican legislators offered competing visions for the next state budget Friday, but both effectively dipped into this spring’s unexpectedly high income-tax revenues to salvage key programs for towns and social services, drawing a sharp rebuke from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted inPolitics
Union election at Foxwoods as CT tribes push back against federal labor laws
WASHINGTON — More than 300 employees who clean the Mashantucket Pequot’s Foxwoods Resort Casino will decide on Friday if they want to unionize and reject tribal arguments against that idea. Meanwhile, Connecticut’s Pequot and Mohegan tribes are backing efforts to exempt their businesses from federal labor laws, a priority for the nation’s Indian tribes.
Posted inPolitics
House passes resolution that would allow early voting
The House of Representatives, in an 81-to-65 vote Thursday, approved a resolution calling for a referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow early voting in Connecticut. But the earliest residents might have more than a single day to cast their ballot is 2020.