In an open letter released late Friday afternoon, the state Senate’s Democratic leaders called for a vote no later than March 13 on gun control legislation in response to the mass shootings in Newtown. The letter by Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr. of Brooklyn and Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney of […]
Politics
Stories about CT politicians, elections, state legislation, the state’s congressional delegation and the impact of federal legislation on Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
Hewett contrite on Thursday, not so much on Friday
Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, was contrite and accepted responsibility Thursday for a remark to a teenage girl at a public hearing that carried a sexual double-entendre, whether intended or not. But on Friday, Hewett, 56, was suggesting that House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, acted rashly in stripping him of his title as deputy […]
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U.S. House Democrats name Himes as lead fundraiser
Washington — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political organization in charge of raising campaign cash and planning strategy to get Democrats elected to the U.S. House, has named Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, as its lead fundraiser. Himes will succeed Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., as the DCCC Finance Committee chairman, said Rep. Steve Israel, […]
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Jepsen joins amicus briefs supporting gay marriage
As one of the states that has legalized same-sex marriage, Connecticut has joined a dozen other states in filing amicus briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to support lower court decisions striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage under federal law to the union of a man and a woman. “Discrimination based […]
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Malloy supports Marcus on eve of confirmation hearing
On the eve of her confirmation hearing, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Thursday he has learned nothing about Shelley Marcus of Branford that would disqualify her since nominating her as a judge. But the legal advice Marcus gave to participants involved in a “gifting table,” which is a form of pyramid scheme, is likely to […]
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Labor committee endorses longshot minimum wage raise
The legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee voted along party lines today to endorse increasing the $8.25 minimum wage. That’s the easy part of raising the wage for the first time in three years. Getting a vote in the Senate and House seems unlikely. The Senate refused to bring a minimum wage bill to a […]
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One MORE reason why the speaker is a wonk
The revival Thursday of a legislative commission on regional issues is not going to quicken the political pulse, but it says a few things about the new speaker of the House, Rep. J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden. Sharkey Unlike the House Democratic version created by his predecessor, this panel is bipartisan and bicameral, involving Republicans and […]
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Malloy bags his Whale
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy won’t have to worry about the AHL’s Connecticut Whale slipping out of town on his watch. Malloy and the Capitol Region Development Authority’s director, Michael Freimuth, announced a multi-year deal today that will keep the minor-league hockey team as a tenant in the state-control XL Center in downtown Hartford through 2016, […]
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Ellen Camhi, longtime Democratic power in Stamford, dies at 73
Ellen Camhi, a political power broker in Stamford who helped guide the careers of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other down-state politicians, died Tuesday morning of what a friend says was a massive heart attack. Camhi, 73, was a member of the Democratic National Committee, rubbing elbows with the nation’s political elites, but her strongest […]
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Fedele running for Stamford mayor
He couldn’t win the job now held by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Maybe former Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele will do better taking a shot at the one Malloy used to hold — mayor of Stamford. Michael Fedele Fedele, who was Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s number two, announced his mayoral candidacy today. The GOP incumbent, Michael […]
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New Britain company soars with AR-15 sales — for now
New Britain — Mark Malkowski celebrates 10 years in business May 1. Under other circumstances, he might expect the governor to drop by to celebrate the unlikely story of the local kid who opened a factory at age 24 in a city desperate for jobs. That’s not going to happen. Malkowski, now a boyish 34, […]
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Malloy to D.C. for NGA
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is in Washington, D.C., for the midwinter meeting of the National Governors Association, which began today and ends Monday with a session at the White House. The governor returns to Washington with a profile raised by tragedy: He has had repeated contact with President Obama and Vice President Biden since the […]
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Yankee Institute poll rates Malloy well, budget poorly
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gets his highest approval rating in the fourth in a series of polls sponsored by the Yankee Institute: 54 percent say they approve of the Democrat and 45 percent disapprove. But the poll, which was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research for the conservative think tank, also found a tighter margin when […]
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With no GOP consensus on gun control, Cafero bows out of rally
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, is listed as among those scheduled to address a gun control rally outside the State Capitol on Thursday, but a spokesman says he has withdrawn. Cafero’s caucus is still working on reaching a consensus on what it measures it can support in response to the shooting deaths […]
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DeLauro blasts postal service, GOP, for end to Saturday delivery
With a local mail processing plant and hundreds of jobs in her district at stake, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, Wednesday condemned the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to end Saturday delivery. “Today’s announcement is bad news both for the postal service’s employees and people across the country,” DeLauro said. “I have deep concerns that cutting […]