I used to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and politicians. I actually thought the first two brought me gifts and the latter cared about me and my community. Well, those days are gone. We are now neck deep in the primary round of campaigning for our state’s top officials and I hope you’ve been paying attention. The promises and the BS are piling up pretty fast, especially when it comes to the issue of transportation.
As primaries approach, beware the politician’s promise
Posted inJustice
Parkland students take last leg of national bus tour to Newtown
NEWTOWN – Activist students from Parkland, Florida made this Connecticut town the symbolic last stop of a nationwide bus tour on Sunday during their full-steam quest to galvanize young adults to vote for candidates who support stricter gun laws.
Posted inPolitics
Herbst tests risk and reward of alliance with social conservatives
With carefully calibrated appeals to gun owners and social conservatives, Timothy Herbst is looking for the sweet spot in Connecticut politics on Tuesday: How far to the right can a gubernatorial candidate go to distinguish himself in a crowded Republican primary, yet remain viable in November?
Posted inPolitics
Hayes, Glassman, other pols search for votes at Newtown rally
Newtown – In the homestretch of primary races, Sunday’s March for Our Lives rally here was the place to be for Democratic candidates hoping to round up last-minute votes and extol voters to show up at the polls on Tuesday.
Posted inNews
The sound and the fury of Connecticut politics
Only two days until the Connecticut primaries — and it shows. The past week has been a series of candidate debates, press conferences, appearances, TV ads and countermeasures all intended to win the hearts and minds of party members across the state. Today will feature plenty of politicking, too, when students from Parkland, Fla., host a rally in Newtown opposing gun violence and encouraging young people to register to vote and support their cause.
Posted inEducation
Study: Students’ math scores drop after using private school voucher
Low-income students who use a voucher to attend private school in Indiana see their math scores drop for several years as a result, according to a new study.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats clash, say, ‘It’s time for your closing argument’
Democratic gubernatorial rivals Ned Lamont and Joe Ganim spent part of their final Saturday before Tuesday’s primary campaigning in a rainy Bushnell Park, taking aim at each other’s qualifications while pledging to revive Connecticut’s economy.
Posted inPolitics
PAC supporting Boughton, helped by Danbury trash hauler
The biggest contributions to CT Rising, an independent-expenditure group promoting the gubernatorial campaign of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, came from the New York offices of a trash hauler with an affiliate in Danbury, according to a campaign finance report filed Saturday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Why we need to stop 3D-printed guns
If there’s one state that knows all too well the pain, the grief and the shock that gun violence can bring, it’s the state of Connecticut. That’s why we passed the nation’s strongest common-sense gun safety laws – banning the sale of high-capacity gun magazines and requiring background checks for private gun sales – in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Just this week, Republicans ducked answering where they stand on the next battle against criminals who want to do harm – the 3D printing of guns. When asked “Should Connecticut ban 3D-printable, untraceable guns?” each of the Republican gubernatorial candidates refused to support common-sense regulations on 3D-printed guns.
Posted inPolitics
Opponents parse ‘reduce’ vs. ‘phase out’ in Boughton’s tax ad
A new Facebook ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton says he would “reduce” the state income tax, prompting two opponents Friday to question whether the Danbury mayor had abandoned his pledge to phase out the tax over a decade. The Boughton campaign says nothing has changed.
Posted inPolitics
Despite no leverage, candidates promise labor concessions
While all of Connecticut’s gubernatorial candidates say they want more concessions from unionized state employees, the reality is the next governor will have little leverage to force negotiations until his third year in office. So, how do you cut a state budget dominated by personnel expenses if you can’t eliminate personnel?
Posted inPolitics
Parkland students bringing campaign for gun law changes to Newtown
When a busload of Parkland, Fla., high school gun control activists arrives in Newtown on Sunday, they will be completing an emotional tour of 50 cities, some the sites of the nation’s grisliest mass shootings, in an effort to create political change. Besides influencing public opinion, the students are also seeking to register young voters who will help their cause.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut needs a new kind of comptroller — with business sense
What exactly does a comptroller do? It’s probably the question I’m asked most often on the campaign trail, but the truth is that the office of State Comptroller has the potential to be one of the most important, influential public offices in state government. Why? Because the economic crisis that Connecticut faces today has its […]
Posted inHealth
Wade: State law bars sale of Trump’s ‘junk’ short-term health plans
The Connecticut Insurance Department has determined state law prohibits the sale of skimpy “short term” plans that are being promoted by President Donald Trump as a cheaper alternative to Affordable Care Act coverage. “Connecticut already has the necessary statutory consumer protections in place to prohibit ‘junk plans,’” said Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade.
Posted inPolitics
Stefanowski invites reporters to listen, not ask questions
If a candidate holds a press conference and leaves without taking questions, is it a press conference? Don’t ask Bob Stefanowski.