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.
Lamont wins, while Ganim fails to qualify for primary
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 inNews
Murphy tells Democrats to fight Trump, not each other
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy accepted the Democratic nomination for a second term Friday with a speech framing the 2018 election up and down the ballot as an existential battle for control of Hartford and Washington with a Republican Party that has lost its compass with President Donald Trump at the helm.
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 inCT Viewpoints
Let’s get legal sports gambling on the books
Now since the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision has struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which banned sports betting nationwide except for Nevada, states across the nation are scrambling to grab onto this judicial breakthrough by seeking to legalize sports gambling. However, we cannot be too hasty in this endeavor before proper legal statutes are established to regulate the proper way to ‘play the game.’ Aside from Nevada’s policy implementation, Connecticut lawmakers would have to quickly tend to a series of simple but tedious legal disputes.
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 inTransportation
With new budget in place, Malloy cancels rail, bus fare hikes
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration has canceled planned rail and bus fare hikes now that legislators have adopted a new budget with added resources for the Special Transportation Fund.
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 inCT Viewpoints
Diversity — Middletown’s greatest weapon to close the opportunity gap
I was born and raised in Connecticut by my mother, a woman who was a strong advocate for my education. Looking back, I have no idea how she was able to be such a fierce and tireless champion of my education, while working incredibly hard as a single parent to provide for her only child. Meeting with my teachers on a daily basis and demanding more rigorous coursework to ensure I was prepared for college. Forcing school administrators to see past their own lowered expectations because of my race. Molding me into an avid (now, lifelong) reader. As a kid, my mother’s advocacy was something I took for granted until many years later in my academic and professional career.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
What’s next for CT’s unfunded pensions, since the legislature did nothing
Connecticut’s unfunded pensions for state employees – about $127 billion in debt borne by today’s taxpayers – are much talked about.
As the legislative session ended, once again, nothing was done to stem the continuing losses and increasing debt payments. Those who blocked reform may think they won, but the victory is truly Pyrrhic. Likely consequences?
If taxes are raised again, expect to see more and more people moving out of the state.
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.