The Connecticut AFL-CIO vented Thursday at Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Democratic legislators, but the labor federation will convene again Friday, probably to endorse some of the same Democrats accused of betraying labor on the state budget. The reason is a labor report card: The best-ranked Republicans have lifetime scores of 60 percent, lower than the worst-ranked Democrat.
Joe Aresimowicz
Posted inPolitics
Aresimowicz’ challenging path as House leader and union man
Sal Luciano of AFSCME Council 4 does not hide his displeasure with House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz over his role in passing a budget that cuts services and eliminates state jobs rather than following labor’s prescription of raising taxes on the rich. And Luciano is more than just another union bigwig. He is Aresimowicz’s boss.
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House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey won’t seek re-election
House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, who oversaw the difficult passage of a state budget Friday on a 74 to 70 vote, said Sunday he will not seek re-election this fall to a ninth term in the General Assembly. House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz will be a candidate to succeed him if Democrats retain their majority this fall.
Posted inPolitics
Outside budget spotlight, one of Malloy’s key bills languishes
Updated 1 a.m. Tuesday
The Senate delayed a vote Monday on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s major criminal justice initiative, An Act Concerning a Second Chance Society, raising questions about whether it had sufficient Democratic votes to pass before the session ends at midnight Wednesday. Other bills were being held as leverage in budget talks.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy, Democrats bring very different perspectives to budget crisis
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is challenging his fellow Democrats in the legislature to focus less on their re-election chances and more on Connecticut’s budget crisis, legislators respond that the Democratic governor did not lead by example when dealing with the budget during his last re-election bid.
Posted inNews
A divided CT House passes retirement security legislation
The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives outlasted a Republican filibuster early Tuesday to pass legislation that would create a quasi-public authority to offer private-sector workers a retirement savings program. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was non-committal on the bill, but says he favors a key provision: a mandated payroll deduction for retirement savings.
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General Assembly’s shrinking agenda frustrates progressives
A prominent pollster gave House and Senate Democrats a private rundown on the mood of the Connecticut electorate Thursday. The news surprised no one. Voters are unhappy with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and they see pretty much every issue paling in importance next to the state’s business climate.
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Malloy downplays spat: Rebuke, what rebuke?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy downplayed his rebuke by House Democrat leaders, saying Friday it would not complicate his administration’s efforts to negotiate a budget with the General Assembly by the adjournment deadline of midnight June 3.
Posted inEducation
Aggressive charter school campaign descends on the Capitol
Legislators are being bombarded with emails informing them every time a student applies to a charter school that the state has yet to agree to fund. And when they turn on the television, they see advertisements warning that thousands of students will be trapped in failing schools unless state lawmakers spend millions more to expand enrollment in charter schools.
Posted inPolitics
Legislators to outline joint Pequot-Mohegan casino pitch
The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans, historic rivals and casino competitors, are to be introduced Tuesday as potential partners in at least one new casino in Connecticut, sources said Monday night.
Posted inMoney, Politics
For now, Malloy says this budget problem is the legislature’s
Exactly four years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was in Norwich for the fifth of 17 town-hall meetings to pitch Connecticut on the labor concessions and record tax increase he proposed to erase the nation’s largest per-capita state deficit. Today, he is vacationing in Puerto Rico. There is no tour this year to sell the public on his plan to resolve a smaller shortfall with business taxes and spending cuts that fall heavily on the poor, elderly and disabled.
Posted inPolitics
Maynard’s unexpected return upstages an inauguration
The General Assembly opened its 2015 session Wednesday on an emotional note as the Senate welcomed the surprise return of Sen. Andrew M. Maynard, D-Stonington, who was re-elected without campaigning after sustaining a traumatic brain injury last summer.
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Sharkey names Berger to Finance, Tong to Judiciary
House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, changed the leadership of a half-dozen committees Friday as he named Rep. Jeff Berger of Waterbury as the new co-chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and Rep. William Tong of Stamford to lead the Judiciary Committee.
Posted inPolitics
CT voters to decide whether to scrap 19th Century voting restrictions
It began as an effort to allow Civil War soldiers who were far from home to cast ballots in state and local elections, but that provision in Connecticut’s constitution has also kept voters from enjoying the rights shared by voters in 34 other states to cast an early ballot. Connecticut voters will now decide whether to allow the state legislature to amend the state’s restrictions on absentee or early voting.
Posted inPolitics
CT considering state retirement program for private sector
With the support of the state treasurer and AARP, the Senate and House majority leaders are pushing legislation that would create a state-run retirement program for private-sector employees over the opposition of insurers and private investment advisors.