Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, can expect to be elected speaker of the House on the first day of the 2017 legislative session Wednesday without either opposition or support from the growing Republican minority – a calculated, if subtle, protest of Aresimowicz’s continued employment by a major public-sector union, AFSCME Council 4.
Themis Klarides
Posted inCT Viewpoints
For supporting background checks, TRO bill, Klarides should step down
An open letter to Connecticut House Minority Leader Themis Klarides:
I am not one of your constituents, but felt compelled to compose this letter because I am deeply concerned and troubled at the path that we, as a state, are following. I am a life long resident of Connecticut, even electing to stay instate when I went away to college. I have seen it transform from a great place to live, put down roots and raise a family to a place I am now looking forward to leaving — all this in the span of just one generation.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT budget closes in deficit again; little reserves left for this year
Connecticut officially closed its second consecutive fiscal year in deficit Friday, shrinking its budget reserve to a low level as threats of another shortfall loom.
Posted inPolitics
The Republicans’ favorite issue in Connecticut is Malloy
From Donald J. Trump to Republican candidates for the General Assembly, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is repeatedly reminded that the GOP sees him as a potent campaign issue in 2016, even if the two-term Democratic governor is not on the ballot this fall and probably won’t ever seek elective office again.
Posted inPolitics
CT GOP pushes a tight message, even if Trump and RNC won’t
CLEVELAND — Republicans go home Friday to begin testing a convention-crafted message of Donald J. Trump as the only answer for an America imperiled by Islamic jihadists, bad trade deals, Black Lives Matter, stagnant wages, environmental regulations, unchecked immigration, Washington elites, activist judges, Obamacare, gay marriage, a biased media and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Posted inPolitics
Cruz follows Trump snub with fundraising appeal to GOP
CLEVELAND — Ted Cruz’s non-endorsement of Donald J.Trump in his speech to the Republican National Convention was only the first of his two messages that infuriated GOP delegates in the space of five hours late Wednesday and early Thursday. The second was a 1 a.m. money appeal.
Posted inPolitics
Klarides says nothing political in late arrival at RNC
CLEVELAND — House Minority Leader Themis Klarides of Derby arrived here Thursday morning, saying she was delayed by a need to spend time with her ailing father, not a desire to distance herself from Donald J. Trump, the Republican National Convention or the GOP platform. Sen. Art Linares of Westbrook showed up Wednesday night.
Posted inPolitics
Trump taps into angst of ’68, the foundation of gains for CT GOP
CLEVELAND — Richard Nixon, who opened a golden age of Republican presidential politics in Connecticut, promised a “silent majority” unnerved by assassinations, urban riots and war protests that “the long dark night for America is about to end.” Can Donald J. Trump do the same in an era of Twitter, 24/7 cable news, terrorism and police shootings?
Posted inPolitics
CT delegates to GOP convention to vote on conservative platform
WASHINGTON — When Connecticut delegates to the Republican National Convention arrive in Cleveland next week, one of the first orders of business will be to consider a party platform that has been called the most conservative in the party’s history.
Posted inEducation
Legislative leaders call UConn ‘tone deaf’ over raises for top staff
Legislative leaders Thursday blasted hefty pay increases University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst awarded to four senior staff members as the state and public university grapple with big budget cuts.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT expected to provide $22M to help major hedge fund expand
The State Bond Commission is expected to approve $22 million in financing Friday to help a major hedge fund expand operations in Westport, Wilton and Norwalk.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy zings GOP on bail reform, gets counter from Fasano
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut leader of the NAACP pushed back Monday at Republican opposition to Malloy’s proposed bail reforms, casting them as an overdue blow for racial and economic equality. One GOP leader said Malloy was playing the race card, while another made a counter offer.
Posted inPolitics
Establishment well-represented among Trump’s CT delegates
Connecticut’s delegation to the Republican National Convention will be a mix of neophytes smitten with the outsider politics of Donald J. Trump, as well as pillars of a GOP establishment still adjusting to him as the party’s presumptive nominee. The delegation includes three former state chairs, six legislators and a Greenwich fundraiser who was an ambassador under George W. Bush.
Posted inPolitics
Klarides delivers rebuke, but Romano sticks with reporter ban
Republican State Chairman J.R. Romano said Saturday he is sticking with his decision to ban a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter from Monday’s state convention, despite a public rebuke from House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, one of the state’s highest ranking elected Republicans.
Posted inMoney, Politics
GOP leaders insist they won’t stand for a rushed CT budget debate
As majority Democratic legislators scrambled in hopes of adopting a new state budget before Wednesday’s midnight deadline, Republicans warned they wouldn’t tolerate a rushed or incomplete debate on solutions to a nearly $1 billion deficit.