A mountain lion in Connecticut?
Matt Davies (full size cartoon
here)
Yes, there really was a
mountain lion in CT. Despite the animal being extinct in these parts for a century, one of the big cats was hit by an SUV two weeks ago, and unconfirmed sightings have continued since then throughout Fairfield County.
One of those sightings was drawn by Pulitzer winner Matt Davies, a political cartoonist working for the Hearst CT chain (used with kind permission from the artist). It perfectly illustrates the intra-party dynamic currently operative in this and many other states, with tax increases—no matter how small—being demonized and exaggerated by Republicans amidst demands that they be taken off the table or otherwise be kept out of efforts to balance state budgets.
That didn't happen in CT. Under the leadership of first term Governor Dannel Malloy, the CT budget proposal that passed the legislature took a balanced approach, with both tax increases and spending cuts, including concessions from state unions amounting to $1.6 billion in labor savings over two years.
Hailed by local media as both responsible and innovative, the proposal nonetheless hit some turbulent waters this week. Amid public angst (doubts about the budget, strong approval of the new paid sick day law), the union vote didn't hit its required approval targets (80% of workers and 14 of 15 unions statewide.) As a result, Gov. Malloy has called for a special session June 30 to close the budget gap and issued this comment:
"It was always my hope that the SEBAC [State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition] Agreement would be ratified and we could move forward with the process of getting our state's fiscal house in order and creating new jobs," said Governor Malloy. "But that looks increasingly unlikely. Calling both chambers into session next week is necessary to close the budget deficit that we will be facing. I am loathe to make the decisions facing us at this juncture - including layoffs, programmatic and municipal aid cuts - but I am left with no choice. Working with the legislature, we will have a balanced budget and one that, while making painful cuts and difficult decisions, will be balanced honestly without tricks or gimmicks."
Governor Malloy has made clear that all options are on the table to close the budget deficit, except additional tax increases and the use of "surplus" funds.
Governor Malloy was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me this week answering questions about this and other issues. In a brief interview this past Thursday, he made clear to me that layoffs and budget cuts were not his first choice but that everything would have to be on the table. "First and foremost, I'm a strong supporter of collective bargaining, arbitration and above all, good process involving union members in decision making," he told me. "Failing agreement, we'll have to make some tough decisions, but the process is very important."
When asked about whether he's following what the polls say about him, and if not when he would, he answered "in about three years. Look, this is a job that requires the long view, not short term. That's the trouble with too much of this country, from corporations on down. I'm focused on getting the job done over the long term."
I asked him about his working relationship with the mayors and selectmen in the cities and towns (CT has almost a non-existent county structure.) He told me it's "very good," based in no small part on his experience as Stamford mayor, and that the budget discussions "haven't changed that".
I listed several legislative accomplishments, including the non-confrontational budget approach, paid sick days (CT is the first state in the nation), decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and offering in-state tuition rates for undocumented residents, and asked if I had overlooked anything important to him. Without hesitation, he added "you have to include outlawing discrimination against transgendered individuals" (see With no GOP votes, Senate gives final passage to transgender bill.)
I asked about the jobs tour he'll be embarking on next week, and he said it isn't for a week, it's for the rest of the summer and the rest of his tenure. "We have to do better on creating jobs than we have done; we've not been good, and this is going to be a continuing focus. We have to realign the government to make it easier to innovate, and that includes small business."
I asked if it's been good, bad or indifferent that he's gotten little national attention, and he said "it's all good. Again, the focus is on the job, not the publicity."
Looking back at the interview and the week's news, none of what's been accomplished has been easy, and none of what's left to accomplish will get any easier—and there's a tremendous amount on the table to get done.
Still, with the news from NY state on same sex marriage (it's been legal in CT since 2008), I have to think there's a lot to be proud of from the Northeast in terms of policy. We have a Governor that respects unions and working people, and cares about process. We also have a Governor committed to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to balance the budget, unlike his recent predecessors—maybe the best political line this year was from a Malloy senior advisor concerning public carping about the budget from corrupt former Governor John Rowland:
Concerning Rowland's comments, [Roy] Occhiogrosso said, "We don't respond to John Rowland - ever.''.
It's a very grown up way to approach governance, and it's pretty clear it's not being done that way just for the cameras. That's got to be a plus as we tackle the painful next steps—and confront the state's mountain lions, real and imagined—on balancing the budget.