In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
From Inside The Golden Dome
This Day in CT History
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This week was one of those moments I felt like a veteran, elder political enthusiast as I read the just-released 100,000 First Bosses written by two-term state Senator Will Haskell from Westport—one of America’s youngest state senators.
Last month, Haskell made the front pages with his surprise announcement that he would not seek a third term in the Senate, opting instead to head to law school.
This week he’s making headlines for a book that tells the tale of a college junior who cared about where the country was going so much that he came home to Connecticut to do something about it—engaging his fellow “Gen Z-ers” to hit the streets, get the older Millennials off their butts and in the game to bring change to a state known as “The Land of Steady Habits.”
As the tale continues and broadens to the inner sanctum of the Connecticut legislature, my mind flashed back to another “change agent” state senator: Joseph I. Lieberman. Lieberman, who—while not being part of Gen Z—shares more with Haskell than one might think, starting with the fact that he’s one of the very few elected officials to pen a book about the inside stories of Connecticut politics. He tackled the inner workings of the Democratic state party and brought to light the power, struggles and war stories of John Bailey—famed Connecticut Democratic state chairman—in his 1966 book The Power Broker. In his 1981 book The Legacy, Lieberman covered inside Democratic politics from 1903 to 1980. The Legacy is a great book if you haven’t read it and one with much to offer those who follow and engage in the ups and downs of politics in Connecticut.
As hard as it may be to imagine today, Lieberman—like Haskell—was an upstart. He took on the political establishment in 1978 as a “reform” candidate, which put him on the “outs” at the beginning. Before long, Lieberman served three terms as state Senate majority leader, with great distinction. And after stumbling in an unsuccessful run for Congress against the headwinds of a popular actor from California’s march to the White House, Lieberman went on to write more chapters in his own, his state’s and his nation’s political history.
Senator Haskell was in much of the same situation—in a different era. Haskell’s campaign came to life in a nation swirling under the political storm stirred by a president named Donald Trump and in a district that had elected a Republican for most of modern history!
100,000 First Bosses walks readers through Haskell’s thought process of running for office, the details of securing the nomination and the final weeks of October surprises that any candidate running for any office experiences. He shares an “inside the caucus room” look at how the legislative process works (or doesn’t), how the Senate and House work together (or don’t) and how senators work (or don’t) across the political aisle to get “the People’s Business” done.
Just like my favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz, Senator Haskell’s book peels back the curtain to show the secrets and nuances that many readers—including veteran Capitol-watchers—don’t get to see and aren’t aware of, including the relationships of his fellow Democratic and Republican colleagues alike.
If you’re interested in Connecticut politics, 100,000 First Bosses and The Legacy are two must-read books. That said, there’s plenty that happened between where Senator Lieberman left off and Senator Haskell picks up—and stories to be told.
For years I’ve tried to persuade a few veteran journalists, former key political staffers and even a couple of former elected officials to pick up the mantle—and the pen—to provide the color commentary, stories and adventures of Connecticut politics. Any takers??
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List of Legislators not Seeking Re-Election
We would like to give a huge thanks to the following legislators that will not be seeking re-election this year for all they have done for Connecticut, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
- Rep. Whitt Betts
- Rep. Bill Buckbee
- Rep. Tony D'Amelio
- Sen. Will Haskell
- Rep. Brandon McGee
- Sen. Kevin Witkos
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Stranger than Fiction Life in Florida
Some surprising news came out of the “sunshine state” this week involving Connecticut’s former public health commissioner that served under the prior Governor Malloy administration.
In what seems like a plot line too fictitious to be featured on Netflix, former DPH Commissioner Raul Pino was suspended by the State of Florida from his role as county health commissioner for encouraging employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Commissioner Pino is being accused of violating a state law implemented by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature that prohibits government agencies from implementing vaccine requirements, and limited such mandates for private businesses.
The basis of the suspension is from Commissioner Pino sending an email to his department staff voicing his frustration with the low vaccination rate in his county:
“I am sorry but in the absence of reasonable and real reasons it is irresponsible not to be vaccinated. We have been at this for two years, we were the first to give vaccines to the masses, we have done more than 300,000 and we are not even at 50 (percent) pathetic.”
Florida’s Department of Public Health has stated they are “evaluating” the allegation and determine the best course of action for discipline. It’s hard to imagine after everything the world has been through in the past two years that the county Commissioner Pino is trying to help has more unvaccinated than vaccinated people and Connecticut’s vaccination rate for those eligible to receive the vaccine is at 91% first dose and 76% fully vaccinated.
Connecticut can certainly be a parochial state that lives up to its old slogan as “the land of steady habits” but thankfully this is story you would never read about happening here. Best wishes to former Commissioner Pino for his efforts in trying to serve his community.
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Last week we talked about garbage waste, this week we’ll talk about a different kind of waste. The waste this week is waste water that flows through the state’s wastewater treatment plants. Of all the methods of measuring the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, one has been consistently reliable: the amount of the virus in sewage. Yale University researchers have been sampling wastewater plants in Connecticut since the early stages of the pandemic, and the latest numbers from that testing have one official “cautiously optimistic” the omicron wave has finally crested in the state.
Up until late last year, the state of Connecticut was paying the researchers at Yale to track the spread of COVID-19 through several large wastewater treatment plants that served more than 1 million people in the state. Those samples closely traced the ebb and flow of the virus within many of the state’s most populated communities, including Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwich, Hartford, Waterbury, Danbury and New London. As a result, there is a growing effort at the federal level to expand the network of wastewater treatment plants that are screening for the genetic markers of COVID-19, which are found more frequently in sewage as the number of infections in a community rise.
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Connecticut's Redistricting Process Episode 3.75: The Special Master's Plan
This month, CT legislators were given the opportunity to compromise on an agreement for the state's U.S. House redistricting plan, but were unable to come to an agreement. Therefore, Supreme Court Appointed Special Master Nathaniel Persily was tasked with drawing the map. Persily was directed by the court to draw a map that makes the least changes necessary to equalize the population across the five districts.
The map that Persily recommended to the court on Tuesday did indeed make minimal changes in the racial, political and geographic features of the districts. The fifth district's "lobster claw" still remains, and the city of Torrington remains split between the first and fifth districts. If these new districts are adopted by the court, the balance of power will not shift much. The 1st, 3rd and 4th districts will remain solidly Democratic, while the 2nd and 5th districts will lean Democratic but be competitive.
House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said that the new lines did nothing to weaken the bases of the incumbents in the 2nd and 5th districts.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) expressed frustration with the commission for once again yielding responsibility to a court unwilling to direct a more ambitious overhaul of the districts.
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January 21st: World's First Nuclear Submarine Launch at Groton
On January 21, 1954, hundreds of spectators, including General Dynamics employees, military brass, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, and scores of reporters gathered along the banks of the Thames River to witness a momentous occasion. At 10:57a.m., the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, slid off a dry dock at General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut, officially launching the United States Navy into the nuclear era.
In the summer of 1952, then-President Harry Truman had traveled to the Groton submarine shipyard to lay the keel of the Nautilus. Only a year and a half later, the revolutionary sub was ready to begin its first trials in the water. As the first vessel in the world to be powered by a nuclear reactor, the Nautilus could travel much farther and faster than traditional, diesel-based submarines; with nuclear-powered state-of-the-art air and water purification plants on board, the sub could go for months without replenishing supplies or even surfacing for air.
On that January morning, Mrs. Eisenhower kicked off the now storied tradition of first ladies christening U.S. Navy vessels as she broke a bottle of champagne across the Nautilus’ bow, which was draped in layers of patriotic bunting. For the next year, the sub would endure a rigorous series of testing and trials before officially embarking on its nuclear-powered maiden Naval voyage from New London to San Juan, Puerto Rico. That trip immediately became the longest single submarine journey in history. Three years later, the Nautilus became the first vessel to sail over (or rather, underneath) the North Pole, and the submarine continued to shatter speed and endurance records throughout its 26 years of active service.
The Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and, three years later, was designated the official ship of the state of Connecticut by the General Assembly. Today, it is permanently docked at the Submarine Force Museum on the U.S. Naval Base in Groton and is open to the public year round as a floating museum. A new chapter in naval history, launched today in Connecticut history.
The original article from the CT Humanities Council can be found here.
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Sullivan & LeShane, Inc.
www.ctlobby.com | (860) 560-0000
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