November 12, 2021
In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
From Inside The Golden Dome
This Day in CT History
Governor Ned Lamont is looking for a second term as Connecticut's CEO! Alright, so it’s not exactly breaking news. It's led the statewide news the last few days, but all the signs were there. There have been rumblings about the departure of the CT Democratic Party’s Executive Director Jacqueline Kozin, and that her landing spot would be somewhere in state government. It is now official that she’s heading to the CT Paid Family Leave Authority to head up their government relations. Then, the Comptroller announced last week that CT’s budget was definitely looking good—to the tune of a $482.3 million surplus.

Lembo said in a media release that his monthly financial and economic update was projecting a robust surplus for Fiscal Year 2022, also citing signs of economic growth and budgetary stability. The Comptroller further mentioned that while the national economy continues to ebb and flow due to a host of comparative factors, Connecticut’s economy is showing the classic slow and steady moves of the ever-popular eastern box turtle—with steady job growth, copious federal dollars and the state's robust, larger-than-life reserves.

Ever conservative in his wording of the status of the state’s economy, Lembo did mention the much discussed employment/workforce issues, not only battering the service industry, but all industries. These issues are due to come to a head July 1, 2022, when state employees will choose to retire rather than face increased personal costs for healthcare and retirement benefits.

As if those weren’t enough signals on the Governor’s next move, then there was the recent announcement by former Danbury Mayor and current Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Mark Boughton on another wildly successful tax amnesty initiative. Individual tax payers, small businesses and corporations who have underpaid their tax obligations, have not paid their obligations at all, or are in the middle of appeals and/or lawsuits can “pay up” and receive a generous reduction of interest and waiver of all fees associated with the “slip up.”

Boughton also touted the innovations that DRS is wrapping up in late 2022: an online tax portal for all kinds of tax filings for residents and businesses; greater focus on studying trends of other states to get ahead of the curve, as well as fielding a five person data analytics team that can use the data from the amnesty program in concert with the data collected by the analytics initiative to keep up with traditionally late filers/no filers and get them back on track. So a plan to keep the expenses in check and to keep the green dollars rolling in sure sounds like a good springboard to a reelection campaign move by the Governor.

It’s also not lost on many that past Republican candidates for the second floor office have been out there setting up meet-and-greets across the state, as well as writing op-ed pieces trying to keep the old connections. The traditional fiscal conservation policy was a clear delineator between any Democratic candidate for governor and the Republican candidate, but maybe that's going to be a harder line to draw given the current Governor's tough stance on no new taxes, despite the progressive clarion call for taxing the wealthy. We’re also aware of recent rumblings that CT’s property taxes, which are somewhat out of control, are on the Governor’s radar as well.

For me, I don’t think you can criticize a Democratic governor who is supportive of social justice and empowering those who have little, while also keeping a tight watch over the taxpayer’s pennies and nickels.

So we’re not exactly “off and running” for the 2022 Governor’s Election. Former House Republican Leader Themis Klarides and former gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski will both have an interesting challenge in making the case that one term is enough.

It’s definitely a long way until November 2022, and a lot can and will happen. But, as of right now, given his current situation, Governor Lamont is in decent shape to kick-off his campaign in a big way, as long as the quality of education doesn’t rear its ugly head.  
Welcome our new lobbyist: Zack Dendas

We are pleased to announce that Zach Dendas will be joining the Sullivan & LeShane team! Zach has worked in the U.S. Senate since 2013, most recently serving as the Director of Outreach for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

Zach began his career as a hard-working staffer on U.S. Rep. Jim Himes’ first bid for re-election. He then served as the Fourth Congressional District representative for then-Congressman Christopher Murphy’s contentious race for the United States Senate, communicating and advocating for his boss’ initiatives in the campaign. Following Murphy’s election to the Senate, Zach moved to Washington in 2013 to serve as Senator Murphy’s Special Assistant before moving up in the office as a Legislative Correspondent.

Zach graduated from Quinnipiac University with a double major in Political Science and History. While there he was a Schweitzer Institute Award Winner & Member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science National Honor Society, as well as a member of the Quinnipiac D-1 Men’s Lacrosse Team.

We are so excited to bring aboard such an experienced, dedicated professional like Zach!
Municipal elections have come and gone, many incoming Chief Elected Officials are now making their inauguration plans and setting the course for their most recent terms. We, of course, will keep track of the news on that front. This week we’d like to talk about Property Tax relief. In a recent press conference, unrelated to the topic, Governor Lamont suggested that he’d like to tackle property tax relief this session. That’s a loaded question and certainly not a topic that hasn’t been contemplated at length in many prior sessions and gubernatorial terms. There weren’t a lot of details from the comment from Governor Lamont other than he’s looking at how to potentially change the state income tax deduction for property taxes. In other sessions there have been ideas floated that freeze property tax increases, eliminate property tax on vehicles, equalize mill rates on vehicles and so much more. If that’s the track of Governor Lamont’s thought processes, it’ll make for a session that will certainly bring Mayors and First Selectmen throughout Connecticut to the table to discuss ways that they feel could benefit local property tax payers. 
Connecticut to receive $52.5M for EV charging stations

The infrastructure package that was recently passed by federal lawmakers will include $52.5 million to help Connecticut expand its electric vehicle charging network according to the office of U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. This funding comes at a very important time, as Connecticut's fleet of electric cars, trucks, and buses are steadily increasing. Currently, the state of Connecticut has over 360 charging stations according to EV Connecticut (the Governor's electric vehicle initiative.)

The state has been planning the promotion of electric vehicles for some time, culminating in the Electric Vehicle Roadmap for Connecticut published by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Connecticut's EV Roadmap focuses in on several key areas, including the transitioning of public and private fleets and medium and heavy-duty vehicles to EVs; making the consumer charging experience more consistent; minimizing grid impacts through demand reduction measures; providing demand charge relief for charging station owners and EV fleet operators; exploring opportunities for pilot programs with local innovators in the EV field; working with the state and municipal governments to modify building codes and permitting requirements to support EV infrastructure deployment; and leveraging financial incentives, such as the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR), to help make EV purchase price less of a barrier to consumers.
November 12th: A Two-President Celebration Draws a Huge Crowd in Middletown

November 12, 1909 was a momentous day for the city of Middletown, as thousands of cheering, flag-waving residents lined the streets to enjoy a day full of pomp and circumstance and an evening full of dancing and fireworks. The Hartford Courant covered every detail of the day’s festivities in a breathless, three-page spread under the subheading, “Middletown Sees the Greatest Day in its History.” Officials later estimated that the crowd was the largest ever assembled in Middletown in a single day.

The special occasion? President William Howard Taft came to town to celebrate the inauguration of the new President of Wesleyan University, William Shanklin. Taft had been selected as the guest of honor and plenary speaker for the event, and his visit marked the first to Middletown by a sitting President of the United States in over 75 years. (The city’s last presidential visitor had been Andrew Jackson in 1832.)

Not long after sunrise, President Taft and Vice President James Sherman pulled into Middletown station via train, where they climbed into an open-top automobile and proceeded to Wesleyan along a parade route crammed with cheering citizens. The route had been opulently decorated with “forty triumphal arches of flags, hundreds of pictures and paintings of Taft. Great streamers of the American colors” waving from housetops along the route, wrote the Courant, “gave the city an appearance such as it never assumed before.” President Taft’s motorcade was escorted by 75 Civil War veterans (all members of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans’ group) and was followed by the Governor’s Foot Guard, several fife and drum corps, and other patriotic organizations.
A photo depicts President Taft, seated in a car and escorted by dozens of Civil War veterans, waving his hat at the crowds in Middletown during his November 12, 1909 visit. (Middlesex County Historical Society)

After Taft delivered an address lauding the contributions made by college graduates to American society, he was presented with an honorary doctorate and joined his fellow dignitaries — along with plenty of Wesleyan alumni — for an evening banquet before being escorted back to the train station. The festivities culminated in a grand fireworks display over the Connecticut River, marking the end to what was certainly one of Middletown’s most patriotic occasions, today in Connecticut history.


The original article from the CT Humanities Council can be found here.
Sullivan & LeShane, Inc.
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