Posted on May 20, 2019
Tolls have obviously become the most elusive and divisive issue at the capital this session. The controversy is not only routed in the cost to taxpayers, but also the lack of specifics in the bill proposals. It is difficult to garner support for a bill when you have no details to demonstrate the impact on your district. While all republicans are against tolls, it is not a partisan issue; both democrats and republicans oppose tolls.
Republicans have offered two different alternatives to tolls. One proposal reallocates general obligation bonds and car sales tax to the special transportation fund to pay for projects. The second proposal adds a public/private partnership element where the private sector is utilized to fix our bridges and roads. These proposals are starting to gain traction, and even our Senate Democratic President has vowed that any transportation proposal needs to be bipartisan. I believe his position stems from the public outcry against tolls; regardless, the legislature does its best work when both parties are negotiating the issue.
Despite numerous conversations, Governor Lamont has dug in on tolling the state. In a last-minute desperate attempt to get support in the House, Governor Lamont offered to fundraise and support democrats in their re-election bids if they vote for tolls. “We’re going to raise money for this caucus. I’m going to have the business guys coming in,” Governor Lamont said, “Labor’s going to be standing up for you, and I’m going to be standing up for you.”
After Governor Rowland was convicted of taking gifts from contractors, Connecticut went through great pains to craft clean election laws to protect against corruption. Contractors and lobbyists are significantly limited in their ability to donate and participate in campaigns, and our laws prohibit campaigning and fundraising in public buildings. The governor’s offer to raise money for legislative Democrats is a clumsy mistake at best, and a violation of the law at worst. His remarks have tainted this toll debate and likely has minimized the chances of this bill getting passed.
No one in the room can control what the governor said, and I’m sure most of my colleagues regretted being there to hear his remarks. I believe, however, before a toll vote occurs in either chamber, the members need to publicly disavow any offer of political and financial gain from our governor. It is imperative to the integrity of our democratic process that members stand and reject this quid pro quo. The governor’s remarks have corrupted this process. Our constituents deserve to know that members reject this offer, and our governor needs to think before he speaks and educate himself of our campaign laws and ethics rules.
Connecticut is better than this.
