In the coming year, Connecticut will face one of the worst budget shortfalls in its history.  Just two months into the current fiscal year, the budget is already $172 million in deficit. Nearly every projection for the coming year indicates that the next Governor will inherit a $3 billion hole next year.

Continue reading "OP-ED: Cost Savings Don’t Need To Wait For the Next Governor" »

The presence of yellow school buses at this time of year reminds us all that kids are back in school. But where do the kids go when they get off the bus? Are they being dropped off at an empty house after school each day?

Continue reading "OP-ED: The Importance of Quality After School Programs" »

Polling information released by Gallup this week depicted a bleak electoral environment for Democratic candidates nationwide.  According to a poll conducted August 23-29, 2010, the Republican Party has a 10 percent advantage on the generic ballot, the largest GOP spread in the history of the Gallup numbers. The lousy news for Democrats didn’t stop there.

Continue reading "OP-ED: Will Republican Wave Miss Connecticut?" »

It’s Labor Day weekend, which for some reason is considered the semi-official kickoff of campaign season. Never mind the fact that the campaigns have been dragging on all through the summer and before. No, this is the start.

So what do Connecticut’s political figures need to do between now and Election Day? Here are a few of my own thoughts:

Continue reading "OP-ED: Political To-Do List: Labor Day Edition" »

Tags: Blumenthal, McMahon, Foley, Malloy, Peckinpaugh, Courtney, Larson, Mertens

Continue reading "Sunday Morning Coffee | The Blame Game: Bush & Obama | Listen to the Replay!" »

Tags: Obama, bush, election 2010, blame game, sunday morning coffee

What is considered news in today’s chaotic world? Consider the case study of Connecticut candidates referencing their war time experience as they seek to build up political support.

Continue reading "OP-ED: Why Blumenthal and Not Foley?" »

I got a call from Linda McMahon tonight. Actually, an automated Linda left a voice mail, about some sort of uncontroversial issue or other. She has a surprisingly calm, reassuring voice. Entertainers with some marketing savvy, like Sarah Palin, can make it far in today’s political world, I reflected.

Continue reading "OP-ED: Linda the Unstoppable" »

Tags: McMahon, wwe, wrestling, U.S. Senate, Blumenthal, Republicans, Democrats

The University of Connecticut board of trustees has just assembled a 39 member committee to select a president to replace their previous leader who quit after less than three years into his tenure. The committee now has the onerous responsibility to appoint not only the best candidate available but someone with a deep sense of commitment and obligation to the institution, its faculty and student body.

Continue reading "OP-ED: How to Select the President of a University" »

“All political power is inherent in the people”, states the Connecticut Constitution. We share that right with Switzerland, a country no larger than the state of Connecticut. Yet, only Switzerland honors the mandate of the peoples’ sovereign power through constitutionally guaranteed initiative and referendum rights. These initiative and referendum powers are vested in the Swiss citizenry at all three levels of government: Municipal, know as Communes; State, called Cantons; and Federal.

Continue reading "OP-ED: The People’s Sovereign Power" »

While it is true that there are almost as many campaign maxims as there are campaigns, the one offered by Ben Davol to listeners of WNPR’s election night coverage was particularly cogent: don’t sit on a lead. Gubernatorial candidates Ned Lamont and Tom Foley were, arguably, guilty of this sin in the run-up to the Aug. 10 primary elections, costing Lamont the election and giving Mr. Foley quite a scare.

Continue reading "OP-ED: Making the Same Mistakes Again" »