Local Legislators Won't Give the Full Story of the 2011 Assembly at the LWV Picnic

On June 20 the League of Women Voters will hold its annual Legislative Picnic. At some point in the proceeding our local legislative delegation will troop up to the front and with remarkable unanimity will crow about their collective legislative accomplishments, which this year feature dogs and cell towers, and then they will lambaste the Democrats about left-wing legislation like paid sick leave, decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and the 2012-13 budget, or "the largest tax hike in Connecticut history", to quote Scott Frantz.

What you will not hear about is  the amazing accomplishments of Dannel Malloy in his first six months as Governor working with a Democratic legislative majority that just wrapped up a remarkably productive session, including a two-year, $ 40.11 billion budget that closes a $3.5 billion deficit with more than $ 2 billion in cuts including $ 1.6 billion in union concessions and raises $ 1.9 billion in revenues. Our legislators, who admittedly were once again frozen out of the budget deliberations, will tout their DOA "No Tax Increase" budget that ignored the revenue shortfalls that created the deficit inherited by Malloy without even a rainy day fund to tap. Our legislators all campaigned on the tough choices needed to deal with the deficit, but when time came to govern they all punted on the budget. Their comments will focus on the tax increases and, as they always do, will predict a stampede of wealthy people and businesses to the borders. Never mind that studies do not bear out their out-migration anecdotes and  anyone who seriously considers governmental budgeting knows you have to look at both the expense and revenue sides in arriving at a budget that funds  programs like public safety, education, health and welfare, the environment and all those useful things government provides. 

The LWV probably has not followed my suggestion to invite Stamford Democratic legislators for a more balanced view. If the past is any guide, the organizers also will not permit challenging pointed questions from the audience as "too political." Sometimes, like when they dropped the ball on the cancelled Legislative debates last election, I think our current LWV leaders forget what their suffragette forebears fought for, the right to engage in political debate and discourse even if it challenges the party line and disrupts the tea party (literally and figuratively) .