Bridgeport and New Haven Democrats Push for Committee Vote on Casino Proposal.

It shouldn’t be this hard. A vote on a casino bill in the legislature’s public safety committee would usually be granted as a courtesy to the leaders and committee members supporting MGM’s Bridgeport casino proposal. Placing an item on a committee agenda does not mean it will pass, but it does give proponents an opportunity to argue their brief.

State Senator Timothy Larson (D-East Hartford) brings a curiously opposition to voting on the bill. Observers and others note that Larson has been a notably bullying proponent of a slot shack to be operated in East Windsor far from reservation land.

Larson may have lost some credibility with his committee colleagues when he secretly applied to become the head of the state’s lottery agency while serving as co-chair of the committee that oversees it.

Local legislators are making calls on behalf of the casino bill. They have been joined in their efforts by mayors Toni Harp and Joseph Ganim.