Josh Elliott needs lobbyist money to be able to concentrate.

State Representative Josh Elliott (R-Hamden) requires money from lobbyists before he can “focus on the important work ahead.” It’s a curious pitch but Elliott is working the same ol’ corner in his pre-session PAC fundraising event.

Build for the Future PAC’s notion of building is an old one. Shake down lobbyists for contributions, sell a few advertisements for a bogus program book and then make donations to Democratic town committees around the state. Those seem to be Elliott’s notion of “building strong relationships with key shareholders….” In the fall of 2022, those included the Vernon, East Windsor and Ellington Democratic town committees.

One item on Elliott’s agenda last year was to enact legislation that would levy fines on voters who chose not to vote. That proposal–which saw several House Democrats and one Senate Democrat join Elliott in seeking to punish working people who did not fit their ideal of a citizenship–died.

Before the Hamden Democrat begins focusing on more rules for the rest of us, maybe he could take more care with his PAC filings. Leapin’ lizards, last year’s first report from Build the Future included 14 contributions from lobbyists in which the box that asks if the contributor is a lobbyist or a spouse or dependent of a lobbyist checked the “no” box. Each one had listed his or her occupation as lobbyist.

Published January 30, 2024.