Having failed to expend much energy on constructing a bipartisan majority coalition in the House, Minority Leader Themis Klarides lashed out Saturday morning at the Senate Democrats considering opposing a catastrophic union deal. The plan includes a four year no-layoffs guarantee and extends generous benefits to 2027.

Klarides referred to Democrats Paul Doyle, Joan Hartley and Gail Slossberg as "so-called or self-proclaimed 'moderate or conservative' Democratic senators…." The three allies have been fending off intense pressure from fellow Democrats as they scrutinize the details of the Malloy/union deal. Klarides, whose ill-timed intervention was included in a Yankee Institute statement, claimed the three Democrats "position themselves as moderates." The Derby Republican reveals her gossamer intellect by dismissing the notion that unlike her there are legislators who possess fixed beliefs.

The Klarides attack comes at the end of a week when she failed to mount a full assault on close ally and Democratic Speaker of the House Joseph Aresimowicz over the union deal. Klarides brushed aside pleas from her caucus to highlight Aresimowicz's employment with a union that includes state employee bargaining units. Insiders Saturday morning were comparing Klarides' gentle treatment of the Berlin Democrat with her venomous attack on Doyle, Hartley and Slossberg.

The Yankee Institute issued a second statement late Saturday morning praising the trio. It included praise for the three Democrats from Senate President Pro Term Len Fasano, who wrote, “These are hard-working Democrats who in the past have shown the courage and voted what was in the best interest of the state of Connecticut. They've shown a strong resolve to divorce themselves from political pressure and look solely at the facts. I am sure their decision will be based upon what they believe is the best for the state. I know their decision, whatever that may be, is a difficult one for them and will be made after careful consideration of all the facts they have before them."

Hartley in particular provides a striking contrast with insider, attention-craving Klarides. The Waterbury Democrat was removed as Co-chairman of the Higher Education Committee by Democratic caucus leaders Don Williams–now a union official–and Martin Looney because of her sensible independence. They even took away her parking space. Hartley needs no lectures from the go-along Klarides.

Poor Bob Duff, He can’t help it if he is paralyzed by the state’s deteriorating finances. The whiny Norwalk Democrat keeps insisting everything is just fine.

To take constituent minds off the unresolved historic budget deficits (don’t ask him to explain the Senate Democratic plan) Duff is using his state email account to tell his mailing list that he’s adopted a resume dog. People can check out this explanation, for the best dog training services.

Molly was found on I-95, probably trying to flee the brutal traffic delays that Duff doesn’t mention. The message includes nothing about the ruinous SEBAC vote that approaches or the 4 years of no state employee layoffs Duff is trying to impose on state taxpayers. No talk of that. Just Molly the dog. In a blinding example of virtue signaling, Duff mentions this not his first rescue dog.

Molly, Duff uses his state email account to let you know, has her own Facebook page.

No one will be surprised if anger management course candidate Tim Herbst runs through many campaign helpers in his bid for the Republican nomination for governor. To lose a longtime treasurer so early in the campaign seems like carelessness.

Party activist Bill Jenkins of Chaplin has replaced Herbst loyalist Loretta Chory. Curiously, Chory’s husband cast the only dissenting vote recently when the Trumbull zoning authority approved a favored Herbst project for high density housing.

On the other hand, maybe Chory was uncomfortable with the contributions Herbst received from the battling Lenocis.   Alfred Sr. and Alfred Jr. were convicted of bribery in the Ganim scandals in 2001. Strange friends and contributors for someone who says he wants to clean up Hartford. The harsh Herbst, who eked out a re-election bid in Trumbull in 2015, has made curious allowances for Ganim’s corrupt behavior.

Mark Lauretti, mayor of Shelton and also a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, has also received contributions from the Lenocis for his second bid for the state’s top job.

That $600 million for the University of Connecticut hospital and medical school was not enough. They forgot to renovate the general counsel’s office. Here’s the RFP for the job in Farmington.

UConn uses some highfalutin language on the role of office renovations. “The goods and/or services that UConn Health is seeking to obtain through this ITB will support UConn Health’s missionof helping people achieve and maintain healthy lives and restoring wellness/health to maximum attainable levels.”

Wait, there’s more to remind you that UConn is detached from life in Connecticut as others live it. Here’s a June RFP for outside counsel at the same University of Connecticut Health Center. When UConn hired a general counsel for the health center in ____, university general counsel declared, ““Brian is an important addition to the legal team at UConn.  He represents another example of increased collaboration between UConn Health and the rest of the University,” says Orr. “ By enhancing  our in-house legal capacity we can reduce our dependence on outside law firms and improve service to internal clients at all of our campuses.”

That announcement was way back in December 2016.

Do you think someone could mention to UConn that the medical center continues to be a drain on state finances and that many of its doctors do not have enough patients to fill their days and provide a satisfying professional experience? Renovating the general counsel’s office and hiring outside counsel will not change that.

Some news you can use from Daily Ructions. The Pioneer Valley’s Hampshire College has begun to search for a new president. Hampshire has been having a bit of a hard time lately. Declining to fly the American flag late last year earned the school some intense and unhappy attention.

It’s looking for a conciliator and someone with “strong financial management experience and skills.”

Reminding us of the complexity of the liberal arts, the search committee promises both transparency and confidentiality. “We are committed to being fully transparent in the process of conducting the search, and at the same time we will maintain absolute confidentiality about all candidates until disclosure is appropriate and individual permission has been given,” according to its website.

Hebron Democrat Sean Connolly is expected to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. The state veterans affairs commissioner has served in the Malloy administration since 2015.

Today is Connolly’s 43rd birthday. His wife gave him a lawnmower to celebrate. He will not be home much to use it if he mounts a serious bid for high office.

A Daily Ructions Exclusive.

Announcement joined with action. The State Government Leadership Foundation is running an ad opposing the ruinous deal between Governor Dannel P. Malloy and state public employee unions. Link included.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 26, 2017

State Government Leadership Foundation: “Everyone Agrees, Governor Malloy’s Backroom Deal with Big Government Unions Is Bad for Connecticut” 

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, the State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF) announced that it has released an ad to run statewide in Connecticut to educate residents on the sober reality of the backroom deal struck by Governor Dan Malloy and big government union leaders.

“Connecticut is already one of the country’s highest taxed states and these high tax rates are forcing many families and jobs out of the state,” said Matt Walter, SGLF Executive Director. “Legislators from both political parties are concerned that Governor Malloy’s agreement doesn’t go far enough to save the state money and will ultimately lead to even higher taxes which will further cripple Connecticut’s economy.”

“The current budget crisis underscores what people in Connecticut already know, the state is on the wrong track,” said Walter. “The agreement between Governor Malloy and government union bosses just maintains the status quo for Connecticut and kicks the can down the road, tying the hands of policymakers for at least the next ten years.”

In this critical hour, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) cannot find its voice. You need do no more than read this astounding interview with the head of CBIA to realize a summer soldier is heading the state’s largest business organization. It is indeed more insurance agency than advocate for the state’s besieged job creators.

Where is the clarion call to defeat the ruinous labor deals that the House passed yesterday and the Senate takes up in six days? Do they not understand the stakes? Members need to prod CBIA’s lavishly paid leaders into action. Ask them this: If these misbegotten agreements pass, how will state government be able to cope with the inevitable national recession?

CBIA knows how to influence events. After all, there probably would be no state income tax punishing working families without CBIA’s dramatic support for it 26 years ago. Time to get to work undoing the enduring damage.

Senate Republicans have responded with a searing retort to Malloy administration criticisms of their budget. Senate Democrats and House Democrats and Republicans have struggled to create budget proposals that have been reviewed and costed by the Office of Fiscal Analysis. The herd of candidates hoping to become the state’s next governor have had little to say about the budget impasse. Here’s the Senate Republican reply to Malloy budget enforcer Benjamin Barnes.

Fasano Response to Secretary Barnes’ Criticism of Senate Republican Labor Savings Plan

Hartford – Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano (R-North Haven) released the following statement in response to Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes’ criticism of the Senate Republican alternative state employee concessions plan which could be achieved legislatively.

“It’s clear that the governor’s administration is repeating union talking points to protect their negotiated deal. These are self-serving statements meant to detract from the reality that Senate Republicans have a viable alternative that will put state employee benefits more in line with the benefits union employees outside of state government receive today. I understand that the administration is extraordinarily nervous that Senate Republicans have come up with a legal, realistic, measured plan which saves more money than the governor’s deal which took over a year to negotiate. I understand the purpose of Secretary Barnes’ statement. Unfortunately, the statement is inaccurate and self-serving,” said Fasano. Details below.

Governor’s Claim: The Senate Republican requires that employees in 2022 be converted to a pension system that is worth less than the contributions required of employees.

Reality: The Senate Republican proposal is based on the standards in other states. Our proposal would increase state employee pension contributions to 6 percent which is still below the national average of 6.6 percent.

Governor’s Claim: It depends on reducing pensions that were already earned and slamming retirees into a new health plan, subjecting the state to class-action litigation not unlike SEBAC v. Rowland which resulted in more than $100 million in costs to taxpayers.

Reality: It is completely inaccurate to compare any part of the Senate Republican proposal to SEBAC v. Rowland. In that case, the state was wrong in its actions because it tried to change benefits for union-employees only. The Senate Republican proposal would implement changes that apply equally to union and non-union state employees, so there is no basis to compare this plan to what happened under Gov. Rowland. In addition, the Medicare changes referenced above are the same changes that are included in the governor’s deal that state employee unions supported and which the SEBAC coalition described to their members as not changing benefits, but simply changing the vehicle by which plan benefits would be delivered.

Governor’s Claim: The plan does nothing to fix the cost of current state employee benefits, deferring all real benefit changes until 5 years in the future.

Reality: The only reason we cannot implement certain changes right away is because the governor extended the current state employee health and pension benefits until 2022. The Senate Republican plan honors the current SEBAC agreement by not enacting changes to state employee health and pension benefits until the agreement expires. Our proposal still manages to achieve significant savings above the governor’s deal in both the short term and long term, saving $1.9 billion over the next two years. It does all this while respecting and upholding the contracts in place today.

Governor’s Claim: Indeed, only a SEBAC agreement can deliver more than $350 million in employee and retiree healthcare savings right now when we need them.

Reality: The Senate Republican labor savings proposal can legally achieve $836.9 million in labor savings in fiscal year 2018 and $1.08 billion in labor savings in fiscal year 2019. This is $340 million more in savings than the SEBAC negotiated union deal. In addition, the Senate Republican savings plan rolls out to significantly more savings than the governor’s deal totaling billions in future years.

Standard & Poors has declared Hartford’s bonds junk. The story, which you can read here, is linked on Drudge.

Read the whole thing, but here’s a chilling excerpt:

“And yet, while Illinois squirms in the agony of the unknown, another municipality that as recently as a month ago was rumored to be looking at a bankruptcy filing, the state capital of Connecticut, Hartford, no longer has to dread the unknown: on Tuesday afternoon, S&P pulled off the band-aid, and downgraded the city’s bond rating by two notches to BB from BBB-, also known as junk, citing ‘growing liquidity pressures’ and ‘weaker market access prospects’, while keeping the city’s General Obligation bonds on Creditwatch negative meaning more downgrades are likely imminent.”

Curiously, nowhere does the analysis say that spending tens of millions of public fund to bring a professional hockey team to Hartford would help solve the city’s many troubles.