HARTFORD, Conn. — From COVID to crime and everything in between, Gov. Ned Lamont set the tone for his administration’s priorities in the months ahead with a State of the State address.
Lamont’s speech was relatively brief — about 30 minutes in length, but he packed in a lot of topics. He spoke before a joint session of the legislature inside the house chamber as Republicans bristled when he talked about taxes and public safety.
Lamont’s State of the State wasn’t particularly partisan.
“We did it together. That’s the Connecticut difference!” exclaimed Lamont.
But his Republican gubernatorial opponent during this election cycle told FOX61 it also wasn’t particularly authentic.
“There appears to be a lack of empathy with what the typical person is going through in Connecticut. They are struggling with affordability. They are struggling to pay their bills. Gas prices are out of control. Utility costs, the highest in the continental U.S. public safety, the crime rate in Hartford and New Haven were the highest they’ve been in the last decade. So what I would have liked to see is more tangible things about what we can do to help people,” remarked candidate for governor, Bob Stefanowski.
When it comes to helping people, Democrats echoed the governor on his plans to hold the line on the cost of healthcare, childcare and tuition, while cutting some taxes.
“I think we are trying to reduce taxes on middle class and low-income families,” remarked House Speaker Matt Ritter.
But Republicans pointed to the past — saying it proves different.
“The Democrats are talking about tax relief for Connecticut. It’s an election year. Let’s be honest. This is the same administration who gave us a $1.7-million dollar tax increase in its first budget,” said State Sen. Kevin Kelly, the Republican leader.
Republicans told FOX61 they didn’t hate the whole speech.
“There were some things in there that we wanted to see like more money for mental health services,” admitted State Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader in the house.
But they have a big disagreement over public safety. Lamont vowed to put more cops on the street, diversify the ranks, and crack down on the illegal flow of drugs and guns.
“We have more damn guns on the streets than ever before. Get these illegal guns out of our communities - let our kids be kids,” remarked Lamont.
“His attempt to be the law and order governor at a time when people are concerned about crime, concerned about the erosion of police forces. That he’s really failing to acknowledge the biggest issue and that was the police accountability bill that was passed under his watch that has given rise to police departing the force,” remarked Candelora.
The next order of business for legislators will be deciding which of Lamont’s executive orders that were implemented during the pandemic they want to codify into law and which ones they want to let expire and if they will extend the governor's emergency powers.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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