GOP Victors Lament Party Losses

By John Voket

Newtown voters were apparently pleased enough with the job three Republican incumbents were doing in Hartford to return each of them for another term. But the GOP overall did not fair so well across the state.

With the loss of three seats in the Connecticut Senate, and at least four in the General Assembly (a single district recount was still ongoing at press time), the Senate Democrats have achieved a veto-proof majority and could end up with as many as 99 votes in the General Assembly, just two members short of a super-majority in that branch of the legislature.

Senator John McKinney said in some political circles, it is individuals with strong convictions and not party affiliations that can end up carrying the day.

“It’s not about which party you belong to,” Sen McKinney said. “It’s about being a passionate representative of the people who elected you, and a responsible advocate for all of the people of Connecticut.”

He said regardless of their party, he would always look to support the positions of those who chose to send him back to Hartford.

“It was a humbling experience for me when the numbers all came in,” Sen McKinney reflected. “But despite the national election outcome, and victories for [Republicans] Nancy Johnson, Rob Simmons, and Christopher Shays, statewide it wasn’t a good night for Republicans.”

He said the state outcomes have given the Democrats the opportunity to be extremely partisan, because they had the power to override a gubernatorial veto.

“I just hope they will proceed responsibly, and in the spirit of bipartisan leadership that we have achieved in past sessions.”

On Wednesday evening, both state Representatives Julia Wasserman and DebraLee Hovey were getting ready to head to Hartford for a Thursday GOP caucus to pick their minority leader. The state Democrats have scheduled their caucus vote for next Tuesday.

Ms Wasserman was particularly vocal about the trend this past Election Day had reinforced in Hartford.

“The Republicans are down to 51 or 52 representatives in the House,” she lamented. “Over the years this trend has caused voting to become more and more partisan. There are some brave individuals who cross party lines, but they are few and far between. I just hate to see some wonderful recommendations from members of the minority party get shot down because of the party politics.”

Ms Hovey, who finally succumbed to a threatening virus, spent some of her time Wednesday trying to relax. But she told The Bee that she lost a few good friends and allies in Tuesday’s election.

“The outcome of certain races was astounding to me,” she said. “Losing Peter Metz in Madison was disheartening. As a freshman in the last election, I always could look to him for a solid opinion on issues like bonding. It was just the facts, without any party posturing…I viewed him as an outstanding representative for the state.”

In the case of Rep William Aniskovich, Ms Hovery believes that his close associations with former governor John Rowland played a significant role in his defeat. “That close tie to Rowland may have undermined him,” she said.

And while she found Republican Senator Win Smith reserved, she still felt his experience made him the right choice for effective leadership during challenging times in Connecticut. Ms Hovey was also upset to learn of GOP Rep Robert Peters’ defeat.

“Bob Peters served on the judicial committee with me, and as a former police officer, he was an excellent resource. And as a member of the public safety committee, I found he was always on top of his cases,” she said.

As far as her race was concerned, Ms Hovey said she was, “…worried all day.”

“I was worried that the Democrats would vote straight across the party ticket,” she said. “But the people of my district came out and supported me. I just want them to know that I’m honored to go back and work hard for them in Hartford. And I’m personally thankful.”

She said the learning curve for freshman legislators is so steep, that she now has the experience and ability to make even greater changes. All three of the local Republican legislators vowed to hit the ground running, heading out to interact with constituents and advocating for causes that are near and dear to them, and the people of Connecticut.

Sen McKinney admits he jumped the gun a bit, releasing a call to all state and local political leaders to come together for a statewide transportation summit.

“We need to put some long-term solutions in place now to solve our state’s transportation woes,” he said. Sen McKinney prioritized transportation as the greatest challenge to the state today, with budgetary and ethics issues following close behind.

“I’m going back to Hartford with the goal of fashioning a state budget that focuses on real priorities in spending,” he said. “And I want to see real reforms in state ethics policies, especially in relation to state contracting and bidding procedures.”

While she was out at polling locations in Newtown and Monroe, Ms Hovey was already thinking about her return to Hartford.

“People at the polls weren’t shy about coming up to me and asking me to go right back to work for them in Hartford,” she said. “My first issue will be to look at the issue of developers who are clear cutting our state land and forcing density housing on our communities.”

She said she is eager to find a compromise between the housing industry and environmentalists, while looking for legal ways to strengthen local planning and zoning guidelines. Access to medical care and working to get a fair share of state spending for her district are among Ms Hovey’s other priorities.

“Maybe this will be the year we finally raise the foundation on Education Cost Sharing formulas, while holding the line on no new taxes,” she said.

Running as a cross-endorsed candidate for the GOP and Independent parties, Ms Wasserman never stopped long enough to consider that she might be defeated by Working Peoples Party and fellow Newtown candidate Colin Cascia.

“I was too busy thinking about the program review studies that we have to fashion into legislative initiatives by mid-December,” she said. “All our recommendations to the legislature are on the front burner in these next few weeks.”

Among the hot issues she hopes to see acted upon in the next session, are proposals pertaining to pretrial diversionary and alternative sanctions, the state liquor permitting process, the Medicaid Eligibility Determination process, the mixing of nonelderly populations in the state’s elderly housing projects, state pharmacy regulations, and preparedness for public health emergencies.

“I’m also always looking for more money for Newtown,” she said. “But with the political shift in Hartford, we’ll have to play it by ear to determine the best time to ask for those funds. I’d really like to come back with more money for programs in town including Kevin’s Community Center [the volunteer health care organization].”