A New Day and a New Way in East Haven

Connecticut, and above all, East Haven, just received a piece of good news from our new governor. Gov. Malloy announced last week that his state budget proposal will incorporate many agency consolidations and reductions which will, in turn, streamline government and stop wasteful duplication making it easier for the citizens of East Haven to navigate their interaction with the state government. It also appears that the governor has incorporated some suggestions previously proposed by former Gov. Rell and the House Republican Caucus. I heartily support this kind of bi-partisan cooperation, which is what we need to do in Hartford to help Connecticut get out of its fiscal crisis.

One consolidation being discussed is the overhaul of Connecticut's two- and four-year college system to emphasize more education and less hierarchy. Currently, the state colleges are top heavy with a highly paid administration that seems to inhibit rather than develop the educational process. Malloy's education consolidation plan comes only one day after his proposal to combine the state's Utility Regulatory Office and Environmental Protection Agency into the single Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Consolidations are a welcomed idea. The hope is to achieve major cost savings while keeping the same level of service for those who rely on and need government the most. While we've heard Gov. Malloy talk about shared sacrifice, he is careful not to prematurely discuss tax increases. At a time when Pfizer, Pratt and Whitney and Aetna are shipping jobs out of state, Connecticut must step carefully. According to a recent Hartford Courant story, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini remarked: “We've done the analysis and, quite frankly, Connecticut falls very, very low on the list as an environment to locate employees ... in large part because of the tax structure, the cost of living which is now approaching, all in, the cost of locating an employee in New York City …"

Connecticut cannot take the easy way out anymore by balancing its budget through taxation, borrowing from our children’s future or relying on one-time stimulus funds from a broke federal government. Every business and every family is struggling. More and/or higher taxes are certainly not the remedy for our money troubles.

I am, however, encouraged by the governor’s opening pitch, and would like to have the chance to work with him to help right the wrongs in our state and in our town. East Haven is where I live and where I run my small business; it must be well represented in its state capitol.

Please support me on Feb. 22 with your vote.

Republican Linda Monaco is running for the 99th House District seat in a special election on Feb. 22.