February 5, 2012
WITH ECONOMY ON THE RISE, MORE TO BE DONE
The New Year has brought some good news: our economy is improving, employment is increasing, and state revenues are more stable. Our future is looking brighter. We continue to recover from the Wall Street/Big Bank recession without mortgaging the future.
Just a few months ago, the General Assembly and Governor Malloy reduced both the size and the cost of state agencies through consolidation, productivity increases, and renegotiated employee contracts. Yet we kept convenient services like Danbury’s DMV office open. We’ve maintained the safety net. We shored-up funds to cities to help mitigate increases in local property taxes. We did raise some taxes, but in a way that spreads the burden toward to the richest among us.
We focused on jobs in a special session where the full legislature, both Democrats and Republicans, came together for the future of Connecticut’s workers. We must build on this foundation to enact education reforms that will ensure students are prepared for the real job market. We must match public education curriculum to employer needs.
To be blunt, we must seriously look at how we fund public schools to foster improvements to the quality of education
Raising high school graduation requirements and math, science and literacy scores are among my priorities. I applaud the teachers who support new performance measurements based on student academic growth, and will work with them to make common sense changes. Investing in a child’s earliest years provide the greatest chances for success in life; that means we must enhance our commitment to early childhood education.
I look forward to getting the details on the Governor’s proposal on school reform and early education initiatives on the Legislature’s opening day on Wednesday.
While things are improving they are not moving fast enough for me. Increasing the minimum wage to $9.00 this year shows our support to working families and their young children. I’ll co-sponsor that proposal.
The October storm remains on my mind and in my yard. I am appalled at the indifference and lack of response the big utility company’s showed you. I’ll be co-sponsoring legislation to hold utilities accountable, tie executive compensation to performance and set reasonable benchmarks on restoring power after a storm. Better coordination between utilities, local and state government is another area for improvement.
On the insurance side, I will push for new requirements that will stop big insurance company from denying storm related claims by using fine print definitions for wind and flood damage. Too many businesses were hurt not only because of being closed, but also because of lost inventory and perishables that insurers refused to pay for.
Emergency generators for cell towers, nursing facilities and senior housing must be a requirement. While we experienced two intense freak storms this year, these will be much less unusual as the global climate changes. We must prepare now.
For years I have heard from you that the cost of quality housing is beyond the reach of too many of our neighbors. I am pleased that our new Governor is reversing twenty years of neglect, and recognizes that housing is going to be a key component to get Connecticut’s economy moving again. The Governor’s new housing initiatives are estimated to create or retain over 6,700 construction and other related jobs, as well as supply more reasonably priced homes.
Every year I take your interests and concerns to heart. I rely on your responses to my annual constituent survey. They establish my priorities and guide my decisions on the important issues.
That’s why you can count on me to:
Yes, we’ve had good news lately that jobs are up and unemployment is down. But I have more work to do. You can count on me to keep protecting the vulnerable, especially seniors, children and our embattled middle-class working families. I remain optimistic that together we can face our common challenges and succeed.