Democratic lawmakers get committee assignments

Both of Bristol’s Democratic lawmakers will serve as vice chairs of legislative committees in the next session of the General Assembly.
State Rep. Frank Nicastro will continue to hold sway as the vice chair of the Veteran’s Affairs Committee while state Rep. Chris Wright gained a promotion to serve as second-in-command of the Housing Committee.
Another Democrat whose district includes Bristol, Plainville’s Betty Boukus, is the general bonding chair of the powerful Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, a plumb perch that may give her more clout to help her 22nd District.
The committee assignments were handed out Wednesday by House Speaker Chris Donovan, a Meriden Democrat. Click here for full story.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Lawmakers aim to patch up things with ESPN

Press release from state Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat from the 77th District:

REP. WRIGHT SCHEDULES MEETING WEDNESDAY WITH

ESPN REPRESENTATIVES AND FINANCE COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

 

State Representative Christopher Wright (D-Bristol) has scheduled a meeting for ESPN representatives to meet with the Co-Chairs of General Assembly’s Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee, State Representative Cameron Staples (D- New Haven) and State Senator Eileen Daily (D-Westbrook)

 

Rep. Wright, a member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, said that State Representative Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus (D-Plainville/Bristol) and State Representative Zeke Zalaski (D-Southington), who are also members of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, will participate in the meeting.

 

“I am pleased we will be discussing provisions in a proposed revenue package that concern ESPN and that we hopefully will be able to remove as budget deliberations continue,” Rep. Wright said. “I thank my colleagues on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee for their interest in meeting with ESPN on this important matter.”

 

 

The Meeting Is Scheduled To Be Held

On Wednesday, May 13, 2009,

In Room 103 (State Capitol Building) At 1 p.m.

I think they're all trying to make sure ESPN doesn't get too irked by whatever the legislature chooses to do to close the massive budget deficit.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol lawmakers differ on budget crisis

Since state Rep. Bill Hamzy took office 15 years ago, the state budget has nearly tripled while Connecticut’s population has barely grown.

And now that it’s facing at least a $7 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year, the Plymouth Republican said, the Democratic majority in the General Assembly only wants to raise taxes again and “not cut one dime” in spending.

But Bristol’s Democrats say that’s not true.

State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a 79^th District Democrat, said he’s gotten “hundreds and hundreds of emails” urging him not to cut state services.

“But we can’t avoid cuts,” he said, “or taxation will be unbelievable.”

But Democrats admit they’re ready to consider tax hikes.

“We can’t be cutting all over the place,” state Rep. Betty Boukus, a 22^nd District Democrat said.

Another Bristol Democrat, the 77^th District’s Chris Wright, said that lawmakers are going through the budget line by line to figure out if there are tax breaks they can toss out or revise to secure more money.

Scaling back sales tax exemptions, which cost the state $5 billion a year, is one possibility, Wright said.

“For some reason, we don’t tax yarn,” said state House Speaker Chris Donovan, a Meriden Democrat. “We also don’t tax yachts.”

“So we’re looking for some more Y things,” he joked.

State Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat who has represented the 31^st District since 1992, said that resolving the budget crisis is not a partisan issue.

“We’re all in this boat together,” Colapietro said.

The senator said the goal is “to hurt the least amount of people possible.”

Colapietro said the Democrats “don’t disagree with what” Gov. Jodi Rell “has to say about the pain” that’s going to be necessary.

“We’d just allocate it differently,” said Colapietro, whose district includes Plymouth, Plainville, Bristol and part of Harwinton.

He said the trick is to use a scalpel, not a meat cleaver, to pare the state’s spending.

Nicastro said that Democrats understand they can’t “drive business away” or the economy won’t recover.

Wright said that “a more progressive income tax” is certainly one possible source of extra revenue.

There’s a chance, too, that the state might hike the sale tax generally, Wright said.

Boukus said that taxes will rise for sure. “But there will be cuts, too,” she said.

Hamzy said the Democrats have to drop their arrogance and make a serious effort to deal with the budget crisis.

He said he thinks that people “are waking up” to what’s been happening in Hartford for years.

The Democrats plan to present an initial state budget plan this week. It is likely to diverge from Rell’s proposal in a number of areas, they said.

“It’s a challenge,” Donovan said. “But, hey, it’s Connecticut. We’ll get through it.”

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol lawmakers back Rell on education funding

Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget drew some praise from Bristol’s legislative delegation Wednesday.

State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat, said he found "some real super positive things" in Rell's speech.

Nicastro said his top priority is education, so he was happy to see that there weren't cuts in state spending in that realm.

"Those children are our future leaders," said Nicastro, whose 79^th District covers the southern third of Bristol.

Rell “truly understands that if our state is to succeed, we have to have well-educated children,” said State Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat whose 22^nd District includes a sliver of Forestville.

State Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78^th District includes northwestern Bristol, said Rell "set the right tone" in her address.

"I don't think anything she proposed was a surprise," said Hamzy. "I think she's taking the right approach."

Boukus said she’s pleased that Rell is taking aim at unfunded mandates that push up costs to municipalities, including the in-school suspension requirement.

Nicastro also said he liked the governor's idea for a Connecticut Conservation Corps.

"It gets people to work," said Nicastro, who said his father worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression.

The governor's push for regionalization is good, said Nicastro, if it can save towns money, but he said there are a lot of details he still has to learn.

Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat from the 77^th District, said the governor's figures are too optimistic.

"She's using numbers that are not real numbers," said Wright. "They are out of date."

Rell was "somewhat less than honest," said Wright, in saying that taxes wouldn't be raised when so many state fees are being increased.

Wright said he's pleased that school funding isn't being cut, but said he's concerned that too much of the cost is being shifted to local property owners.

"I think the property taxes are high enough," said Wright.

But Wright also said there were some points Rell made that he liked, such as eliminating some state agencies and consolidating others.

"Government should be streamlined some," said Wright, who said he also liked the expansion of the bottle bill.

Boukus said she would like to see Rell make a big push on transportation.

As the session goes on, she said, it’s going to be tough.

“It’s going to be like no other budget that I’ve ever experienced,” said Boukus, a longtime lawmaker.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Boukus, Nicastro snag leadership roles in House

The new state House leadership and committee chairmanships came out today. Two local lawmakers snagged roles worth mentioning.

State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat, is the vice chairman of the Veteran's Affairs Committee.

State Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat whose 22nd District includes a bit of Forestville, is the transportation bonding chair in the critical Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee. That bodes well for local transporation needs getting the money necessary to move projects along.

Boukus is also a deputy majority whip, which I think gives her the right to boss Nicastro and state Rep.-elect Chris Wright of Bristol around. But she could probably do that anyway. She's tough.

Thanks to ctnewsjunkie.com for posting the assignments on its website!

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wright and legislative incumbents win - Hamzy survives Democratic tidal wave

A Democratic landslide that swept aside Republicans across the country carried in a Democratic newcomer to an open state House seat in Bristol but it didn’t prove strong enough to knock out the city’s sole incumbent Republican lawmaker.
Chris Wright, the Democratic newcomer in the 77th District, said his win is “just starting to sink in” after a long, hard campaign against Republican Jill Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald called the race “a wonderful experience” that she might try again someday.
Re-elected to two-year terms were all of the city’s incumbents – state Sen. Tom Colapietro, state Rep. Betty Boukus and state Rep. Frank Nicastro, all Democrats, and Republican state Rep. Bill Hamzy.
Official results were not available late Tuesday, but unofficial tallies from both political parties left the outcomes clear.
Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78th district includes Bristol, won his eighth term by a comfortable margin over Democrat Jacqui Denksi.
"I'm ecstatic," said Hamzy, who admitted he had been "a little worried, especially the way the tide was going."
Hamzy said he didn't take the race for granted.
"You never know," said Hamzy. But he said, "I had a record to run on and people responded to it."
Nicastro easily won re-election to his second term in the 79th District.
"I plan to work very hard for all my constituents," said Nicastro.
Nicastro faced a symbolic challenge from David L. Norton, who stepped into the race late in October after the original Republican candidate, Derek Jerome, committed suicide.
Norton said he agreed to run in honor of Jerome, who strongly believed in giving voters a choice.
Nicastro said he and Norton spent Election Day together.
"We had some great discussions. It was a pleasure to stand alongside him," said Nicastro. "He was a perfect gentleman."
Colapietro, who has represented the 31st District since 1992, breezed into his ninth term Tuesday.
The race "was pretty easy for me," said Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat. "It's the only time I've ever run unopposed."
Colapietro said he'd been looking forward to talking about the issues, but without an opponent didn't have much chance. He said he likes people to know why he casts the votes he does.
Wright and Fitzgerald were battling for a seat left open by the retirement of one-term state Rep. Ron Burns, a Republican.
Burns said the winners of all the races are going to face “a tough two years. It is going to be quite difficult” dealing with budget cuts and the recession.
“It could be a whole different picture” by the next time state lawmakers face the voters, Burns said.
As polls closed, Bristol Democratic Town Chairman Elliott Nelson said Democrats were optimistic about all their races.
"The numbers are high," said Nelson.
As the polls closed, Colapietro was at the American Legion in Bristol where a glitch in the voting machines kept ballots from being read.
"For awhile they had to count them by hand," said Colapietro.
Nelson said the machines at the American Legion failed early Tuesday morning and weren't back in action until 6:30 p.m.
It was "a major meltdown," said Nelson.
But election officials got the machines going again, Colapietro said, so ballots could be fed into them.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Prudence Crandall takes her spot in the Capitol

Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:

The new bronze statue of state heroine Prudence Crandall – installed Tuesday in the Capitol – is clasping a book and standing calmly next to her student, the two of them looking bravely forward.

Rather than perched atop a pedestal, the teacher and student are at eye level, which is exactly the way sculptor Gabriel Koren wanted it.

"I don't want to do any sculpture up high," said Koren, dismissing the use of a pedestal as "a very old fashioned idea."

People can't identify with someone perched way up high, said Koren.

But when the statue is at eye level, people have an easier time relating to the subject, and may say, "'Oh, she is just like me,'" said Koren. "The next step is, 'Maybe I can be just like her.'"

That kind of inspiration is what made the statue – to be officially unveiled in the coming weeks – possible after a decade of waiting.

State Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat who led the drive to see the statue become a reality, said it all started about 10 years ago with students at Hubbell School in Bristol.

The students wanted to know why Nathan Hale, the state hero, had a big statue in the state Capitol but Crandall – a white teacher who faced racism and terror after she opened her school for girls to black students – did not.

Boukus talked with the students about how they could get involved. 

"I represented them just as I represent their parents," said Boukus.

They wrote letters, testified in hearings and did their best to make the case for Crandall.

"We really wanted her to have a statue," said Leo Rausch, who was a fourth grade student at Hubbell when he and his classmates first asked Boukus why Hale had a statue and Crandall didn't.

"We collected money. We tried to let everyone know about it," said Alitha Krolikowski, now a senior at Bristol Eastern High School who was a Hubbell School fifth grader when she went to Hartford to lobby for Crandall.

"I think that it's really neat that what we did all those years ago actually amounted to something," said Krolikowski, who said she wants to attend the unveiling ceremony.

Rausch, who is now a freshman studying software engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., said in a phone interview Tuesday that he was glad to hear about the statue.

He felt good that a bunch of kids could "do something actually good" like put a statue in the state Capitol, Rausch said.

Boukus said she, the students and other supporters "lobbied everyone in the General Assembly" before she won a $100,000 state grant to support the project.

The children pitched in to help raise money, too.

In a campaign called "Pennies for Prudence," children raised more than $3,000, said Boukus. She said she didn't want any student collecting more than 10 cents.

It was a way they could make a contribution, an investment in the statue, said Boukus, and learn that if they wanted something, they might have to pay for it.

But, she said, "I did not want this to be a children's fundraiser."

Boukus was on hand at the Capitol Tuesday when the statue was set in place.

"It's exciting," she said. The statue is draped now, covered before an official unveiling.

"This is an historic day at the Capitol," said Boukus. "It's been more than 100 years since they put a statue in here."

The statue of Crandall is only the third of an individual to be added to the Capitol. The others are of Hale and former Gov. William Buckingham.

"This is going to be here forever," Boukus said proudly.

Crandall founded a school in Canterbury in the early 1830s for black girls and kept it going for almost a year and a half before concern for her students' safety forced her to close it. 

The school building at the junction of Routes 14 and 169 is now a National Historic Landmark and a state museum.

Initially, Boukus had to fend off a move to put Crandall outside the Capitol.

"I really wanted her inside," said Boukus.

The statue depicts Crandall standing with one of her students, a young black woman.

"We wanted to make the connection with young people," said Boukus, and to show that the teacher, a Quaker, saw no difference between the races.

In Crandall's time, said Boukus, learning wasn't something girls could take for granted.

"It was a privilege to be educated," said Boukus.

Crandall's school was "very revolutionary at that time," said Koren, who said she learned about Crandall after taking on the job of sculpting the statue.

Koren, a native of Budapest, Hungary, studied at the Hungarian National Academy of Fine Art. She came to the United States in 1978 at age 30, said Koren, to live in New York. She said she wanted to live in a multi-cultural, non-European country.

"I wanted to be living in a big city," said Koren. "I wanted to be in the mix."

Sculpting a likeness of Crandall was a challenge, said Koren, because there were no photographs available of her when she was a young woman running her school.

"The photograph, it was not invented yet," said Koren, who said she worked from a painting. The only photo of Crandall, Koren said, showed an old woman with a wrinkled face, not the young schoolteacher she sought to depict.

"It was difficult," said Koren. She said she went to the library and researched what kind of clothes women wore in the 1830s, when Crandall had her school.

The statue was six years in the making, said Koren, because part way through her work she took on another project, a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, which will soon be erected in Central Park in New York.

"I was working on the two commissions at the same time," said Koren, who has a third sculpture to her name. It is of Malcolm X and is on display in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.

The picture, by the way, is from Youth Journalism International, a journalism education organization that my wife and I operate that brings scores of young writers from across the world together. You can find it online at youthjournalism.org.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Nicastro, Boukus running again

State Reps. Frank Nicastro of Bristol and Betty Boukus of Plainville, both Democrats, said Monday they're running for re-election.
"I'm going to work my tail off to win reelection to the House," said Nicastro, who has represented the 79th District for the past two years.
Boukus has represented the 22nd District, which includes a sliver of Bristol, since 1994.
Already seeking another term is state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat who has held office in the 31st District since 1992.
The city's two Republican state representatives, Bill Hamzy in the 78th District and Ron Burns in the 77th District, have yet to declare their intentions, though both are widely expected to seek another term.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Utility company wrong, Boukus says

Press release from state Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat whose district includes a tiny sliver of Forestville:

State Representative Betty Boukus (D-Plainville, New Britain, Bristol) reassured constituents that she would work with legislators to prevent public utilities from passing the expense of executive bonuses onto ratepayers. The issue came to light when Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) asked state regulators to approve a rate increase due in part to bonuses for top executives.

“I hope CL&P reconsiders its plan to make customers pay for performance bonuses for their top salaried executives,” Rep. Boukus said. “Ratepayers have shouldered an incredible burden as double-digit rate increases become a yearly occurrence. Enough is enough.”

In its request to raise rates almost 5% effective January 1, 2008, CL&P asked the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) to consider executive bonuses to be a part of the utility’s operating expenses.

Rep. Boukus said, “If the DPUC approves this increase, we must act as a legislature to ensure that it will be illegal for public utility’s to pass the costs of bonuses onto overburdened ratepayers. What is CL&P thinking?”

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com