CTs "civil rights" legislation

Today's CT section of the Sunday NY Times has a fantastic... and scathing... editorial on the state of our state. It speaks to my recent assertions that comity reigns supreme in Hartford.

It is true that a former governor, a state treasurer, two mayors and a state senator, as well as other powerful appointed state and municipal officials, have served time for malfeasance in office. But the most impressive evidence lately that Connecticut winks at corruption was the resounding silence early this month after State Senator Louis DeLuca pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor threat charge. Nearly all legislators had nothing but sympathy and praise for Mr. DeLuca. He received a suspended sentence for asking a man suspected of mob ties, James Galante, to “visit” his granddaughter’s then-boyfriend who Mr. DeLuca believed was abusing her. (The couple later married.)...

Why are they so silent? The short answer is that Mr. DeLuca has been an insider for decades, and, more than anything else in the government of this small state, relationships rule...

That is the root of why the State Legislature has proved so reluctant to pass laws that would deter corrupt behavior: Lawmakers are afraid that such proposals might hurt their friends — not just themselves. In addition, because state laws are so weak, Connecticut can’t effectively police itself; it is dependent on the competence and aggressiveness of federal authorities to expose corruption.

It is to the great credit of United States Attorney Kevin O’Connor’s office that so many government officials have been indicted in the state over the last several years. Yet the federal government cannot keep galloping in like the cavalry to save the day. Connecticut has to change its culture of corruption in much the same way, says Andy Sauer of Connecticut Common Cause, as the South had to change its racist attitudes 50 years ago to make repeated federal intervention unnecessary.

The analogy is apt. To change the unacceptable status quo, voters need to change not only the laws but legislators’ attitudes as well. And attitudes will change only when state residents begin voting against lawmakers who are soft on corruption.

It would also help greatly if the Legislature could be persuaded to approve several laws that have been proposed, and resoundingly ignored, for years....

Sooner or later, state legislators must set aside their ingrained desire to protect their friends and instead strengthen the rule of law for everyone. It is the only way to fix a state that, for good reason, has become known nationwide as Corrupticut.

For the laws that proposed and ignored, click here for this must read editorial.

Of interest to many of you... one of the proposed laws though may relate directly to Termgate:

Strengthen the chief state’s attorney’s office by giving the state’s top prosecutor the power to issue subpoenas during investigations. The Legislature stripped away that power several decades ago when the chief state’s attorney was deemed too aggressive in fighting in-state corruption. The office must have more authority.

The reason I say this may be relevant to Cheshire's Termgate is that I have reason to believe that despite the wording in the Town Charter... the Council does not have the ability to subpoena or question witnesses (under oath).

So it seems to me that the story and history of Corrupticut comes full circle right now for Cheshire... while some people feel our legislature can do no wrong... the same legislature may very well have also handicapped the ability of the Council to perform a credible investigation.

Tim White