Jim Amann of Milford, the former speaker of the House, visited reporters in the Capitol Press Room this afternoon to say that it’s time for Gov. Jodi Rell to put her huge approval rating on the line and finally hammer out a new budget with majority Democrats. Amann, who’s running for next year’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination, said the Rell he knows should stop criticism of Democats and start hammering out a compromise.
“It’s time that the governor starts acting like a governor and gets the leadership into the Residence immediately and start negotiating,” Amann said. “She should stop the ultimatums, stop the idle threats. She should close the doors, lock the windows, go into a lock down and come up with a budget.” Recalling his four years as speaker, Amann said that while it was tough bringing her to the bargaining table, once she got there and engaged, she did it very well.
“It’s time that this governor does that,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it, in my 18 years, this far into the budget and nobody is really sitting around the table at this time of year. If she was a real leader, she would demand them to come to the mansion today and say we won’t leave until we come up with a budget. There are things more important than your popularity and that’s making a decision to go forward. “