Ken Dixon's Blog-O-Rama

Remember yesterday’s Blog-o-rama post by the attorney with statutory questions about Susan Bysiewicz’s credentials as an “active” attorney in relation to her run for attorney general?

 Well, today she asked Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the man she wants to replace, for an opinion on the issue. All in all, it seems to be a couple-day story in the countdown to an August primary with George Jepsen, the former state Senate majority leader.

 “This is a very simple question we’ve researched more over the last couple days than we did in the period before,” Bysiewicz just said in a phone interview.

It seems that being a qualified elector, meaning she’s not in prison on felony charges, and a member of the bar since 1986 should be more than enough, since the vague statute says a candidate for AG must have 10 years as an “active” lawyer.

 “Active means simply that you must comply with all the requirements to be admitted to the Connecticut bar and remain in good standing,” said Bysiewicz.

 She indicated that people such as Jepsen, her presumptive challenger for the Democratic party nomination in May, think private practice is the be-all and end-all for candidacy qualifications.

 “Some people are taking an overly narrow definition and they are irresponsibly suggesting that active practice means only private practice,” she said. “It’s highly irresponsible, shows poor legal judgment and is ludicrous to suggest that law work in the public sector shouldn’t count.”

 Blumenthal: “The Secretary of the State has contacted our office. We have received no formal request for an opinion. We cannot comment further.”

A new report by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, released early this morning, is a blueprint for their lobbying in the upcoming legislative session. It includes a list of “dos and don’ts” on how to save some of the 85,000 jobs lost during the current recession. It warns of the dangers of unfunded liabilities, such as local and state pension plans. It said lawmakers shouldn’t approve tax increases that could harm the economy and stresses the need to make state government “as cost-effective as possible,” before any increases in state spending are approved.

 It also calls for a massive examination of every aspect of state government, to cut waste and “modify or eliminate underperforming programs.”

“State lawmakers must do all they can to encourage employers to invest and grow here in Connecticut,” said John Rathgeber, the association’s president and CEO. “A strong employer base will generate the tax revenue state government needs to deliver important public services and programs as well as keep and create the jobs necessary to sustain our high quality of life and secure Connecticut’s future.”

Meanwhile, amid the continued decline in state tax revenue, Gov. Jodi Rell is woodshedding as she works on presenting her final budget to the General Assembly when the short budget-adjustment session starts on February 3.

George Jepsen of Ridgefield, the former state senate majority leader, Democratic state party chairman and failed lieutenant governor candidate back in 2002, has officially filed his documents setting up an exploratory committee for attorney general, unless Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who handles such things, ordered a staff to mail the documents to the Arctic Circle.

That’s unlikely. But who would have predicted that Bysiewicz would have said yesterday, when she announced her candidacy for attorney general that she would say she doesn’t expect to use the state’s public-financing system?

 As recently as last week she tried to file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the state’s bid to overturn a federal-court decision that threw out the state’s landmark 2005 campaign reforms.

 “It’s stunning. It’s absolutely stunning,” said Jepsen, speaking with reporters in the Capitol Press Room. “If you peel the layers of the onion back, you have a reversal that you can call cynical and hypocritical. It absolutely directly contradicts everything she’s said about the need for campaign finance reform.”

 Jepsen expects for the exploratory phase of his campaign to last about six weeks as he gets an organization up and running. He underscored 26 years as a practicing attorney as his solid credentials.

The Blogster believes that the issue of public financing, which is now in the hands of the US Second Circuit, will become a major part of the public discussion as Jepsen and Bysiewicz waltz toward the May party convention – and beyond.

An hour after the initial posting, House Minority leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, stopped by the Capitol Press Room to criticize yet another “blue rbbon” committee, this called called by House majority Democrats, to study regionalization. Later, when informed of Bysiewicz’s intention to collect campaign contributions the old-fashioned way, he started laughing loudly and shouted “Are You Kidding Me?” at least twice.

“Connecticut State government is broken because of shortsighted solutions and an unwillingness to make tough decisions,” he said in a statement accompanying his declaration. “The fiscal crisis in the early 90’s brought us the income tax. The last budget crisis in 2002 saw slashes in state staffing” Marsh said. “We are standing today with a heavy tax burden, our state credit card maxed out, and still our leaders cannot decide what’s strategically important in state government and how to balance revenues and expenses.”

He has not yet been posted on the State Elections Enforcement Commission Web site, but Republicans say he might be the only municipal official in the state whose community – granted, very well-heeled – has actually reduced spending over the last two years.

You’d think Chris Healy, the quote-ready GOP state chairman, would have a function key on his computer, ready to pop out pithy quotes about this, but Bysiewicz announced her shift to AG at 11 and it’s now 5:30, as his release hits the Blogster’s computer.

 Was it worth the wait?

“Secretary Bysiewicz decision to run for Attorney General is stunning retreat from her initial goal of being Governor, despite her leading in every public poll. One can only guess Sec. Bysiewicz saw the colossal budget deficit caused by her fellow Democrats and felt it was wiser to seek other options. Since she has spent most of her career campaigning for another job, maybe Sec. Bysiewicz believes she can be Dick Blumenthal. But there is only one Dick Blumenthal, luckily, who politicized that office for his own gain.”

“This is another stunning example of how of touch life-time politicians like Susan Bysiewicz have become  - to believe that simply job hunting be considered leadership. It won’t matter, because Connecticut will elect a Republican for Attorney General, someone who understand that the job of Attorney General is to protect Connecticut’s interests, not a stepping stone to another government job.”