Political Capitol

I had an opportunity to speak today with Greenwich entrepreneur and millionaire Ned Lamont, the anti-Iraq War candidate who won the Democratic Party’s primary in 2006 against Stamford native U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman but lost the general election.

Lamont in recent months has been working behind the scenes with some folks in political and business circles on proposals to help Connecticut and state government weather the economic crisis. And, according to a recent article in the New York Times, he is also in the very, very early stages of thinking about running for Governor.

With all that as the backdrop, I asked Lamont what he thought last week of the legislative Democrats’ budget proposal. The two-year fiscal plan would help address what the Democrats believe is an $8.7 billion deficit by hiking taxes on many Fairfield County households earning over $250,000 and phasing out a property tax credit enjoyed by the middle class.

“I think both the Governor (Republican M. Jodi Rell) and the legislature should have started out talking about the real fundamental reforms of how we do business in the state before you talk about taxes,” Lamont said.

Rell on Feb. 4 proposed her own, no-tax-increase budget plan, but it relied on a deficit estimate of $6 billion.

Although both Rell and the Democrats argue they DID propose significant cuts to government and changes in how agencies operate, Lamont does not believe either side has been doing enough “to get this state lean and efficient.”

“You earn the right to raise taxes. Government has not quite earned that right,” Lamont said, adding at the end of the day some tax increases will have to be “part of the solution.”

But before anyone starts thinking Lamont is being too hard on his party, he sides with Rell’s critics who argue she crafted her budget based on out-dated deficit projections.

“At least they came forward with an honest budget,” Lamont said of the legislature’s Democrats.

Lamont will be spending the next 24 hours or so traveling the state with Ted Turner.

The two have a connection through the United Nations Foundation. Turner has a handful of speaking engagements in Connecticut, starting tonight at the Greenwich Library and ending tomorrow at Central University.

Perhaps the two will take a swing by the South Windsor location of Ted’s Montana Grill.

Legislators from both parties are beginning to volunteer cuts to their salaries or take at least a day without pay in the face of mounting budget deficits.

But freshman Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, is working without pay (around $30,000) or an expense allowance. And he said he’ll continue doing so for as long as he remains a member of the General Assembly.

I found this out Friday when the Office of Legislative Management provided me a list of the 40 or so members of the General Assembly who have requested decreases in their paychecks.

“No one was supposed to know about this,” Frantz said in a brief phone interview that afternoon.

He really did keep it quiet. Although Frantz apparently had made the decision prior to winning election last November, he never campaigned on the promise to serve in Hartford without pay.

And unlike some of his colleagues he did not issue a press release of any kind announcing his decision. Frantz just contacted the Office of Legislative Management in December and made it so.

I understand there was some delay in implementation over a misunderstanding between Frantz and OLM over whether lawmakers could in fact make such requests. But that has since been ironed out and Frantz is moving forward with his plan to do without.

And in so doing he became the Michael Bloomberg of the General Assembly.

“It was meant to be quiet. Completely quiet,” Frantz said. “I don’t want to put pressure on anybody to do something they simply can’t afford on either side of the aisle.”

And Frantz, whose career is in the private equity field, said it is not necessarily easy for him to give up the extra cash.

“No one can really afford to give up money these days,” he said.

While the legislative Democrats’ budget preserves several of the agencies, commissions and “watch dogs” Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed cutting in her Feb. 4 budget, it appears the majority party agrees Connecticut does not need its own Property Rights Ombudsman.

The fine print in the Democrats’ fiscal plan shows if adopted as proposed the Ombudsman’s two-person, $214,667 operation would be eliminated.

This is a sure sign eminent domain is no longer the heated and highly politicized topic it was just a few years ago in New London, Stamford, Norwalk and elsewhere, in part because the economy means no one is trying to seize property to build anything.

Also, some – not all – but some Democrats never warmed up to the idea that the guy Rell picked for the job – Robert Poliner – was a former GOP state chairman from the 1980s. That I’m sure makes it easier to lay him off in the same manner former Congressman-turned-state Business Advocate Rob Simmons was given the boot earlier this year.

The two year budget proposed Thursday by the legislature’s Democratic majority is missing a pretty big piece – money to fund the upgrade of the New Haven Rail Yard so it’s ready to maintain the fleet of 300 nice, shiny new Metro North cars arriving later this year.

The project had its budget balloon from $300 million when it was first proposed in 2005 to around $1.2 billion last year.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell had the thing audited by an outside party (technically it was the SECOND audit because the Department of Transportation hired its own third party a few years ago to help contain costs).

The audit said a bare bones rail yard upgrade could happen for $850 million and Rell’s Feb. 4 state budget proposal included $18 million in 2010-11 to help begin paying off that debt.

The Democrats’ budget has nothing set aside for the rail yard.

Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, a co-chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, yesterday said the rail yard was left out of the spending plan because it remains controversial and lawmakers aren’t sure exactly what they’re going to do about it.

Harp said that should NOT be taken as an indication the legislature is abandoning the project. But it sort of makes one wonder what the heck is going on with this thing? Are the necessary improvements going to be in place to keep these Metro North cars from falling into the same state of disrepair as those they’re replacing?

So, you’re a Fairfield County Catholic pulling down a decent salary.

And your household takes in at least $250,000 in annual income, which happens to be the starting point for legislative Democrats’ proposed income tax hikes.

You’re still steaming at Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, for that whole “interfering with parish finances” thing he tried to pull a few weeks ago.

But then you hear that he is opposing his party’s initial attempt in Hartford to raise your income taxes.

What do you do?

Is he that out-of-control liberal who tried to take away your First Amendment rights or is he now that “common sense” Fairfield County Democrat trying to keep the rest of those out-of-control liberals in Hartford from making off with your hard-earned money?

Which wins out? Your religious side or your secular side?

During her press conference today condemning the legislative Democrats’ budget proposal, Gov. M. Jodi Rell made a scripted joke about aspects of the two-year plan her administration believes are at best unrealistic.

First she referenced the fact that the long-running “The Phantom of the Opera” musical is opening soon in Hartford. Then she delivered the punch line.

“The ‘Phantom of the Budget’ is opening right here today at the state capitol,” Rell told reporters

It was kind of an eye-roller. And one could argue the Governor should be careful about slinging phrases like “phantom budget” when Democrats complain her no-tax-increase spending plan did not take into account the full magnitude of the state deficit.

But clearly someone in the administration has a really creative sense of humor, because soon after Rell’s press conference, a colleague in the press corps was given a mock theater ticket to “The Phantom of the Budget.”

And it’s a darn good replica of an actual ticket, complete with the symbolic “Phantom” mask.

The ink on the Democrats’ budget proposal isn’t even dry, but a few caucus members from lower Fairfield County are among the first signaling their opposition to the proposed tax increases.

Rep. Christopher Perone, D-Norwalk, a Finance Committee vice-chairman, joined with committee Republicans in voting against the two-year fiscal plan this afternoon.

The majority party’s spending and revenue package, unveiled this morning, is traditionally voted out of the Finance and Appropriations committees to allow the real numbers crunching to begin so a deal can be struck between the full General Assembly and Governor.

Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk and Rep. Terry Backer, D-Stratford (who doesn’t technically represent lower Fairfield County but shows up there often because he works in Norwalk and does a lot of things related to cleaning up Long Island Sound) both said they plan to vote against the budget later this afternoon when it comes before the Appropriations Committee.

Perone said he is particularly concerned about his party’s efforts to do away with tax exemptions that help small businesses and manufacturers.

And although he backed the Democrats’ unsuccessful attempt two years ago to pass higher income taxes on wealthier residents, many of whom live in Fairfield County, Perone said that plan also included some cuts for the middle class.

Duff and Backer are upset because they said they worked hard as chairmen of an Appropriations Committee sub group to recommend millions in budget cuts to state agencies dealing with conservation and development.

“We spent hours and hours cutting spending,” Duff said. “That is not reflected in the budget that was presented to us.”

Backer said he finds his party’s budget “unpalatable.”

He said he could, if push comes to shove, be convinced to pass a higher income tax rate on wealthier residents, but not the percentages currently envisioned.

Backer said he is also mindful that the wealthier residents of Fairfield County employ many of his constituents, and he does not want higher taxes to translate into lost business.

“Every day a fleet of trucks leaves Stratford and Bridgeport and heads into lower Fairfield County” to perform all sorts of construction and other manual jobs for the rich, Backer said. “I don’t want to see my hard-working people lose their jobs.”

UPDATE: I haven’t spoken with him but Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, also cast a “no” vote against the budget in the Finance Committee.

There’s already a ton of stuff in the Democratic budget proposal worth writing about and that’s before having reviewed the full document.

But I’ve got to say I found interesting a recommendation to create two additional revenue sources out of people who smoke.

The first proposal would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes from $2 to $2.50 beginning July 1, 2009.

It’s often argued that while lawmakers like to rely on such “sin taxes” to balance the books, the higher costs also encourage smokers to quit and improve their health so no one ever feels too badly about backing this particular tax increase.

But further in their proposal the Democrats suggest eliminating over 50 sales tax exemptions, INCLUDING the exemption on “specially formulated gum, inhalants or similar products designed to help someone stop smoking.”

I guess one could argue this will encourage those individuals who ping pong between smoking and trying to quit to finally commit to doing the latter if only so they don’t keep paying the extra tax every time they go back to chewing nicotine gum for a few weeks.