Political Capitol

George Jepsen, a former Democratic state Senator from Stamford and Democratic Party Chairman, is so far the first person to actively pursue running for Attorney General now that Democrat Richard Blumenthal is running for Congress.

He told reporters last week he planned on forming an exploratory committee and today issued the following statement that, if elected, he will NOT run for Stamford Democrat U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s seat in 2012 or for Governor in 2014. I’m not aware voters were clamoring for Jepsen to do either, but I guess it’s nice he gave everyone a heads up.

(And I guess I should take this time to get my own announcement out of the way. I too will not run for Senate in 2012 or for Governor in 2014, so don’t ask )

Jepsen’s statement, reprinted below, comes amid news that Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz plans to shift gears from a gubernatorial bid to succeeding Blumenthal on Wednesday.

Here’s Jepsen’s statement:

This week I will open my exploratory committee for the office of Connecticut Attorney General.

If I become Attorney General, I pledge to give my full time and commitment to the position. As part of this pledge, I will not run for any higher office while Attorney General in my first term. Specifically, I will not seek the 2012 US Senate seat or the 2014 Governor’s seat. The next Attorney General needs the professionalism upheld by Richard Blumenthal and the office should avoid immediate conflicts involving electoral politics.

When Richard Blumenthal became Attorney General, he committed himself to the work at hand in his first term and I will give that same level of dedication.

We need an Attorney General who, like Richard Blumenthal, will be a constant beacon for legal leadership and ethics over many years, and not a person looking at this position as a short-term stepping stone. I would ask that other officials running for Attorney General match my pledge.

Contact:

George Jepsen

Two Senators from our coverage area – Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton and Sen. Dan Debicella, R-Shelton – today announced they had written Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal urging him to join Republican peers in other states against that infamous $100 million provision in the federal health care reform bill included to win over Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska.

“(The provision) would allow Nebraska to receive approximately $100 million in Medicaid expense exemptions in exchange for a ‘yes’ vote from their Democratic Senator,” Boucher wrote in her press release. “Of course, this is wrong and may even be unconstitutional.”

“We want to protect Connecticut taxpayers from any requirement that they pick up the tab for special deals given to other states,” Boucher wrote.

“The health care legislation currently being considered would hurt middle class Connecticut families through higher costs and more taxes,” Debicella, who is running for Congress against freshman Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Greenwich, wrote. “To add insult to injury, the backroom deals made to pass the bill include massive giveaways to Nebraska … And guess who is footing the bill? Middle-class Connecticut taxpayers.”

The timing of the release is interesting since Blumenthal last Wednesday announced his candidacy to succeed the retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, a key architect of health reform. It’s one of many questions Blumenthal the attorney general and Blumenthal the candidate will be facing as he continues to wear those two hats in the coming months.

Boucher’s and Debicella’s releases also came one day after Blumenthal discussed this matter on “Face the State” (approximately 3 minutes and 55 seconds into the video). He said he hopes the provision – which he referred to as a “reward” for Nelson – “will be in fact deleted from the final version of the bill.”

“It can’t be challenged until it’s been approved by Congress and signed by the President,” Blumenthal said.

The Washington Independent has an interesting analysis of the issue, concluding Nebraska’s $100 million is really no different than any other earmark that lawmakers slip into legislation to benefit their states.

Since Debicella is running for Congress, I’d like to take this opportunity to ask him if he will oppose all earmarks if elected to Congress? Would he have turned down the $100 million? And if so, is that really a good thing for his constituents? I’ve got a call in to Dan.

UPDATE: Here’s Dan’s response:

“I would never trade my vote away on an important piece of legislation like healthcare for an earmark for Connecticut.  People want leaders who will stand for what they believe to be right, not trade their votes for pork-barrel spending.”

“I also believe that we should do away with earmarks entirely and replace them with a competitive system where states apply to pools of money set up for certain purposes (e.g., transportation, etc.)  Teams of experts from the relevant field– not politicians– would weigh which ones are worth funding.”

State Sen. Bob, D-Norwalk, in a letter to Scripps Network today called for an end to the stalemate that has resulted in Cablevision’s no longer airing the Food Network or HGTV.

Duff said he wrote the letter after on behalf of numerous constituents who have been frustrated by the loss of the popular cooking and home improvement channels.

“I’m a fan of neither,” Duff said, joking he is not a gourmand.

“Just put something in front of me and I usually eat it,” Duff said.

Here’s the letter:

——————-

Mr. Ken Lowe

Chief Executive Officer

Scripps Networks

P.O. Box 51850

Knoxville, TN 37950

Dear Mr. Lowe,

I write today, on behalf of many of my constituents, who are frustrated, angry and upset over the battle between Cablevision Holdings, LLC and Scripps Networks. They are the innocent bystanders who have lost the most in the high stakes game that is being played.

While I will not attempt to take sides since I am not privy to the on-going discussions, I do urge both parties to find a common-sense solution that takes my constituents and many others in the area out of the middle.

I respectfully request that you allow Cablevision to air the Food Network and HGTV while negotiations are taking place. The viewing public does not have a vote or a seat at the table and, frankly, would just like to get back to watching some of their favorite programs.

I’m sure you are proud of both channels. They serve not only to entertain, but also to educate. I know many who have learned to cook as a result of watching the famous chefs on the Food Network and others who have picked up valuable around-the-home skills from the experts on HGTV.

My hope is that this stalemate ends quickly. If not, please consider my simple request. There will be a lot of grateful people who can get back to watching their beloved personalities.

Sincerely,

Bob Duff

Connecticut Senate

Spoke for a while by phone with former Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, who for years represented southwestern Connecticut in Congress until he was defeated in 2008 by Democrat Jim Himes of Greenwich.

Shays lives in Maryland but continues to keep an eye on Connecticut politics.

Reflecting on Wednesday’s events – Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd’s decision not to seek re-election and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s announcement he wants the party’s nomination to succeed Dodd – Shays shared the following thoughts.

On Dodd: “What is sad for Chris and the state in one respect is he is clearly one of the most powerful Senators in the Senate – highest ranking on three committees. And where he’s not chair he’s the Number 2 person. So he’s got to be saying ‘I was always Number 2, the people ahead of me were in office for so long …’ That part has to be very difficult. He’s making the right decision but it is a loss in the sense that we are going to lose a tremendously powerful Senator. People in Connecticut don’t value as much seniority. They sometimes tend to discount (it).”

On Blumenthal: “He always wanted to be a Senator. He gets tagged as someone who is undecided (on whether he wants to pursue higher office or play it safe and remain Attorney General). Admittedly he says ‘I may be interested in this position or that.’ I always knew the only job he really only wanted was to be a Senator. ”

Shays added: “I think he has worked harder than anyone I’ve met in my life to acquaint himself with the state and have the state acquainted with him. One time – it blew me away – in municipal elections he was in four cities in one night when the winning candidate took the podium. He was standing right by that candidate in four places – Stamford, Waterbury, New Haven and Hartford. It’s amazing. I’ll never forget that.”

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, held a press conference at the capitol Thursday calling on a renewed effort to move ahead with some of the criminal justice reforms enacted two years ago following the Cheshire home invasion/triple murders.

Lawlor focused on the need to move ahead with building a secure sex offender facility, an issue the Hartford Courant raised in December.

But Lawlor yesterday also discussed other delays, such as the fact that the state has not met the legislature’s summer, 2009 deadline to have an automated system up and running for notifying crime victims of the movement of offenders within the various criminal agencies.

We reported this in mid-December. Here’s the fully story, with the info about the victim notification project toward the bottom. Not only has the victim notification initiative experienced some delays, but the Judicial Branch is concerned about having the resources in place to maintain the system once it is built.

Early releases worry victim advocates

By Brian Lockhart
Investigative Reporter
When Lisa Holden, former head of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, first learned state lawmakers had revived re-entry furloughs for prison inmates, she thought about Kevin Cales.
Less than three weeks after being released on a furlough May 7, 2006, Cales chased a car driven by his ex-girlfriend, Mary Neliz Jimenez, over a fog-enshrouded road in Berlin. Jimenez crashed, killing herself and her four passengers, and Cales was convicted of manslaughter.
“He was on early release and he was not being supervised and the domestic violence advocates were saying she was completely unprotected — nobody told her he was out,” Holden recalled. “So that would be the question right now. You’re letting (inmates) out 45 days early. Some of these people commit crimes against persons. Are you notifying them of this early release?”
Hearst Newspapers earlier this month reported the Department of Correction in November began allowing wardens to authorize 45-day early-release furloughs for prisoners nearing the end of their sentences who are not considered a threat.
Concerned about poor supervision, lawmakers eliminated the then 30-day re-entry furloughs in January 2008 as part of the criminal justice reforms enacted after two parolees were charged with murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters during a home invasion in Cheshire.
To save money during the current state budget crisis, the Democratic-majority Legislature and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell revived the furloughs. DOC has pledged that parole officers will monitor and work with the offenders.
According to DOC, 60 inmates have been released since the program began Nov. 9.
Proponents argue the furloughs will provide DOC the ability to give a few weeks of constructive oversight to offenders who otherwise would simply be released into the community when their sentence is up.
But the move has raised questions about the rights of victims in the process.
“We’re concerned about that,” said Danielle Rea, president of Wethersfield-based Survivors of Homicide. “Retaliation is a very heavy concern for some of our members.”
Michelle Cruz, who was appointed the state’s independent Victim Advocate in November 2007, said since the Hearst article was published a week ago Friday she has been seeking additional information from DOC about supervision and whether victims who might have a reason to be fearful are being properly notified that inmates might be out 45 days ahead of schedule.
“I knew they (furloughs) were coming back at some point. I wasn’t aware they were back,” she said.
Cruz said one of her concerns is that lawmakers did not update victim-notification statutes to reflect the return of the furloughs.
But spokesmen for the DOC and state Judicial Branch, both of which have victim-services staff, said they have been working since the furloughs were brought back last month to cross-reference released inmates with registered victims to ensure proper notification is made either by phone or registered mail or both.
Linda Cimino, executive director of the Judicial Branch’s Office of Victim Services, said she and her staff have backgrounds working for domestic violence programs.
“So victim safety is utmost to us,” she said.
DOC spokesman Brian Garnett said so far none of the 60 furloughs have prompted a victim notification.
In order to receive the alerts, a victim or victim‘s family members must have filled out paperwork and proactively registered themselves and updated their contact information.
That, according to the Judicial Branch, did not happen in the Cales case in 2006.
“The Office of Victim Services did not have any individual registered for notification,” said Rhonda Stearley Hebert, a Judicial Branch spokesman.
Asked if Connecticut should consider mandatory rather than voluntary registration, Linda Blozie, director of public affairs for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the decision should be left to the individual.
“Some people we work with prefer just to move on and they don’t want to know anything about anything,”  Blozie said. “There are other people whose danger level is increased the moment that person steps out of the (prison) door and those people need to be notified at each juncture.”
Cruz believes some improvements must be made.
“It is my opinion that our Connecticut system is very difficult to navigate for even the most legally educated,” she said. “It requests a lot of push from the victim to be included and at many levels. Many states notify for release without requiring victims to participate in a cumbersome process. All the victim would have to say is ‘I want to know when the defendant gets out.’ That’s all.”
James Papillo, who was the state’s Victim Advocate prior to Cruz and investigated the Cales case, lamented Connecticut’s “antiquated” victim-notification system.
“We just don’t have an appropriate system in place to provide victims with the notice that they, in my view, are constitutionally required,” he said. “It’s not easy to register. Many aren’t even told they have a right to register.”
But Cimino said her staff tries to work closely with courtroom advocates to register victims, particularly those involved in domestic violence cases.
Blozie said it is important that the state communicate the granting of a furlough as soon as possible to a registered victim so they can take the necessary precautions.
“If somebody has to put together a safety plan, the more notification they get the better they can protect themselves,” she said.
But according to Garnett, there is no set time period between the granting of a furlough and an individual’s being released into the community.
That could result in potentially short notice to victims anticipating a later release date. Cimino said in one recent case her office learned a re-entry furlough had been granted to an offender only three days in advance.
“Had we had a victim, (we) would have called the person as many times as it would have taken to inform them,” she said.
The state is in the midst of creating an automated victim-notification system to help speed up the process.
The January 2008 criminal justice reforms required that project to be up and running this past summer.
Stearley Hebert said the $380,000 system, funded in part by a $190,000 federal grant, is on track for completion, but also acknowledged there are future budget concerns.
“Once the program is fully implemented, our annualized cost from state funds will be approximately $360,000 a year,” she said. “Within the current state budgetary climate, this long-term obligation is of concern because of the uncertainty as to whether the required funding will actually be made in the years to come.”
Holden, who also co-chaired a gubernatorial task force convened to evaluate the criminal justice system after the Cheshire home invasion, said advance warning of an early release is crucial.
“Safety planning might be changing your location, changing phones,” she said.
Although DOC’s position is furloughs will only be granted to inmates who do not pose a public threat, Holden said assuming the worst-case scenario is the best way to go when it comes to victim notification.
“There is no screening tool to accurately assess (whether) someone’s going to repeat violent behavior and I think that’s what we learned in Cheshire,” Holden said. “They were determined to be ready for release and look what they did.”

There’s a lot of talk lately about rising health insurance costs. Critics argue Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Charter Oak Health Plan is NOT insurance, but whatever it is, it is getting more expensive to participate.

The agenda for tomorrow morning’s Medicaid Managed Care Council contains the following item related to the Charter Oak Health Plan Rell has proudly touted as her administration’s effort to help the uninsured and underinsured:

• Charter Oak Health Plan rebasing, member cost share increases & implementation date

It was too late to get in touch with the Department of Social Services, which administers the program, for details.

Council Vice-chairman Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia tonight told me she understands the agency is indeed moving ahead with premium increases.

“I had heard some rumors,” an upset Prague said. “I also had heard this administration was considering closing intake.”

Rell proposed freezing enrollment in Charter Oak in late November.

DSS recently issued a press release outlining how more and more residents are turning to the state for health care and other assistance during tough times.

UPDATE: In the past few hours I’ve heard from both David Dearborn, spokesman for DSS and from a blog reader who participates in Charter Oak.

First, Dearborn’s e-mail: “Yes premiums are increasing as of feb 1 in charter oak. Basically, the state share of the subsidy is fixed in the underlying statute. That means that the beneficiary share may fluctuate based on the cost of the services across the various income levels. I don’t have the new rates at my fingertips but can get them for you in the morning. Dave

The reader e-mailed me the increases, which they said they learned about by mail:

“There are 5 ‘bands’. Band 1 increases from $75 to $93. Band 2 increases from $100 to $124. Band 3 increases from $175 to $184. Band 4 from $200 to $213 and band 5 from $250-$259 to $296.”

Political insiders speculated Wednesday that, in the wake of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s decision to run for U.S. Senate after 20 years in office, two potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates – Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and newly-retired Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy – might want his old job.

Bysiewicz, despite leading in polls, issued a press release that did not specifically state she wants the AG’s job while at the same time avoiding using the word “governor,” leaving her political agenda in question.

Malloy during a brief interview tonight made it clear he still wants to be governor, although he did not specifically rule out a run for attorney general.

“Good weather. Bad weather. Up, down, sideways. I’ve been working and will continue to work on the governor’s race,” he said. “I’m the tortoise. I’m just going to keep going and run my race.”

Malloy’s friend and political ally, former state Senator George Jepsen, D-Stamford, is the only potential candidate who has told reporters he will form an exploratory committee for attorney general.

Malloy said he has not chosen a date to announce his candidacy and make the switch from exploratory mode.

It’s the day after Attorney General Richard Blumenthal stepped forward to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democratic Chris Dodd.

The announcement sent political shockwaves through Connecticut and Washington D.C.

But opening my e-mail today, it’s business-as-usual for Blumenthal’s office, which sent out two press releases. The first touts a $22.5 million settlement reached by Connecticut and other states with three drug companies over allegations the companies “illegally blocked cheaper, generic versions of TriCor, a cholesterol drug, from reaching the market.”

The second press release announces Blumenthal’s filing of a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to force Ski Market Ltd., Inc. , which last week filed for Chapter 11, to honor around $200,000 worth of unused gift cards.

Republican WWE tycoon Linda McMahon of Greenwich can spend as much of her personal wealth as she wants in her bid for Dodd’s seat, but nothing beats being a political incumbent who on a daily basis can use state resources to promote their accomplishments.

UPDATE: It’s around 5:30 p.m. and Blumenthal’s office just issued a third press release announcing his intention to battle a water rate increase.