A standard cliche is the old English adage of “Success has many father, but failure is an orphan.” So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a certain strata of Republican House members are claiming authorship of the new Connecticut open data portal – Data.ct.gov – which was the result of Malloy’s Executive Order No. 39.

Still, several House Republicans are muddying the waters. “I would like to inform you about a new resource for Connecticut residents who are interested in obtaining or exploring facts and statistics of Connecticut and state government,” the GOP releases say. “A new website called Connecticut Open Data provides hundreds of statistics and graphs on different categories relating to our state, including information on business, education, transportation and the environment. The website was produced as part of an on-going effort by the legislature to create more transparency between state government and Connecticut residents. This website serves as a great tool for anyone who is interested in obtaining government data or learning more about our state.”

Maybe it’s a fair use of the governor’s idea, although the legislative and executive branches are separated and certainly the starboard side of the House even more so. On Monday, when there was a news conference held at SeeClickFix’s offices in New Haven, there were several high-profile Democrats invited to celebrate the portal kick-off, including Mayor Toni N. Harp, Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney. Ben Berkowitz, founder and CEO of SeeClickFix, a civic social media site that allows residents to complain about infrastructure problems such as burned-out street lights and pot holes, led the group of officials and reporters through the warren of offices. Included in the group was state Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, whose 2010 candidacy, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, received $200 from Berkowitz.

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