Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, speaking with reporters after the state’s $504 million surplus fell to less $44 million, conceded that he is looking to become the GOP challenger to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy when he responded to a reporter’s question about the political fallout. “I think this confirms what most people feel in their everyday lives,” McKinney said. “Over eight to 12 months recently I have been to a lot of towns and cities that I haven’t represented, but I keep hearing the same thing. They keep hearing from politicians about how there’s a surplus, or that the economy’s getting better. Most people say where? ‘It’s not getting better for me.’ It’s not getting better for their small business. It’s not getting better for their family’s budget. This just now really eliminates any ability for the governor to go out and beat his chest about budget surpluses, you know, solving the problems and the like. Because he hasn’t solved the problem. Politically it’s not going to help him, but the largest tax increase in history wasn’t going to help him either.”
Tom Foley, the Greenwich businessman who narrowly lost the 2010 election to Malloy and who set up the Connecticut Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank: “The budget isn’t the only place where “Malloy Math” is shortchanging Connecticut’s citizens. The governor is trying to cover-up his disastrous jobs record with job numbers that are wrong. He claims to have reduced the state’s long term liabilities when those liabilities have gone up significantly on his watch as explained in two studies by the Connecticut Policy Institute: Governor’s Debt Report Misleads on Magnitude of OPEB Liability Reduction and Unfunded Retiree Healthcare Liabilities Grew by $3.3 Billion from 2011-2013. The list goes on. The people of Connecticut need a leader they can trust and who has the skills to get the job done. Connecticut’s problems are serious, but fixable. With honest and competent leadership committed to smart policies and good decision-making Connecticut can once again be on a path to renewed opportunities and more prosperity for everyone, but it isn’t going to happen with this governor at the helm.”