Jodi Rell has done an admirable job as Connecticut’s chief executive for the past three years, but we believe college students and other citizens would benefit from a change in Hartford.
While we commend Rell for pushing a tough ethics reform bill though the state legislature, and for turning a budget deficit into a surplus, we think Democrat John DeStefano, the sitting mayor of New Haven, is a better candidate on issues that matter to college students, and therefore has earned our endorsement as Connecticut’s next governor.
Unlike the status quo in Washington, which is in desperate need of a change of direction, status quo in Connecticut is one we would be willing to live with.
Under Rell’s watch, the state has continued its economic growth, and its state university has gained recognition for reasons other than its dominant basketball program, thanks to a newly- founded stem cell research program that could grow to become one of the nation’s best.
She has also scored points with voters for distancing herself from her disgraced predecessor, John Rowland, who was convicted on numerous corruption counts and resigned in 2004.
Rell has reacted well to most of the problems the state has faced, from the ethical mess that Rowland left behind, to the threat by the Department of Defense to close the submarine base in Grotton. Rell worked with Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd, U.S.Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2, and other lawmakers to keep the base open.
Reacting, though, should not be the sole job of a chief executive.
DeStefano earns our support because he is the candidate who we think will be proactive, and not simply reactive, as governor.
He has an impressive plan to lower property taxes, which have skyrocketed in recent years, along with better proposals to improve Connecticut’s broken public transportation structure and help residents of the state’s inner cities gain better access to quality health care.
As mayor of New Haven, he had one of the hardest jobs of any public servant in the state.
The city he inherited was one with little economic development and a skyrocketing crime rate, both of which are characteristic of poverty-stricken cities.
Although New Haven still suffers from one of the highest poverty rates in the country, it has achieved significant economic growth and seen a dramatic decrease in violent crime under DeStefano’s guidance.
A great deal of work needs to be done to bring Hartford and Bridgeport into the 21st century, and we believe DeStefano is the best candidate to work on bringing those cities forward.
DeStefano is not the perfect candidate, but if elected, he would be a forward-looking, proactive executive and is worthy of our support.
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