Can he talk us into balancing our budget?

When Ned Lamont was running for governor last November, it was hard to get a lot of enthusiasm up for this relatively low-key, wealthy guy who made his money in telecommunications. He had been kicking around state politics since 2006, when he gained the Democratic nomination for the Senate, but ended up losing to incumbent and longtime Democrat Joe Lieberman. Lieberman decided to run as a third-party candidate after losing in the primary to Lamont. 

Then, in 2010, Lamont lost his bid for governor to Dannel Malloy, who stuck it out until last year’s election then did not run again. Since his 2006 loss, Lamont has worked in academia, at Harvard and Central Connecticut State University, so found a way to make a difference in the lives of young people. It took until 2018 for him to finally win an office where he could make a difference to the governing of Connecticut. 

After Malloy’s eight-year tenure of increasing unpopularity, which finally ended with his being one of the most disliked governors in the nation, there were not a lot of politicians with more experience in public service who were willing to take on the challenges he left behind. Lamont was willing. And he’s given some careful thought to the best ways to handle the fiscal nightmare that the state budget has become. It is telling, however, that he said at the Northwest Hills Council of Governments meeting on April 12 (as quoted by reporter Patrick Sullivan in last week’s Lakeville Journal) that the state’s fiscal condition is a little more horrific than he had thought.

It’s hard to know everything about a job before one is in it, which is surely part of the reason the politicians were reluctant to take on the race for governor this time around. But 100 days into his term, Lamont has been active and undaunted, knowing that his proposed changes in tax structure, toll taking and cost cutting could make him about as unpopular as Malloy. 

But he is a likeable guy, not as abrasive as his predecessor could sometimes be in public discourse. He makes it a point to engage with people directly. And he has exerted strong effort to see the entire state, coming into the Northwest Corner twice already during these early days. 

Lamont was not naïve coming into the office of governor. He saw what happened in the years since his first try for the Senate, to the country and to the state. Many take issue with his proposed solutions to the problems facing Connecticut. But there is undeniable shared pain inherent in them, with tolls affecting those who travel in the urban and suburban areas, and property tax changes affecting rural residents. He is even looking for all towns to chip in to fund the teachers’ pensions that have been too long neglected. 

Will Lamont be the person who can finally cajole Connecticut legislators and citizens into accepting this shorter-term pain for longer-term benefits to the state? If he sticks to his plans, and continues to engage with all sides of the political aisle, it is possible. Connecticut citizens should be rooting for him to succeed, even if it means more belt-tightening before the dust settles.