One of the graphics was yellowed, recycled from a press conference a year ago when Republicans first proclaimed Connecticut to be suffering from a “culture of corruption,” a product of one-party rule tolerated by Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature’s Democratic majority.
But as Republicans came back Thursday with a renewed effort to brand Democrats as indifferent to malfeasance, they had fresher material: a scandal over legislative earmarks, a damning audit and the unchallenged assertion that millions of dollars in grants are disbursed annually to local groups with little vetting.
“We are here today to say that we are not going away,” said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford. “Our proposals are not going to go away. We are going to propose them again and again and again until we at least hear from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle and this governor that they are going to get serious.”
The FBI is investigating the role played by Sen. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, in delivering millions in earmarks, well as his relationship with a woman whose company benefitted from that spending. One recipient, the Blue Hills Civic Association, was granted $15 million over five years, much of it passed on to others.
A recent audit found that McCrory used the association as a pass-through that made sub-grants to other local nonprofits and businesses of his choosing, with little or no oversight.
One of the new GOP proposals is that the General Assembly follow the example of Congress, which requires the disclosure of which lawmaker arranged an earmark and an affidavit from the sponsoring legislator that neither they nor their families stand to benefit financially.
It also is recommending detailed vetting similar to changes proposed by the governor in his budget address on Feb. 4.
“When you have one-party rule that controls every single lever of state government, you get a level of arrogance, which we’ve seen right here in Connecticut,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield.
Senate Democrats responded by calling the proposals a ploy to tarnish a Democratic governor and lawmakers as they seek reelection in a year that most polling indicates is unfavorable to the party of the man now occupying the White House, Donald Trump.
“Let’s just be real for a second here. They’ve got nothing to run on,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. “They want to talk about corruption? They can talk about the $4 billion richer that their nominee, the man who sits in the Oval Office right now, is than he was the day he got sworn in as president United States. That’s corruption.”
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said election-year politics certainly are playing a role in the GOP proposals, but Democrats share their concerns about the quality of vetting and the ability of grantees to make sub-grants without legislative review.
“It’s an issue we can’t ignore,” Ritter said.
Ritter said the Lamont administration already was reviewing how to provide better oversight. Ritter and Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said separately the legislature is supportive of adding staff to the Department of Economic and Community Development, one of the state agencies that processes state grants.
Candelora did not consult with Ritter about their proposals prior to the press conference, but the speaker said he will discuss them with the minority leader.
After the Blue Hills audit, Lamont called on McCrory to be relieved of his committee assignments. He is the co-chair of the Education Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee. He also is one of two Senate Democrats sitting on the legislature’s Government Oversight Committee.
The Senate Democratic leadership declined to act on the governor’s request.
Despite the relatively recent creation of the Government Oversight Committee, the legislature has largely abandoned its oversight role. In 2017, the legislature disbanded its bipartisan Program Review and Investigations Committee, one of the reforms adopted in the 1970s.
Connecticut still has a well-regraded audit unit, the Auditors of Public Accounts, overseen by a Democrat and a Republican appointed by the General Assembly. But the legislature has no mechanism for reviewing or acting on the audits.
Candelora and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, proposed Thursday that the legislature restore the Program Review and Investigations Committee, create a new office of Inspector General and require public hearings on audit reports that raise questions about public spending.
The Government Oversight Committee has jurisdiction over legislation pertaining to the state’s watchdog agencies, including the Office of State Ethics, and has the authority to hold hearings on audit reports. But Candelora said they have shown no sign of performing that function in a meaningful way.
At the press conference, Republican displayed the recycled graphic, which had red strings drawing connections with several scandals, including two involving Lamont’s former deputy budget director, Kosta Diamantis, and headlines generated by exorbitant entertainment spending by a former higher education official.
It also had a new sign, inspired by the earmarks. It was labeled the “candy store.”
Rob Blanchard, a spokesman for Lamont, responded with a statement similar to one issued a year ago.
“As laughable as the taxpayer-funded string boards and candy store poster boards are that the Republicans bring out each year, Gov. Lamont takes any misuse of taxpayer funds or fraud extremely seriously,” Blanchard said.
“When issues arise, we investigate them, hold people accountable and make improvements through the law. That’s why he has instituted tighter controls, insisted on audits and even proposed earmark reform and reductions this session,” he said.
One of the lines on the recycled graphic was “small ball.” It was a reference to Lamont’s initial reaction to Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Terrence Cheng overspending on meals, alcohol and chauffeur services. He stepped down in August.
“The governor called it ‘small ball,’ and I’m not letting those words go, because that sent an incredible message to the public, when you had a chancellor misusing a credit card, which I think there should have been a criminal investigation,” Candelora said. “And the response from the leader of our state was, ‘That’s small ball.’”
Mark Pazniokas is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2026 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).