Don’t want to see local education funding and funding for Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport and 80 other townsdecimated?

Don’t want to see teacher layoffs and property tax increases?

Don’t want to see draconian cuts to non-profit groups that serve vulnerable seniors, the disabled, and the addicted?

Neither do I.

Please listen to my brief interview today with Mike Bellamy of WICC-AM 600.

Then pick up the phone.

Call House Democrats at 860 240-8500 and call Senate Democrats at 860 240-8600 during business hours.

Urge them to “Override Malloy’s Veto of the Bipartisan Budget!”

The time is now to let them hear you!

The Plymouth, CT school district will begin mailing layoff notices to teachers and staff on Monday.

Gov. Malloy’s veto of the bipartisan state budget bill is already punishing education and taxpayers in our state.

Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport taxpayers: 

• Our towns lose NO funding under the bipartisan budget plan!
• If the governor’s veto stands, our towns get NO funding.

So what can you do on Monday during business hours?

1. Call House Democrats at 860 240-8500
2. Call Senate Democrats at 860 240-8600
3. Tell them your name and town.
4. Tell them, “I am a CT taxpayer. I support the bipartisan budget. Stop punishing CT education and taxpayers. Do your job and override Gov. Malloy’s veto!”
5. Sign my petition at www.SenatorHwang.com

Help us urge Governor Malloy to sign the budget that was passed by the legislature with bipartisan support earlier this month.

This is a budget that not only avoids the governor’s draconian executive order that would decimate school funding, it is also a budget that creates stability for our towns and cities over the next two years, and for many years to come. It protects core services and also implements the structural changes our state needs to move in a new direction.

Sign this petition to tell Governor Malloy to  “Sign The Bipartisan Plan!”

The budget that passed the legislature, that is now waiting for Governor Malloy’s signature, includes the following:

• increases k-12 education funding.  We do it with a formula that takes into account poverty, enrollment and number of English Language Learners in order to help our neediest communities.
• does not shift teacher pension costs onto towns and cities, a cost that could fall on the backs of teachers, schools and property taxpayers.
• does not tax your cell phones.
• has no new tax on non-prescription drugs and medicines
• has no real estate conveyance tax hike
• has no sales tax hike
• has no tax hike on restaurants
• has no income tax hikes
• has no tolls or mileage taxes
• has no increased fees in energy bills

Our plan restores funding for core services to our neediest and most vulnerable residents, including:

• job opportunities for people with disabilities
• mental health grants
• substance abuse treatment to combat the opioid epidemic
• the CT Home Care program, which allows seniors to stay in their homes rather than being forced into nursing homes.
• Care4Kids
• Meals on Wheels

To control and reduce state government spending, our plan:

• contains an enforceable cap on state spending
• requires an effective cap on state borrowing
• requires the legislature to vote on state labor contracts

This is a budget that aims to steer our state in a new and sustainable direction.

The only way chaos can ensue now is if Gov. Malloy decides to veto this budget that has the support of Democrats and Republicans.

Sign this petition to tell Governor Malloy to  “Sign The Bipartisan Plan!”

ctpost.com

“The house always wins.”

We’ve all heard that phrase as it applies to casinos. And it can be applied to the expansion of gambling in Connecticut as well.

The house always wins — so who loses?

Property owners see their home values decrease.

Communities see increases in crime, traffic, drunk and impaired driving.

Local businesses see people spend money in the casino instead of in the local economy.

Vulnerable residents — seniors, low-income residents, and the addicted — are enticed by the glitz of the casino and often succumb to their lure.

When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the casino expansion bill into law, I noted that a casino somewhere in Fairfield County could one day be our reality. When he signed it, Gov. Malloy should have said, “See you in court,” because that’s where this issue will be for years and years. He placed a bad bet on a bad bill.

Mudrick and I are part of a diverse coalition of religious and grassroots groups comprised of Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Muslim, Methodists and Baptists. We have undertaken what many call a David vs. Goliath fight against the expansion of gambling in Connecticut.

In the face of an overwhelmingly powerful and well-funded pro-gambling expansion lobby, we are emphasizing the following points:

Casinos are a declining industry. We are over-saturated with casinos as it is. Despite a festive grand opening on Feb. 8, Rivers Casino in Schenectady, New York, has taken in about 25 percent less in gross gaming revenue than its projections.

Connecticut needs to be more creative in growing our economy and should instead focus on cultivating manufacturing, health care and biotechnology. Why are we looking to more gambling as a panacea to our problems?

Finally, look at Atlantic City. Now, some want to bring that devastation to Bridgeport? No thanks.

Because the house never loses, I will continue to raise awareness about the costs of expanded gambling. I will not stop speaking out for the victims, their affected families and the communities affected by addiction.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, a Republican, represents the 28th District of Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport. See www.NoMoreCasinosInCT.

org. Contact him at Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov or 800-842-1421.