Politics & Government
Alumnus Callahan says WCSU needs money for overdue repairs
State representative from New Fairfield believes university is 'making a comeback' under interim President Singh
By Scott Benjamin
NEW FAIRFIELD – The legislator apologizes for wearing running shorts and a campaign T-shirt.
Perhaps this is similar to the attire he wore at the Thursday night dorm parties a generation ago at Newbury Hall, near ninth avenue in Danbury on Western Connecticut State University’s (WCSU) midtown campus. The parties where they threw a frisbee in front of the dorm and someone would call the request line to WXCI-FM, the campus radio station, and say that, “The third floor wants to hear something from Huey Lewis."
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It is not a day for state Rep. Patrick Callahan (R-108) of New Fairfield to be wearing a suit and tie on the floor of the House as he attempts to acquire improvements for Squantz Pond.
It is time for a dad to get one of his children prepared for the upcoming academic year at the University of South Carolina.
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Callahan, WCSU, class of 1989, says he visited Newbury Hall about a year ago. It is need of repairs. So are other parts of the midtown and west side campuses. The local state legislative delegation met with university officials a year ago and again earlier this summer, and Callahan said the overall price tag is about $80 million.
He graduated three years before the start of the Roach era. James Roach became president of WCSU in 1992 and some years later said publicly that there was initially serious discussion about closing the midtown campus and moving those operations to the 364-acre west side campus,
which had opened in 1982. He opted to go in the other direction and add $100 million in new construction at midtown, according to a News-Times editorial. If you took a photograph of those 34 acres in 1999 or 2000, they didn’t look the same as when Roach had arrived.
There was a new library and a new student center; a parking garage with another one on the way. There was a new classroom building with a new science center on the way. The odd-shaped parking area near the library and Higgins Hall was now a Quad area. On the west side campus, they opened a new athletic center with two new dormitories and a student center still to come.
Eileen Fitzgerald of The News-Times of Danbury reported in 2009 that full-time enrollment had increased by 57 percent over the previous 10 years.
Now the state struggles to find $80 million to make needed repairs.
This year Alex Putterman of CT Hearst wrote the WCSU enrollment declined 26.7 percent from 2018 to 2023.
In April 2023, The News-Times ran a headline stating: “Union: CT’s threat to close Danbury’s WestConn campuses this summer as a budget cut is ‘egregious.’
How has it come to this?
This is the university where Mark Boughton, the longest serving mayor in Danbury’s history, earned his master’s degree. Jimmy Dyer, the youngest mayor in Hat City history, was serving on the State College Board of Trustees while he was an under-graduate. Callahan has two colleagues in the General Assembly – state Sen. Christine Cohen (D-12) of Guilford and state Rep. Corey Paris (D-145) of Stamford-who have bachelor’s degrees from WCSU. Some of the athletic teams have become regional powers.
There are teachers living in New York state, teaching in New York state who had no reasonable option for their master’s degree other than WCSU. The university annually ranks in the top eight among Danbury’s largest employers.
Callahan praised the work of interim WCSU President Manohar Singh to address the obstacles.
“They are making a comeback,” he said in an interview with Patch.com. “They are increasing their enrollment this year.”
State Rep. Bob Godfrey (D-110) of Danbury added, "[Singh] is involving the whole university community in the decision making. He's doing a great job."
Callahan said the university also is trimming its curriculum by eliminating courses that were only generating low enrollments.
“What WestConn needs is capital improvements,” he said. “It is tough to recruit new students when you have all these repairs.”
As for funding those repairs?
“I don’t know why WestConn can’t get the money,” Callahan commented. “I would love to have the Board of Regents make sure that they get it.”
“There is not another [university] within about a 45-mile radius,” he exclaimed. “There are a lot of kids who rely on it.”
Remarked Godfrey, "We need to spend more money on the state university system. The state is in a good economic place. We're running surpluses. There is the ability to do bonding [for the repairs]." He predicted that would be a priority for the local legislative delegation when the regular session starts next January.
Callahan annexed 57.83 percent of the vote in 2022 as he garnered a second term over Democrat Jeff Ginsberg of Sherman.
On November 5 he faces Democrat Anne Weisberg of Sherman, a Harvard Law School graduate who teaches leadership courses at New York University.
A Democrat has not captured the 108th state House District - which includes parts of New Fairfield, Sherman, New Milford and Danbury – since 1982 when then-24-year-old Larry Riefberg – now the Danbury Democratic Town Committee chairman – won the seat.
The Democrats did not field a candidate in the district in each election from 2012 through 2018.
In an interview with Patch.com in June, Weisberg endorsed the Democratic plan to get the gas-powered cars off Connecticut’s roads by 2035.
“I’m worried about the lake,” she said about Candlewood Lake, which borders New Fairfield, Sherman, Danbury, New Milford – as well as Brookfield.
“With climate change. Rising temperatures are impacting algae. . . The lake is really important to the economy of this area,” Weisberg said in the interview.
Callahan - who was chairman of the Candlewood Lake Authority for 10 years, the longest tenure of anyone in that position - said, "That's absurd. . . EV [electric vehicles] has zero to do" with that.
He said the prime environmental concerns with Candlewood Lake are ensuring that nearby septic systems are properly "functioning" and keeping harmful chemicals out of the water.
Callahan added that an electric vehicle mandate is not practical, since, among other things, the state doesn't have "the grid" or "the chargers" to handle the conversion.
Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) and other Democrats have lobbied for the conversion to electric cars by 2035, and Callahan expects they will make another attempt in a special session after the upcoming election to make it happen.
He said that these days the most discussed topic among voters are higher electric bills. In a CT Hearst column with state Rep. Greg Howard (R-43) of Pawcatuck they wrote that part of the recent surge in costs is due to a decision by PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) "that Eversource customers could be on the hook to cover expenses the utility incurred from a state-ordered shut-off moratorium and a 2017 Millstone power purchase agreements."
They wrote that those costs are "allowed to be passed on to all customers."
On a separate issue, with assistance from, among others, state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield and state Sen. Julie Kushner (D-24) of Danbury, Callahan says they've been able to make Squantz Pond in New Fairfield safer and more enjoyable.
There is now a reservation system and a 250-car limit.
“People have a better feel for the park because it is not overcrowded,” Callahan commented.
“It has been fantastic,” he exclaimed. “The people coming in from out-of-state can reserve it" up to 14 days in advance.
“I work great with the other side,” he said regarding his rapport with Democrats, including Lamont. “That is how we got Squantz Pond done.”
On another topic, Callahan said he believes that with $4.1 billion in budget reserve, the state can make further tax reductions for the fiscal year that will start next July.
“Obviously, I’d like for Connecticut residents to have more disposable income,” he commented. “I look at my cable bill. I look at every way to save $10 or $15 a month.”
What tax can be trimmed?
Callahan said, “Certainly a reduction in the sales tax,” which currently stands at 6.35 percent.
In 2023, the legislators and Lamont approved a reduction in income tax rates for the middle income and the lower income.
The General Assembly received a study on the car tax earlier this year. NBC 30 has reported that state Sen. MD Rahman (D-4) of Manchester has proposed phasing it out over five years. Municipalities would be able to tax a larger portion of the their real estate and commercial properties to offset the loss of revenue.
Former Govs. M. Jodi Rell (R-Brookfield) and Dannel Malloy (D-Essex) have sought to eliminate it without success. Municipal leaders have feared that the state would not be able to offset the revenue that they generate from the car tax.
Said Callahan, “If you take money from one place you’ve got to find it from another place. [You’re going to have] to see what we can do without displacing the municipal cash flow.”
On a separate issue, in May CT News Junkie reporter Jamil Ragland submitted a story with comments from Connecticut Education Association President Kate Dias under this headline: “A Teacher Shortage With No End In Sight.”
“It is tough to survive on a teacher’s salary,” commented Callahan, whose wife, Andrea, teaches kindergarten in Bethel.
He said some veteran teachers are seeking positions in higher-paying school districts in New York state, or in Ridgefield, Darien and New Canaan.
Callahan added that in many municipalities seeking a large salary increase for teachers is apparently not a viable option.
He explained, “The municipalities are hamstrung by their budgets."
Resources:
Interview with Patrick Callahan, Patch.com, on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
Phone interview with Bob Godfrey, Patch.com, on Monday, August 19, 2024.
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/city-honors-wcsu-president-247219.php
https://www.ctpost.com/opinion...
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/education/article/connecticut-college-enrollment-decline-19519046.php
https://patch.com/connecticut/...
