Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy Won't Seek Third Term

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Dannel Malloy won’t seek a third term as governor in 2018. He first thought about not running again last September and recently decided to finalize his decision. Malloy teared up as he thanked his wife, Cathy, his sons and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman for their support along with his staff.

"I am today announcing that I will not seek a third term as governor," Malloy said. "Instead, I will focus all my attention and energy – I will use all of my political capital from now through the end of 2018 – to continue implementing my administration’s vision for a more sustainable and vibrant Connecticut economy."

Malloy commented that he hasn't put his popularity above the state's best interest.

"I hope that person one day will recognize what we've done," Malloy said when asked about what he would say to those who disapprove of him. "...straightening out the state's long-term obligations was worth my sacrificing my personal popularity."

Malloy joked that he recently took up skiing again and that should've been a sign. He added that he looks forward to spending more time with his family and hopes to one day be a grandfather.

The governor has taken several lumps recently, including being named the third least-popular governor in the nation. He has an approval rating of 29 percent and a disapproval rating of 66 percent.

Republicans picked up several state Senate seats in last year’s election; the body is now evenly split between red and blue lawmakers. Democrats still control the State House of Representatives.

Potential gubernatorial candidate Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst was quick to welcome the news.

"Just being rid of Gov. Malloy will not be enough to save our state," Herbst said. "Connecticut must send a new generation of leadership, outsiders who haven't been a part of the problem, to Hartford if we are going to get different results from Hartford."

The Republican Governors Association was also quick to denounce Malloy.

"As the most unpopular Democrat governor in the country, Connecticut gave up long ago on any hopes of effective governance from Malloy, and now Malloy is giving up on Connecticut," said RGA Communications Director Jon Thompson.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said Malloy put Connecticut at the forefront of instituting a livable wage, quality healthcare access for all and reducing gun violence.

"And on a personal note, words can't convey the debt we all owe Dan for the steady, calming hand he laid on our state's shoulder in the hours, days, and weeks following the tragedy in Sandy Hook," Murphy said.

Malloy solidified his commitment to a more equitable education cost-sharing formula and municipalities picking up some of the teacher pension costs.

"We will not rely on gimmicks or one-time fixes, we will not push off debts that should be responsibly paid now, and we will not borrow to save ourselves from difficult but necessary reductions in spending," Malloy said.

Malloy bested Republican gubernatorial challenger Tom Foley narrowly twice, once in 2011 and another time in 2015. He also serves as head of the Democratic Governors' Association. (To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities click here.)

Related: Malloy Is America's Third Least Popular Governor: Survey

He served as the mayor of Stamford from 1995 to 2009. Previously Malloy was a successful assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, having won 22 out of 23 felony cases. He later joined a private law firm and served as a member of the Stamford Board of Finance for more than a decade.

Rumors circulated during the presidential election that Malloy may be given a federal post under Hillary Clinton if she had won. Malloy became one of her outspoken supporters and frequently criticized President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

He came into direct conflict with Pence on a couple of occasions. The two have feuded on issues including Syrian refugees, LGBT protection and business environments in their respective states.

Economy

A sluggish state economy and rising state employee pension and retiree medical costs have led credit rating agencies to warn investors that Connecticut may have a rough go for years to come.

General Electric's decision to move its headquarters to Massachusetts was seen as a big loss for Malloy and the state economy as several highly paid executives moved out of state.

On the plus side Sikorsky Aircraft and the state came to an agreement that will keep the company in the state for several years and increase local jobs.

Related: Connecticut's Fiscal Woes a Long-Term Issue: Moody's

Malloy previously said that rising fixed costs was a 70-years-in-the-making problem he inherited from previous administrations. The state pension was 42 percent funded when he took office and operated on a pay-as-you-go system up until 1984. Even after 1984 pension contributions were lowered in order to ease budget situations.

“I get blamed for tax increases, who should get blamed, my predecessors,” he previously said.

He added that he has run an administration that has been fiscally conservative when it comes to non-fixed costs; those costs grew at a rate of 0.8 percent between fiscal years 2011 and 2017 compared to an annual rate of 3 percent between 2006 and 2011.

Malloy's budget assumes Connecticut's economy will grow by 1.2 percent in fiscal year 2017 and accelerate to 1.8 percent by fiscal year 2020. That lags behind the total U.S. economy, which is projected to reach up to 2.6 percent growth before slowing to 2.1 percent in fiscal year 2020.

Meanwhile a recent study found that Connecticut had the sixth highest percentage of people moving out of state in 2016.

Malloy’s Legacy

Malloy has seen a number of natural and manmade cataclysms in his time as governor.

He became a very staunch advocate of gun control following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead. The state passed a number of bipartisan strict gun control measures following the incident.

He also had to deal with storms Sandy and Irene that devastated the state’s coastline.

Epic 2013 Blizzard Nemo dropped 3 feet of snow in some parts of the state. The unrelenting 2014-2015 winter saw several consecutive large snowfall events, and a rare 2011 October snowstorm knocked out power to much of the state.

Malloy has focused a good portion of his stint as governor on criminal justice reform.

Connecticut reached a 48-year low crime rate and a lower prison population.

The state decriminalized marijuana and legalized medicinal use under Malloy, but he isn’t as keen on legalizing recreational use of the drug. Simple possession crimes have been reduced from felonies to misdemeanors.

Connecticut now only prosecutes 16- and 17-year-olds in adult court for the most serious of crimes. Malloy is seeking to broaden those protections to even older people, but he hasn’t been met with success yet. An effort to reform the state’s bail system hasn’t gained traction either.

Malloy has been a strong proponent of public education and has increased funding to local schools during his tenure.

Connecticut implemented one of the more successful health care exchanges after the passing of Obamacare with more than 280,000 residents enrolling in the first open enrollment.

The state has enacted a number of protections for the LGBT community under Malloy. He said he took pride in standing up for refugees and others.

Connecticut became the first state in the nation to enact mandatory sick leave time for workers, and the minimum wage has been increased to $10.10 an hour.

Malloy has also advocated for a multi-billion dollar investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure, but it is unclear if all of his proposals will receive funding.

"Who would have thought that a kid who was spastic when he was born was thought to be mentally retarded as far as the fourth grade, whose wife had to type all of his papers as I dictated them," Malloy said.

"Would ever be governor who would ever be mayor... it's the best job ever and we've loved every minute of it, but it's a new chapter," his wife Cathy finished.

"I thought I was supposed to dictate that," Malloy quipped.

Budget Woes, New Taxes Proposed

Lawmakers are currently working out ways to close an estimated $1.7 billion state budget deficit. Malloy is seeking $700 million in collective bargaining concessions, and a contingency plan calls for more than 4,000 state employee layoffs if concessions aren’t made.

Malloy said Thursday that his proposed budget is built with the state's best interest in mind, regardless of the political consequence for himself or anyone else.

"In fact, it’s been said by some that if I were interested in a third term, I might’ve put forward a different looking budget," he said. "I’m not sure I agree with that, but I take it as a compliment."

Malloy’s budget proposal also sought to effectively shift more state aid toward the state’s poorest communities at the expense of the majority of the state’s municipalities.

The proposal to shift one-third of teacher pension costs to municipalities was viewed as unpalatable by many lawmakers. Republicans criticized the proposal as an effective tax increase that would be enacted at the local level.

Malloy is also seeking to eliminate the popular property tax credit that would cost 874,000 middle class tax filers about $105 million per year. He is also proposing raising the cigarette tax to New York State levels and allowing municipalities to tax hospital land and buildings.

A number of other potential effective taxes have been proposed by lawmakers as well. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said that tolls would likely be coming to the state sometime in the next 18 months.

Another proposal calls for a fee on plastic grocery bags. Lawmakers are also considering either eliminating the five-cent bottle deposit fee or increasing it to 10 cents.

A carbon tax on products including home heating oil, gasoline and some electrical generation is also being floated by legislators.

Potential Challengers

A number of both Republican and Democratic challengers have sprung up in the past few months.

On the Republican side, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst are exploring state office positions, including potential governor runs.

Democrat Middletown Mayor Dan Drew is also exploring a run for governor. State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. is reportedly considering running for governor too as a Democrat.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim wants a ruling on whether he could qualify for public election funds despite being convicted of a felony related to his previous stint as mayor. He is said to be considering a run for statewide office, potentially lieutenant governor, according to the Connecticut Post.

Hartford Courant columnist Colin McEnroe speculated about other potential candidate prospects, some of whom haven’t made announcements yet. He made some analyses on the chances of Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Democratic Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Ted Kennedy among other candidates.

Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images