In This Issue:

From Paddi's Desk

Municipal Roundup

Federal Focus

CT Agency Corner

This Day in CT History

This Week's News:

Contracting issues persist at DEEP after audit, according to contracting board

Partnership with nonprofit helps state cancel $30M in medical debt for 23,000 residents

Where did the time go?



Wasn’t it yesterday that we were all focused on the election and Thanksgiving and now we're making those New Year’s resolutions and digging out the 2025 calendars - boy did the time fly by.

For next year, I think the big thing for Connecticut is to get the two questions answered that everyone in politics is asking – WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY? Some may be wondering who is THEY.

New Britain Mayor, Erin Stewart and Governor Ned Lamont, of course! As the next Connecticut gubernatorial election comes into focus for real there are probably six to nine months before everyone will know that answer. As of December 2024, Governor Ned Lamont has not officially announced whether he will seek a third term in the 2026 gubernatorial election. He has indicated that he plans to make a decision sometime in 2025 so that he can focus on the challenging fiscal issues facing Connecicut in the coming Legislative session. Pundits seem to think he will make that final run in 2026.

Erin Stewart, a Republican, has expressed interest in running for governor in 2026. In September 2024, she announced she would not seek re-election as mayor, stating that stepping aside would allow her to consider a gubernatorial bid more seriously. Stewart plans to make a definitive decision by early 2025.

Governor Lamont has a great deal of respect for Mayor Stewart. He appointed her to the prestigious Board of Regents for the Connecticut State College and University system – though this week they are under fire for some bad judgment from the system president. Lamont praised Stewart's service as mayor and welcomed her potential candidacy, stating, "I love Erin. I've known her for quite a while. I wish her all the best, and they’ll miss her in New Britain. We’ll see what she wants to do next."

In Connecticut's history, several governors have pursued third terms with varying outcomes: John Dempsey (Democrat) served as governor from 1961 to 1971. He was re-elected twice after completing the unexpired term of Governor Abraham Ribicoff, effectively serving three full terms.

There are several governors who ran for a third term and lost. Former Governor, Abraham Ribicoff (Democrat), didn’t lose a gubernatorial race but left the governor’s office to serve as a U.S. senator, so his potential third term was never pursued. Then there’s the all-time favorite – Former Governor, Ella Grasso (Democrat). As the very first woman elected governor in her own right, she resigned during her second term due to illness and the question of a third term never arose.

No governor in recent history has won a third term. Connecticut's political climate often changes, making three-term governorships rare. This could be due to political fatigue, shifting voter priorities, or the challenges of sustaining widespread appeal.

Governor Ned Lamont, should he decide to run in 2026, would have a unique opportunity to potentially break the pattern in modern Connecticut politics.

Can’t wait to see what the next year Connecticut holds. So maybe Connecticut will see two three-time winners – Governor Lamont and UConn Men’s Basketball? That would be interesting for sure!

Three of the four first selectmen in towns impacted by the newly created Region 20 school district’s financial crisis are urging the district’s Board of Education to make deeper budget cuts beyond the $326 thousand already reduced from its $41.5 million 2024-25 budget. With a remaining deficit of $1.8 million, Litchfield First Selectman Denise Raap, Goshen First Selectman Todd Carusillo, and Morris First Selectman Thomas Weik reject the idea of a supplemental budget that could add further taxpayer burden. Acting Superintendent Kristen Della Volpe proposed supplemental budgets of $647.5 thousand to $1 million, but union resistance to furlough days and other financial pressures, such as pension liabilities and overspending in previous budgets, complicate the path forward. Collaboration between local leaders and the school administration is seen as vital to addressing the crisis comprehensively.

In Prospect, Town Council Chairman Jeff Slapikas has stepped down after 21 years of service, including 11 as chairman, citing the need to focus on his family and future endeavors. In a heartfelt letter to Mayor Robert J. Chatfield, Slapikas expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve and work alongside many dedicated individuals. Known for his fairness and leadership, Slapikas led his final meeting on Nov. 19, with Chatfield praising him as a tough but fair leader who fostered bipartisanship. In addition to his council tenure, Slapikas served on the Board of Recreation and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Town Council will hold an election to fill his seat in early 2025.

Christmas Shutdown?

In late 2013, during my first full year of federal service, the government briefly shutdown. Paychecks went out later, but for a few days, our soldiers, TSA agents, and maybe some lowly congressional staffers didn’t have a job. Fast forward 11 years later and we are right back to those dreadful days before Christmas. This past week, the House and Senate confirmed their support of a 1,500+ page spending bill that would fund the government until March. While they were getting ready to schedule votes, there was an incoming missile (rocket) that came in to blow up the support for the bill, Elon Musk. This has huge ramifications for Connecticut. Let’s jump into what that means. Welcome to the new world, where even sitting Senators (Rand Paul) are calling for a private citizen (Elon Musk) to be brought in as Speaker of the House.

The bill is huge but important. Care about submarines? There’s funding in it for that. Are you in a zone that was impacted by a summer/fall storm? There’s disaster funding in the bill. Do you commute to work? There’s important infrastructure money there. Have a soldier in your family? The bill funds their paychecks. Have an Army Corp of Engineer project in town? Sorry, no money for you. The list goes on and on. These funding bills are important, happen every year (or should) and kicking the can down the road isn’t good. Opening the discussion for the new administration is good, but not at the expense of a government shutdown down. This type of move is dangerous. Killing appropriations for integral programs and systems that keep the American public moving is a bad precedent, and our new normal of social media altering legislation has come sooner than many of us expected. While there is still time for something significant to occur and a stopgap bill to be passed, we are entering a new year with a brand new perspective around what should be funded and what shouldn’t. I think we can all agree that choosing not to fund key programs including paychecks for people protecting us is a bad way to start.  

This week, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon released the findings of his audit of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU). The audit, ordered by Governor Ned Lamont, was prompted by the questionable spending habits of CSCU Chancellor Terrance Cheng uncovered last month. The investigation found widespread misuse of state funds by nearly all campus presidents, including excessive spending on food, entertainment, transportation, and an overall lack of clear financial oversight and accountability.

CSCU leadership has acknowledged the need for policy changes and tighter fiscal controls, but that’s not enough for GOP lawmakers. Republican Minority Leaders Sen. Stephen Harding and Rep. Vincent Candelora have called for Cheng’s immediate termination and support an extended investigation. Democrats, Sen. Derek Slap and Rep. Gregg Haddad, Chairs of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee, said they will pursue “proposals this session to improve accountability within the CSCU system” this session.

Higher education advocates have been a huge part of the coalition calling to amend the fiscal guardrails to free up additional state dollars for Connecticut’s college and university system. I look forward to seeing how the findings of the audit impact those conversations with lawmakers.

December 20: The Youngest Person Ever Executed in America

Today in 1786, in the town of New London, 12-year-old Hannah Occuish was hanged after being found guilty of murdering a six-year-old girl.

Hannah’s execution marked the tragic end to a short life full of trials and tribulations. Born in 1774 to a Pequot mother and father of unknown ethnicity, Hannah was orphaned at an early age. Her poor social status, non-white ethnicity, and struggles with what most modern historians believe was an intellectual disability made life extremely difficult for the young girl. In 18th-century Connecticut, which lacked anything even remotely resembling a modern-day social safety net, children like Hannah often ended up as indentured servants.

While historians know relatively few of the details of Hannah’s life, records confirm she was 12 years old and indentured to an elderly New London resident in 1786. That summer, during strawberry-picking time, Eunice Bolles, a six-year-old girl from the same town, returned home after a day in the strawberry fields and complained to her parents that Hannah Occuish had bullied her and taken some of her strawberries. Six weeks later, on July 21, Eunice’s lifeless body was found along the Norwich Road, “mangled in a shocking manner” with “a number of heavy stones placed on the body, arms and legs,” according to a contemporary Connecticut Courant newspaper report.

The very next day, Hannah was questioned as a suspect. Initially, the preteen claimed to have seen four suspicious-looking boys in the area on the morning of the 21st, but, under cross examination, her story fell apart and she eventually confessed to the crime. In October, Hannah was indicted for murder, tried as an adult (there was no judicial precedent for treating juvenile crimes differently in 18th-century America), and quickly found guilty. The judge ruled that Hannah, still angry with Eunice Bolles over their clash in the strawberry fields, had murdered her in a rage and then covered her in rocks to try and make the incident look like an accident due to a collapsed stone wall. The magistrate then sentenced young Hannah to death, justifying his decision by telling her, “The sparing of you on account of your age would… be of dangerous consequence to the public, by holding up an idea, that children might commit such atrocious crimes with impunity.”



On December 20, 1786, after a lengthy execution sermon preached (and later published) by Reverend Henry Channing from Yale College, 12-year-old Hannah Occuish was hanged before a crowd of onlookers behind the New London meetinghouse. She remains the youngest person ever executed in America, and the last female executed in this state. A troubled girl met a disturbing fate, today in Connecticut history.

To view the full story on the CT Historian's website, click here.