Free Republic

Dec 16, 2003 Connecticut Legislative Leaders Say Too Early to Talk of Impeaching Governor Over Cottage Work By Susan Haigh Associated Press Writer HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Democratic leaders say it's premature to talk of impeaching Republican Gov. John G. Rowland over revelations that friends and a politically connected contractor paid for work on his summer cottage, despite rank-and-file calls for such action. "Impeachment is a very serious step and I don't think anyone is looking at that step seriously right now," Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan said Monday. Sullivan spoke after the top four legislative leaders from both...

(Hartford-WTNH, Dec. 16, 2003 12:20 PM) _ This morning Congressman Christopher Shays spoke publicly for the first time about the controversy surrounding our governor. Last week the governor apologized for lying about who paid for improvements at his summer cottage in Litchfield. While some are calling for the governor to resign, the governor says he has no plans to do so. Watch the interview with Chief Capitol Correspondent Mark Davis (Sorry, transcript is not available.)

<p>HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -- Some Democratic legislators said Saturday they will pursue impeachment proceedings against Gov. John G. Rowland if he does not step aside.</p> <p>But a top aide said the Republican has no plans to leave office over his admission that a state contractor helped pay for work on his summer home.</p>

HARTFORD — Gov. John G. Rowland, 10 days after saying he paid for improvements at his Bantam Lake cottage, admitted Friday to accepting thousands of dollars in free work from a state contractor under federal investigation. He also received freebies from employees and friends. The work ranged from free gutter and drainage repair, a new ceiling, a free water heater and hot tub. Altogether, the work came from a company owned by the Tomasso family, whose firms have caught the eye of federal prosecutors, as well as from PJ Delahunty, a then-deputy commissioner of the state Department of Public Works....

NEW BRITAIN (AP) - Gov. John G. Rowland's stepson was arraigned Monday on a marijuana possession charge and applied for inclusion in a community service program. Ryan Largay, 18, appeared briefly in New Britain Superior Court. He answered "no" when asked whether he had ever been convicted of a drug offense. If Largay is accepted into the Community Service Labor Program for first-time offenders and successfully completes the program, the charge against him will be dismissed. Largay, was arrested Oct. 13 after officers broke up a party at a friend's home in Newington. He was charged with possession of less...

(Hartford-AP, Sept. 13, 2003 11:00 PM) _ Governor Rowland is putting his signature on a gay pride proclamation that for years, he wouldn't sign. The Hartford Courant reports he decided to sign the document after meeting with leaders and activists. The proclamation lauds the transgender, bisexual, gay, lesbian and intersex community for significant contributions towards the enhancement of the state's quality of life. Rowland has said in the past he wouldn't sign a document that mentioned transgender or bisexual people. The governor has signed a proclamation before recognizing Gay Pride Day. Activists are calling the governor's decision a milestone. Mike...

(New Haven-AP, June 10, 2003 8:30 PM) _ US Attorney General John Ashcroft will visit Connecticut tomorrow to meet with Governor Rowland, U-S Attorney Kevin O'Connor and members of the state's anti-terrorism task force. After the September Eleventh, 2001, terrorist attacks, Ashcroft set up 93 such task forces nationwide. Each is headed by a federal prosecutor. He's been visiting the states to discuss how agencies dealing with the terrorist threat are sharing information with each other. Connecticut Homeland Security Director Vincent DeRosa said he will use the meeting in New Haven City Hall to push for new federal standards that...

President George W. Bush has soared to a 64 -- 29 percent approval rating in Connecticut, a 15-point jump in six weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. "After dropping to a record low job approval in March, President Bush has bounced back after the U.S. victory over Iraq. Bush enjoys a higher job approval than Connecticut Senators Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd and Gov. John Rowland," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D. "Bush lost big in Connecticut in 2000, but now he beats all the leading Democratic contenders in head to head matchups, including the...

HAMDEN, Conn. -- A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that Gov. John G. Rowland's lead over Bill Curry has gone down, but he still has a 17 point lead a week before the election. The poll, released Tuesday, found that the Republican governor had a 55-38 percent lead over his Democratic challenge among likely voters. An Oct. 2 Quinnipiac poll had Rowland leading Curry 59-37 percent among likely voters. A University of Connecticut poll released Oct. 21 found Rowland had a 15 point lead among likely voters.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A University of Connecticut poll released Monday shows Republican Gov. John G. Rowland holding a 15 percentage point lead over Democrat challenger Bill Curry. Rowland's lead was down by three points from a UConn survey issued two weeks ago, but fell within that poll's sampling error margin. Forty-nine percent of likely voters surveyed said they plan to vote for Rowland on Nov. 5. Thirty-four percent said they support Curry. Fifteen percent said they were undecided. In the Oct. 9 poll, Rowland's margin over Curry was 49 percent to 31 percent with 18 percent undecided.

Undecided voters make up their minds as Rowland lead over Curry holds steady Associated Press October 19, 2002 HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut voters are making up their minds in the race for governor as Gov. John G. Rowland continues to hold a double-digit lead over Democratic challenger Bill Curry, a recent poll shows. The Republican incumbent leads his Democratic challenger 55 percent to 41 percent, nearly unchanged from two weeks ago, according to the poll commissioned by The Day of New London, the Journal Inquirer of Manchester and the Waterbury Republican-American. The three newspapers reported the poll results Saturday. Just...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A new University of Connecticut poll gives Republican Gov. John G. Rowland a 18 percentage point lead over Democrat challenger Bill Curry among those likely to vote in November. This latest survey, released Wednesday, is a 4 point increase for Rowland from last week's UConn poll, just above the 3.5 percentage point margin for error. "We can see the effect that money is having on this race," Poll Director Ken Dautrich said. "The governor continues his strong positive ad campaign and Curry has little money for the expensive media buys.

The first Gubernatorial Debate between Gov. John Rowland (R) and Bill Curry (D) is on NOW (7-8PM) on Channel 30. Debate is being held at the Garde Arts Center in New London. It is being hosted by The New London Day and The League of Women Voters.

Poll: Rowland lead building The Associated Press 10/2/02 8:11 AM HAMDEN, Conn. (AP)-- A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that Gov. John G. Rowland is building up his lead over Democratic challenger Bill Curry. The poll, released Wednesday, found that Rowland had a 59 percent to 37 percent lead over Bill Curry among likely voters. Among registered voters, Rowland had 54 percent to Curry's 32 percent, similar to his 51 percent to 34 percent lead among registered voters in a Quinnipiac poll released July 31. "Governor Rowland has halted Curry's momentum. This is the first Quinnipiac University poll in which...

Republican Gov. John G. Rowland has a 17 percentage point lead over Democrat challenger Bill Curry, according to a poll of registered voters released today by the University of Connecticut. The school's Center for Survey Research and Analysis put the two-term governor's lead at 16-points among those who say they likely will vote in November. That represents a three-point increase from a poll released last week, within the margin of error. The telephone poll of 685 registered voters was taken between September 22 and September 24. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

HARTFORD -- For the first time this year, Republican Gov. John G. Rowland has widened his lead over Democrat challenger Bill Curry, according to a poll released today. Although the gain is small - 5 percentage points - it appears Rowland is managing to change the momentum of the race for governor, said Ken Dautrich, poll director at the University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research and Analysis. "Since January, every poll we did, there was more and more slippage," he said. "For the first time, we've noticed a stop in the slippage."

Curry closes gap on Rowland Register Staff September 07, 2002 HARTFORD - Republican Gov. John G. Rowland's lead over Democrat Bill Curry Jr. has slipped to 9 percentage points, according to a new poll released Friday, leading the Rowland camp to acknowledge the contest has become a horse race. "We knew it was going to get down to single digits," Rowland campaign spokeswoman Nuala Forde said. "It was a question of when. It's happened. The race is on." The two-term GOP incumbent leads Curry 40-31 percent in the latest Connecticut Poll — down from 45-30 percent in July and 58-27...

RNC asks Lieberman to weigh in on remarks critical of Rowland August 20, 2002, 7:27 PM EDT WASHINGTON -- Controversy over a Connecticut Democrat's characterization of Gov. John G. Rowland as a "snake" and the "Prince of Darkness" spilled into the national political arena Tuesday, with the Republican National Committee asking Sen. Joseph Lieberman to weigh in. "I hope that Senator Lieberman will join me in publicly rebuking these offensive statements," Racicot said. "This is a disservice to both the political process and religious expression." Lieberman responded with a brief statement in which he condemned the remarks as "offensive and...

The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority made it official Friday, saying it expects embattled president Robert Wright to leave his $153,000-a-year job. Sources said a severance settlement giving him $80,000 or less is under discussion. Another possible provision - still under negotiation and discussed in a closed-door meeting Friday of the authority's board of directors - would be Wright providing testimony and other assistance in legal matters such as lawsuits, sources said. If Wright were fired by the board, rather than resigning under a "separation agreement," he would be entitled to a full year's severance pay under the terms of his...

Gov. John G. Rowland's former co-chief of staff told state lawmakers at a hearing Thursday that he had no communication with the governor about the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority's ill-fated deal with Enron Corp. when it was in the works. "Did anything pass between you and Gov. Rowland with regard to the impending CRRA board vote on Enron?" Sen. William H. Nickerson, R-Greenwich, asked Peter Ellef, Rowland's former co-chief of staff and chairman of the trash authority when the deal was negotiated in 2000. "Never, none, nothing," Ellef replied at an all-day "informational" hearing by the legislative finance and energy...