By Mark Pazniokas

HARTFORD – The word never will pass Chris Murphy’s lips, at least not in public. But the congressman is doing everything he can to create the impression that his winning the Democratic nomination for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman’s seat is, well, inevitable.

He is steadily rolling out endorsements, and his campaign bank account dwarfs those of his two best-known Democratic rivals, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and state Rep. William Tong.

Murphy’s cash on hand grew by $457,305 to about $2.5 million in his most recent filing on Jan. 31, nearly 10 times the $46,252 net gain reported by Bysiewicz, who has $889,805 in her account.

Tong is spending more than he is taking in. After raising an impressive $565,572 in his first weeks as a candidate, his cash on hand shrunk from $527,011 in July to $362,844 in October to $279,445 in January.

“Right now, it seems inevitable that Murphy is going to be the candidate,” said John F. Droney Jr., a former Democratic state chairman, one of the Democrats lining up behind the 38-year-old three-term congressman.

Perhaps.

Inevitability has had a couple of bad election cycles.

Hillary Clinton’s nomination was inevitable until Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses in 2008. Inevitability was Mitt Romney’s friend this year, until it started mocking him.

A headline in the Huffington Post on Jan. 17: “Mitt Romney’s nomination looks inevitable.” Five days later, Huff Po proclaimed, “Mitt Romney no longer inevitable.” This week, the site called him both “inevitable and unelectable.”

“The last thing you want is what Romney’s going through,” said a prominent Republican operative, who did not want to be quoted by name because of his association with a GOP candidate.

Without the caucuses, primaries and debates that give the GOP presidential race the back-and-forth of ping-pong, the dynamic of a Senate race is more deliberate, less volatile. A new phase begins Thursday, with the first of a series of campaign forums featuring all three Democrats.

Inevitability is fueled by quarterly financial reports, limited public polling and the careful doling out of endorsements, a game played by Murphy and Linda McMahon, the 2010 Republican nominee trying again in 2012. Former Rep. Chris Shays, R-4th District, is also seeking the Republican nomination.

McMahon’s campaign announced four rounds of endorsements in the past two weeks, the most recent from five Republican State Central Committee members Wednesday.

Not long after beginning his campaign, Murphy was endorsed by Connecticut’s other four members of the U.S. House delegation. A few days later, he was endorsed by Attorney General George Jepsen, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Comptroller Kevin Lembo.

In December, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, seemed to signal national Democratic donors that Murphy was the anointed one.

“When we go out and talk to people in states, we look at who is the strongest candidate, who can win, who has the kind of support,” Murray said. “And in that state, Chris Murphy is a just a great candidate, and I expect him to win.”

Shays and McMahon are Murphy’s allies, in an odd way, in their treatment of him as the inevitable nominee. The two Republicans have largely ignored Tong and Bysiewicz, focusing their jabs at Murphy.

“I think the only brand we’re looking for is a grass-roots campaign that is designed to win,” said Ken Curran, Murphy’s campaign manager. “That’s what Chris did in his past elections, and that’s what he’s doing now.”

Curran said Murphy has no choice but to focus on McMahon now, even as he competes with Bysiewicz and Tong for the nomination. Given her independent wealth — McMahon spent $50 million of her own money on her campaign in 2010 — Murphy has to shape his general election message.

It doesn’t hurt, of course, that it also adds to the sense he is the inevitable nominee.

“It helps him, if he can build the case. It helps him raise money and get endorsements and support,” former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2^nd District, said of Murphy. “At this stage in the game, I don’t see anybody else in the race who is presenting a reasonable alternative to Chris Murphy.”

Simmons knows firsthand the challenge of facing a candidate deemed inevitable. He was the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2010, but McMahon’s money eventually made her seem unbeatable in a Republican primary.

Shays acknowledges that one of his challenges is to overcome the air of inevitability that some GOP activists see around McMahon’s nomination.

His refrain when seeking support is to convince Republicans that he is intent on a primary.

“The primary is on Tuesday, Aug. 14, and there will be a primary,” Shays said. “Whoever wins the convention, there will be a primary. The decision is not going to be made by party officials.”

George Gallo, strategist for the state House Republican caucus, campaign consultant and former GOP state chairman, said every candidate tries to establish “an air of inevitability, the air of confidence, the air of we are on the winning team.”

It can carry a risk.

“The negative side is it’s usually at the expense of the grass roots,” Gallo said. “You run the risk of being the establishment candidate. And being the establishment candidate in this day and age is not the good housekeeping seal of approval.”

And that is exactly the card the Bysiewicz campaign is playing.

“I definitely think he is setting himself up as the establishment figure,” Jonathan Ducote, her campaign manager, said of Murphy.

“Inevitability? Maybe, but it’s not something a lot of these Democratic Town Committees are pushing back on,” said Marc Bradley, the campaign manager for Tong. “Every time we go to these town committees, people are tired of the Wasington deal. This is a guy who has been down there for six years and hasn’t passed a bill.”

But Gallo said Murphy, who has a reputation as a grass-roots organizer, seems somewhat inoculated against the establishment rap, even though he has held elective office since he was 27, winning two terms in the state House, two in the state Senate and three in Congress.

“Murphy, he came up by being a grass-roots guy,” Gallo said. “He in many respects created two stories, two personal campaign stories, the insider and the hardworking grass-roots guy. Essentially, you’ve got two mints in one, and you hope voters buy both.”

Droney said Murphy seems well aware of the pitfalls of being seen as the inevitable nominee.

“You’ve got be inevitable without being obvious, inevitable without being arrogant, inevitable without being lazy, inevitable without being uninterested in other points of view,” Droney said. “There’s a whole list of dos and don’ts if you are going to play the inevitable card.”

Bysiewicz is clinging to her singular status in Connecticut politics: She is the only convention runner-up to win a statewide primary and then go on to be elected. In 1998, she lost the nomination for secretary of the state at the convention, then won a primary and the general election.

Curran said if others see Murphy as inevitable, it is a compliment: “If people are drawn to us as the strongest Democratic candidate, then we’re doing our job right.”

With Lieberman not seeking re-election, Bradley said, “The only thing that is inevitable in this race is that the people of Connecticut are going to have a new U.S. senator in November.”

This story originally appeared at www.CTMirror.org.

By Khalil Abdullah, New America Media

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The $25 billion home mortgage settlement announced this week will be especially important for ethnic families, said Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, in a call-in press briefing Friday.

Acknowledging that the mortgage crisis has affected millions of Americans, “particularly African-American, Latino and other minority families who were targeted for predatory loans and other practices,” Donovan provided more details on the huge settlement between 49 state attorneys general and five of the largest mortgage servicing firms, which signed the deal. Only Oklahoma did not sign on.

Latinos, Blacks Lost Most Wealth

He estimated that Latinos lost “roughly two-thirds of their wealth in just the four years before President Obama set foot in the Oval Office.” African-Americans lost about half their wealth during the same period. He said he did not have the numbers of those eligible categorized by minority groups.

Donovan said the settlement “can’t undo the pain of this crisis simply by writing a check.” He also conceded that even if the settlement fulfills its objectives, will it not alone solve the mortgage crisis’s detrimental impact on the economy.

Rather, Donovan said, he saw the settlement as taking an important step on the “path toward stability for our housing market.” Other steps, he noted, are initiatives such as HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization program and Project Rebuild, a $15 billion program he said would re-employ approximately 250,000 construction workers—if it need gets congressional approval.

Under the mortgage settlement, those who hold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages are not covered. However, borrowers whose mortgages were handled by Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will have several options to seek reimbursements and the possibility of mortgage restructuring.

Donovan specifically addressed a provision in the settlement that he said has been misunderstood. He explained that about 750,000 borrowers, who were inappropriately charged servicing fees or whose paperwork was misplaced, will be eligible to receive between $1,500 and $2,000 each–without having to sue separaretly for the compensation.

However, contrary to some initial public reaction, he said, these payments, totaling $1.5 billion of the settlement, do not represent the full extent of direct financial compensation to those who lost their homes.

Donovan explained that full compensation will be available through a separate process. Additionally, because mortgage holders are forfeiting no legal rights under the settlement, consumers still have the option of taking their respective lender to court.

Mortgage Holders Can Renegotiate Principal

At the heart of the settlement is not only the money targeted for specific states or pruposes, such as to expand housing counseling services, but the opportunity for homeowners to negotiate with their lenders to reduce the principal amount their mortgage rate is based on.

This will help many whose houses are now “under water,” with mortgages more expensive than the post-recession value of their property, to remain in their homes.

Donovan said there will be incentives for the mortgage lenders built into the process. In addition, he continued, Bank of America, which acquired one of the most egregious predatory lenders, Countrywide, will be taking more extensive actions to redress loan delinquencies.

Military mortgage holders are also being extended options designed to fit their often unique circumstances. For instance, active duty personnel are frequently required to relocate when some are holding mortgages that exceed the value of their homes in a depressed market. Donovan said special benefits will be available to them.

In addition, Donovan said the Homeowner Bill of Rights, recently proposed by President Obama, would also go a long way to provide transparency for those seeking a mortgage.

“No more lost paperwork, no more run-arounds, no more excuses,” Donovan said.

The HUD Secretary said the settlement process will be overseen by an independent monitor with enforcement through the courts. He went on that the full details of the plan have yet to be determined, and he estimated that it will take about a month before eligible mortgage holders will begin to be contacted in an outreach process that will probably take between six and nine months.

In the meantime, Donovan said information on the settlement is available is now at www.mortgagesettlement.com.

HARTFORD — Businesses in Southern New England are expecting to hire more workers.

That’s according to a First Niagara Survey of Southwestern New England Business Leaders released on Tuesday.

According to the bank’s first survey, more leaders are positive than negative about their local state economies based on the assessment of current economic conditions and their expectations for 2012. As a result, they expect to increase their workforce sizes. Of the that amount, nearly half expect increasing revenues in 2012.

Private business leaders in Southwestern New England plan to increase their workforces in 2012 by 28 percent, compared to 9 percent, who expect to decrease. Another 63 percent expect their workforce sizes to stay the same.

The First Niagara Survey of Southwestern New England Business Leaders features responses from 324 chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other senior managers of private businesses in six Connecticut and two Massachusetts counties currently served by First Niagara.

Responding were business leaders from the Connecticut counties of Fairfield, Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland and Windham; and the Massachusetts counties of Hampden and Worcester.

Regarding expectations for the economy in their state for 2012, 41 percent of the business leaders say it will be a little or considerably better, compared to 24 percent who say a little or considerably worse. Another 35 percent of business leaders say they expect it to be the same.

As a barometer of business leader confidence, the First Niagara survey uses an overall Confidence Index as a measure of business leaders’ current assessment of and future expectations for economic conditions regarding the state economy and their specific industries.

By Keith M. Phaneuf

HARTFORD — More than 70,000 Connecticut households took advantage of a new tax credit for the working poor during just the first month of state income tax filings, according to the Department of Revenue Services.

The claims filed under the new state Earned Income Tax Credit were hailed both by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration and a leading private, nonprofit anti-poverty group as evidence of the new program’s necessity as well as its success.

“Higher than anticipated EITC applications show just how hard hit these families were during the recession,” Malloy said late last week.

The 70,000 households that have claimed the credit to date have qualified for approximately $49.3 million to date, according to the administration.

“This is good public policy and helping rebuild our middle class,” said Liz Dupont-Diehl, policy director for the Connecticut Association for Human Services. “We are delighted that the word is getting out about the EITC, and we’re glad Governor Malloy recognizes the power of more money in the hands of working people to stimulate the economy.  Even beyond the immediate benefit of families spending their EITC returns in their local communities is the fact that they are able to build a base for family economic success.”

Malloy and the General Assembly established the state credit last May effective in the 2011 tax year. But the first tax returns taking advantage of that credit could not be filed until January.

The new state credit is available to households eligible for the federal EITC, and is equal to 30 percent of the value of the federal credit.

Technically families earning up to $49,000 per year can qualify for a federal Earned Income Tax Credit, depending on the number of children they have. But most EITC recipients earn less than $20,000.

The average federal EITC claimed by Connecticut families over the past three years is about $1,800. Based on that number, the average state EITC — had it existed during that time — would have been $540.

Combined with the federal EITC, the maximum payment a Connecticut family can receive is $7,476.

About 190,000 Connecticut households claimed the federal EITC in 2010, and the association is projecting that more than 200,000 households will be eligible to claim both a federal and state credit on their 2011 tax returns.

The legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated last spring that the state credit would cost state government $110 million this fiscal year. It was unclear Monday if the January claims would alter that projection. The deadline for filing state income tax returns for the 2011 tax year is April 15.

Though the earned income tax credit’s main purpose is to help poor families save more, advocates say a significant portion is spent on groceries, clothing and other basic needs — thereby stimulating the local economy.

“We believe it is already making a difference in residents’ lives,” Malloy said. “At the same time, it’s a real reinvestment in the state’s consumer economy.”

The Connecticut Association of Human Services is coordinating an outreach campaign to steer needy households to free tax preparation services also run by nonprofits.

The association manages a referral list of more than 40 nonprofits that provide free tax preparation services for families with annual incomes below $50,000, which would cover all EITC-eligible households, Jim Horan, the group’s executive director, said. The Infoline service run by the United Way of Connecticut, which can be accessed by dialing 2-1-1, also can refer poor families to free tax preparation services.

HARTFORD – Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Friday launched a first-of-its-kind contest for college students in Connecticut to produce a 30 second video that answers the question “Why Should I Vote?” as part of the “Speak Out Connecticut”

This is a series of events and public messages meant to increase voter participation for the 2012 elections.

“2012 is going to be a major election year, and we clearly have a lot of work to do if we want to reach that younger generation of voters and get them to participate in elections,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections officer. “I want our students to get creative and tell all of us – and their peers – why it is important to show up and cast ballots. So much is at stake – from our economy to foreign policy, education and healthcare. It is incumbent upon those of us in government to reach out to the millennial generation. We must engage them in conversation about all of these issues, and talk to them about the huge impact they can make by experiencing Democracy firsthand and encouraging others to vote. I can’t wait to see what our contestants come up with!”

Video submissions in DVD form are due to the Secretary of the State’s office by 5:00 p.m. on April 16.

The contest is open to any college student in Connecticut, including community colleges and traditional four-year institutions. Connecticut residents attending college in other states may also participate in the “Speak Out Connecticut” competition.

Contest rules and guidelines can be found online as part of Secretary Merrill’s Civic Engagement Initiatives at www.sots.ct.gov.

HARTFORD — Did you know that African-American and West Indian men from Hartford were among the 106 Tuskegee Airmen? Actually, there was one woman.

Yep. A few of them are still alive–and still in Hartford! But you rarely, if at all, hear anything about these people in Connecticut.

You would think a state that has these historical gems alive would want to celebrate this aspect of American history.

Well, someone thought it was worth celebrating. Councilman Kyle Anderson, with the help of the John E. Rogers African-American Cultural Center, has sponsored an exhibit of these local and national heroes.

The exhibit is now at City Hall and will be there throughout February.

Go!

Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit

City Hall

550 Main St.

Hartford, CT

WATCH: TUSKEE AIRMEN VISIT WHITE HOUSE

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama invited a group of American heroes to the White House for a very special movie night. The guests were retired Tuskegee Airmen, the African American veterans who overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II, and whose achievements paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

The movie was “Red Tails”, a new film that tells the Tuskegee story. “Red Tails”was produced by George Lucas, directed by Anthony Hemingway and stars Cuba Gooding Jr., who all joined the President, the First Lady and the Airmen for the screening in the White House theater.

HARTFORD — Here’s an important step in the upcoming presidential election in 2012.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Friday joined Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola for a news conference at the State Capitol to announce the names of the presidential candidates who have qualified for the ballot in Connecticut’s presidential preference primary on April 24, 2012.

Today also marks the first day that primary petitions become available for presidential candidates not selected for the ballot by Merrill.

“We are getting closer to a very exciting decision for Connecticut voters – who do they want to run for President for the Republican and Democratic nomination,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “Voters will have an important choice to make when they go to the polls in April so I encourage all voters to start educating themselves about the candidates now.”

State GOP Chair Jerry Labriola said the Republican presidential primary campaign “continues to be a wide open, extremely competitive race and that means a lot will be at stake on primary day in Connecticut,” . He sees this move as a  ”great opportunity for our geographically small state to be a big player on the national stage.”

The Republican National Convention is slated for  August 2012.

The following Republican candidates will have their names on the ballot (order will be randomly selected in March):

• Newt Gingrich; Mitt Romney; Rick Santorum; Ron Paul;

President Barack Obama’s name was also selected as qualifying for the April 24 ballot, though there will not be a Democratic Presidential Preference Primary in Connecticut if no other candidates qualify for the ballot through the petition process, officials said.

According to Connecticut General statutes 9-465, “A candidate’s name may be placed on a party’s primary ballot in one of two alternative ways:

(1) by the Secretary of the State, if in the Secretary’s opinion the person’s candidacy for the party’s presidential nomination is generally and seriously advocated or recognized according to reports in the national or state news media ;

2) by petition signed by at least one per cent of the enrolled members of the party in the state according to the most recent active-list enrollment records on file in this office.”

The minimum signature requirement will be calculated from enrollment figures  be compiled as of November 8, 2011. (Estimated using the October 26, 2010 enrollment compilation, the approximate requirements would be 7,500 Democrats or 4,100 Republicans.)

Petitions become available today at noon, and must be submitted to local Registrars of Voters by March 2, 2012.

By Mark Pazniokas

On the eve of his second State of the State address, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy refused to go off-message, even if the topic was a favorable poll from a surprising source: a conservative think tank that often criticizes the Democratic governor.

“I don’t want to talk about polls,” Malloy said. “We don’t comment on polls.”

Not even a poll that shows him with a majority approving his job as governor? In poll speak, Malloy finally is above water: 51 percent approve and 46 percent disapprove of his 13 eventful months as Connecticut’s 88^th governor.

The poll commissioned by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy showed a net improvement of 19 percentage points from the end of his first session in June, when his approve/disapprove numbers were 42 percent to 56 percent.

He essentially is back where he was a year ago, when Yankee had him at 50 percent to 46 percent.

“I will say this, that we have traversed a tremendous amount of territory in the last 13 months, going from a state where we had the largest per-capita deficit in the nation to a point where we establish our means and live within them,” he said.

Malloy intends to reinforce that message Wednesday.

He seldom falters when it comes to message discipline. It is a trait on display Tuesday during a press conference explaining another of his planned education reforms, and it will be evident Wednesday in his State of the State.

He waved off questions about House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan’s call for boosting the minimum wage by $1.50 in two steps, which could give Connecticut the highest minimum wage in the nation.

“I’m just trying not to be dragged into every conversation that is out there,” Malloy said.

He has abandoned thoughts of proposing a major expansion of legalized gambling, an idea that was met with legislative opposition as he floated several trial balloons.

Malloy told reporters Dec. 28 that the Connecticut Lottery was exploring Keno, an electronic drawing game that other states allow in bars, restaurants and Keno parlors. ”I think the Lottery wants to look at Keno,” Malloy said then. “It certainly has to be one of the things on the table.”

On the eve of his speech, it is off the table — a potential distraction gone.

His State of the State will reinforce the story he has told time and again: Dannel P. Malloy, the first Democratic governor in 20 years, has stabilized the state’s finances by managing for the long-term.

“I have said this from day one: I manage for long-term results, hoping there is a short-term by-product, and we’re going to continue to manage on a long-term basis,” Malloy said.

He intends to defend the difficult fiscal choices made in his first year, then pivot to the priority he set last summer: education reform. His discussion of fiscal policy may take longer than anticipated in the summer.

Despite a $1.5 billion tax increase, the state’s finances hover somewhere between deficit and surplus. Based on recent revenue estimates, Malloy will have to be diligent to end the year in the black.

Malloy said the continued fiscal challenges have not forced him to curtail his ambitions for education reform. On Tuesday, he folded his arms and smiled when his education commissioner, Stefan Pryor, talked about making Connecticut a national player in education.

“Education reform, a package will be adopted this year,” Malloy said. “The full impact of that package will not be understood for years, several years, to come. We manage for long-term results, not short-term results.”

It is a message Malloy has repeated since taking the oath of office 13 months ago. It was one he repeated three times on Tuesday.

“I didn’t manage for short-term results when I was the mayor for 14 years. I’m not going to switch and manage for short-term results as governor,” Malloy said. “I’m going to do what I think is the right thing to do, whether it’s popular or not, to try to move the state forward.”

According to the Yankee Institute, it is popular in his second February as governor with precisely 51 percent of voters.

The Yankee telephone poll of 500 likely voters was conducted Feb. 1 and 2 by Pulse Opinion Research. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
This story originally appeared at www.CTMirror.org.

By Rose Henry, Staff Writer

HARTFORD – Ask Meryth Andrews and she can tell you about the founding of the grassroots organization now with renewed passion for community economic development through education and preservation: the John R. Rogers African-American Cultural Center.

That’s because Andrews is the granddaughter of John E. Rogers. Rogers was a local self-taught historian, who championed the teaching of black history. Like Andrews, the new JERAACC board members are dedicated to reviving the organization and cementing its status as “the root in the Greater Hartford community, always there to build up the community through pride and empowerment.”

Of the many activities slated for the 2012 agenda is a black history program: “Race and Representation in Black Connecticut: From Black Governors to Black Legislators in the Age of Barack Obama.”

The free event will be on Feb. 9, 5: 30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Hartford Public Library Atrium. Light refreshments will be served. The event will also feature an exhibit of nineteenth-century black governors and twentieth-century black leaders, including local members of the Tuskegee Airmen.  Historians Ann-Marie Adams of Rutgers University and Katherine Harris of Central Connecticut State University, will lead the community-wide discussion.

Andrews was bursting with enthusiasm about the exciting programs and activities slated for this year.

Citing Marcus Garvey often-quoted words that a people without knowledge of their history is like a tree without roots, organizers laid bare the essence of the organization.

“This is one of the many reasons why the John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center, Inc. is culturally relevant to the Greater Hartford community, particularly during Black History Month,” said Andrews, a local attorney.

This year, the national black history month theme is focused on the black female with Ida B. Wells as the iconic image representing the strength, beauty and resilience of black women across the African Diaspora.

Board members said the Cultural Center “hopes to be the root in the Greater Hartford community…always there to build up the community through pride and empowerment.”

“I think it’s important to build our present and future with the [JERAACC] collection,” said Eugene Green, long-time board chair and a 35-year veteran teacher in the Hartford Public School system. “We had the chance to study our past and then project our future.”

That’s where the new leadership team comes in, organizers said.

“Dr. Rogers was so very passionate about Black History, more specifically the history of Blacks in Connecticut,” Andrews said. “As a lifetime resident of the Greater Hartford area and the granddaughter of Dr. John E. Rogers, it is my responsibility and goal to see this project to fruition.”

The Howard University Alumni Club of Greater Hartford will underwrite a portion of the event.

Donations for black history month themed, school-aged books are being accepted by for the Howard University Alumni Club of Greater Hartford’s Read Across America Program. For more information about HUACGH reading program, contact: Kristen Clark at huaa_region_one@yahoo.com.

For more information about the Hartford Public Library black history month program, call Ira Revels at 860-695-6320.