Budget impasse stalls lawmakers’ honeymoon

Breaking news out of Hartford — a Republican and a Democrat tied the knot. Now if the legislative colleagues of Art Linares and Caroline Simmons could put aside their political differences to end a budget stalemate, the newlyweds could go on their honeymoon.

The GOP senator from Westbrook and House Democrat from Stamford became Mr. and Mrs. on Saturday, with colleagues celebrating their cross-the-aisle matrimony in a postcard setting at the mouth of Connecticut River in Old Lyme.

But with the balance of power teetering in the Legislature — the Senate is tied 18-18 and Democrats control the House 79-72 — the power couple was forced to postpone their honeymoon trip to South Africa and the Seychelles.

The two-week sojourn had been the buzz at the Capitol during budget negotiations: Will they or won’t they go?

So the safari and snorkeling will have to wait for Simmons and Linares, who at least received the NutriBullet PRO 900 series juicer and Cuisinart slow cooker that were on their registry at Bloomie’s.

GoFundMe campaign to oust Malloy nears $5K

Never before has paying off a politician been so out in the open, even in “Corrupticut.”

The morning radio duo Chaz and AJ has started up a GoFundMe campaign to entice Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to leave office 14 months early with the hashtag #govsgottago.

As of Monday, $4,641 had been raised for Malloy’s “severance package.”

“If you live in Connecticut, then you already know: The Governor has really screwed this place up,” the tandem wrote. “He doesn't want to be here, and we don't want him to be here, so let’s make this happen.”

My, how the times have changed for the Democrat, who used to be a regular on the program and even obliged for a “rock ’em, sock ’em robots” duel with Republican foe Tom Foley during the final throes of their gubernatorial rematch in 2014.

Mired in the longest budget impasse of any state in the nation, Malloy hasn’t been a guest on the show in quite some time.

“We understand that the on-air characters that ‘shock jocks’ play are meant to be entertaining with their outlandish antics. But the reality is, for state leaders and for most taxpayers, the state budget is a very serious matter,” said Malloy spokesman Chris Collibee. “And the people of this state are counting on us to remain focused on the task at hand and to not be sidetracked by such silly stunts. To that end, the administration continues to work with legislative leaders in earnest toward a budget that puts Connecticut on the right track.”

Chaz & AJ set a goal of $1 billion for their GoFundMe campaign. No word on what the pair — we tweeted at them — plans to do with the money. Heck, maybe the state should do a GoFundMe campaign to wipe away its $3.6 billion deficit.

Drew confidant spreads the wealth

Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union tucked between France, German and Belgium, is a Jeopardy category unto itself.

It’s not to be confused with Geoff Luxenberg, a former state representativeturned-Democratic political consultant-turned-chief of staff to Middletown mayor and gubernatorial candidate Dan Drew.

Connecticut, it turns out, is Luxenberg’s Monopoly board.

The Drew adviser has made at least 53 political contributions for a total of $12,140 to Democrats statewide this year, filings with the state Elections Enforcement Commission show.

Many have been to Democratic Town Committees, from Norwalk to North Haven and from Stamford to Sherman.

Getting in good with local party stalwarts is the name of the name in Connecticut’s decentralized political system, as town committees effectively pick the delegates for their statewide nominating conventions, which will be held next May.

Candidates need at least15 percent of delegates to appear on a primary ballot, otherwise they have to go the petitioning route.

Luxenberg, whose surname is misspelled as Luxemberg on a number of the reports, gave $375 to Drew’s exploratory committee and $100 to Drew’s campaign committee.

Malloy