Pizza moves closer to becoming Connecticut’s ‘state food’
Whether it’s thin, crisply charred New Haven-style, thick, chewy Sicilian or — heaven forbid — deep dish Chicago-style, pizza may win the distinction of becoming Connecticut’s “state food,” after a unanimous vote Wednesday in the legislature’s Government Administration & Elections Committee.
Capping a more than three-hourlong meeting in which lawmakers mostly argued about arcane voting and election laws, they nearly relished the opportunity to talk briefly about something else, although one lawmaker might have a hard time in the future walking into his local doughnut shop.
If approved in the House and Senate, the bill would thrust the iconic baked dough, sauce and toppings into the realm of state mascots along with State Hero Nathan Hale, State Heroine Prudence Crandall, the praying mantis as state insect, the robin as state bird and the sperm whale as state mammal.
Sponsored by New Haven lawmakers whose taste in pizza was reinforced as recently as last week, when Vice President Kamala Harris availed herself, her staff and traveling reporters with a 15-pizza variety dinner from Sally’s Apizza, the bill gave committee members about five minutes of laughs.
The bill next moves to the House of Representatives.
“I just want to say that we have good pizza in Meriden too, not just New Haven,” said Rep. Hilda Santiago, D-Meriden, during the brief debate.
Rep. Stephanie Thomas, DNorwalk, went reluctantly along for the bipartisan ride. “I just want the record to reflect that as a Jersey girl, I’m not admitting that Connecticut pizza is better than New Jersey pizza if I vote yes on this bill,” Thomas said.
“Thank you representative,” said Rep. Dan Fox, D-Stamford, cochairman
of the committee, whose district includes the original Colony pizzeria. “Point well taken.”
Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, said he was torn on the issue because of a local landmark.
“Mr. Chairman we deal with a lot of serious issues on this committee and I recognize that we have Neil’s Donuts here in Wallingford and I put in a bid for donuts to be
our state food,” Fishbein said, flashing a wry smile. “When I ran across this bill...I don’t know how to vote on it. I’m probably not going to decide until it comes up to my name. I’m truly in a quandary today on this bill. There is a lot of good food here in our good state and I don’t know whether we have a benefit from the possible passage of this.”
“I’m not sure if I’m the mostpersuasive person to potentially speak to Representative Fishbein, but I would offer to him that I don’t believe we have a state dessert or a state breakfast food that the doughnut might qualify for in the future,” chimed in Sen. Mae Flexer, DKillingly, co-chairwoman of the committee. “So perhaps pizza isn’t necessarily excluding a designation for donuts in the future.”
“I never thought this would be the hardest vote in this committee,” Thomas quipped before voting in favor of the bill.
In the end, Fishbein caved-in. “This is not a matter of peer pressure,” he stressed.