Lamont earns another shot from voters

With his decisive victory in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election, Ned Lamont gets a second chance. First elected in 2018, Connecticut’s governor got off to an inauspicious start. His early days in Hartford were consumed with the question of highway tolls, which ultimately went nowhere. The state economy continued to sputter along, and it looked like another four years of fighting deficits. Then, a year into his term, the world changed.

There was no precedent for the COVID-19 pandemic, no playbook for the governor to consider. But it guided every move he made, from the decision to close certain businesses up to the eventual lifting of mask mandates in schools many months later. Today, nearly three years after those frightening early days when every aspect of our lives appeared in flux, the state electorate has passed its judgment on Lamont’s leadership. He won reelection easily.

Now he has a chance to shape the state in ways beyond reacting to a crisis.

It’s worth noting how rare his margin of victory is. Despite its reputation as a blue state, Connecticut had Republican governors for years, with the Rowland-Rell combination leading the state for four consecutive four-year terms until 2010. Then, even as Democrats started winning the state’s top office, the margins were agonizingly close. Neither Dannel Malloy in his two victories nor Lamont the first time around was able to post a resounding win.

That changed on Tuesday. Lamont was the clear winner and has a mandate from state voters to continue the path he has set us on.

That means a fiscally cautious outlook, where the governor is ever mindful of the potential for trouble down the road even when the path appears clear. This is what the job requires, because even as tax intake has been higher than expected for most of Lamont’s term, the state’s long-term debt remains a problem. His decision to pay off as much of that burden as possible now is a boon for the state in the long run.

It also means a continuation of policies that market the best of Connecticut. We’re never going to be the lowest-cost state to do business in, and that’s not because of taxes. It’s expensive to live here in large part because we have a desirable location. We’re never going to win a race to the bottom on expenses. But we do need to highlight our strengths, such as an educated workforce. Lamont must continue his work with the business community to keep the state strong.

There will be challenges. Affordability is a crisis, especially when it comes to housing, health care and education. We need to do more to help people who live here and attract others to join them. But Lamont has shown he is capable of leading the state into a new era.

As for Republicans, it’s a sobering day for party leadership. They can take some solace in a strong showing in the Fifth Congressional District, but elsewhere in the state, Connecticut simply isn’t buying what they’re selling. It’s time for a rethink of party strategies and goals.

For the governor, it’s about looking ahead. He has four more years to shape our future.

Lamont was the clear winner and has a mandate from state voters to continue the path he has set us on.