New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Legislative pay raises and party power linked
The two major parties upheld their control of the political system this year by granting themselves raises that cost about $4 million annually along with future automatic increases. Democrats, who control all the statewide constitutional elected offices (governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, secretary of the state, attorney general, comptroller) along with majorities in the 187-member General Assembly, can pass anything they want without Republican support, but in this case, they received tacit as well as open support from the minority party.
The pay raise bill, HB5406 (now Public Act 22-85) was passed on May 3, the second-tolast day of the session with little discussion and without dissenting opinions expressed. Despite the lack of debate, the vote (95-53 in the House and 23-13 in the Senate) was mostly along party lines with Democrats in favor and Republicans against with a few switching sides. A couple of Republicans actually spoke in open support of the bill.
Its passage received coverage in various Connecticut and also made it into at least one national news site. There has been little, perhaps no, mention since, however, in the news or during election campaigns. Raises have been proposed for years but the Democratic majority always backed away, fearful of the standard Republican opposition and the major political attack point it would provide. This topic has always generated controversy — but not this year, not this time.
The myriad of pay raises were not insignificant, which makes the lack of media and political interest more surprising given that most campaigns will seize on most anything to make a point against their opponents. For legislators, their pay was increased by an average of 43.3 percent. For a rank and file legislator (the lowest level salary), with no leadership post, the new law moved their salary from $28,000 to $40,000 (42.9 percent). But it turns out that 82 percent, or 153 out of 187 legislators, have some type of leadership position and access to higher than minimum salary. Rather convenient but not transparent to the public.
As was pointed out during the bill’s brief discussion, legislators have not received a pay increase since 2000, more than 20 years ago. After 20-plus years of inflation, the new pay levels are now about even with 2000. It has been a long time and many legislators work hard with long hours and excessive demands. It’s not the level of increase that is the problem, they are overdue.
The problem is that future raises will be less or nontransparent to the public. For the six constitutional officers, their salaries will be automatically linked to the various statutory pay levels of state judges (which require a bill to change). But legislator salaries will be automatically increased every other year going forward, without the need for legislative action or gubernatorial approval, by tying the new salaries to a labor inflation index. But worse, the automatic increases occur without any time limit and will occur into perpetuity, forever. Where else does a worker get that?
But the bigger problem is the two parties conspiring nontransparently at the end of session to ensure that the party machinery gets oiled. Most Democrats were at least willing to go on the record with “Yes” votes and allowed most Republicans to vote “No” in an apparent deal where both parties promised not to make it a campaign issue. The fact that no candidates, incumbents or challengers — even those with close races — have broken ranks with this agreement showcases how powerful the two-party system is.
One legislator argued that the low pay level hurts candidate recruitment since the current legislature is not “the best and the brightest that this state has to offer.” But if the two parties were really concerned about recruitment, they could open up the political establishment to those that are not gears in the machines of the two major parties. These machines produce strong results. Out of 535 U.S. Congress members there are only two independents, and these members caucus with the Democrats. And in the Connecticut General Assembly, there are no seats of its 187 that are held by people who are not Democrats or Republicans.
It is no surprise then that in the race for the Third Congressional District, long-time incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro has cancelled the one scheduled debate due to “candidate viability and scheduling conflicts.” An independent and obviously quality challenger, like physician Amy Chai, routinely faces obstacles to getting media coverage and ability to participate in establishment events. Candidates like her are essentially nullified by the lack of access to the vast campaign resources and money of major party machines. Unlike the bible, these Davids simply can’t compete against Goliath.
All the political speeches about “democracy in peril” and “election integrity” is just grandstanding. It’s really all about the two parties’ keeping or gaining power.