New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Stefanowski’s comment reveals bond with Lamont
Bob Stefanowski has never shied away from firing people, as his stories from corporate life make clear. And as he campaigns to unseat Gov. Ned Lamont, the Madison Republican rarely has a good word to say about the Connecticut economy or the state’s business climate.
“I think it’s horrible what’s happened to small and midsize businesses in Connecticut,” Stefanowski told a crowd of 300 at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s annual economic forum on Friday. “I know I can make the environment better for business in Connecticut.”
The event at the Hartford Marriott Downtown was a chance for Stefanowski to set himself apart from the ever-upbeat Lamont when it comes to sailing the state toward prosperity — and for Lamont, who appeared after his challenger, to defend his record.
So you’d figure Stefanowski would take special aim at the Lamont’s point person on business — David Lehman, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development and the governor’s economic czar with purview across agencies.
“I’ll tell you, I hear good things about David Lehman. I hope he stays on when I win,” Stefanowski told Chris DiPentima, CEO of CBIA, the statewide business organization, on stage at the forum.
Say what? I’m sure it’s a relief to Lehman that he has a job come January even if Stefanowski pulls off a come-from-behind upset. That’s if the Greenwich resident opts not to return to Wall Street, where he was a partner at Goldman Sachs when Lamont tapped him four years ago.
Career moves aside, the disarming comment by Stefanowski speaks loudly. It shows that when it comes to economic policymaking, he and Lamont are not so far apart. They’re both moderate business stewards who favor competence and execution over ideology — the challenger who rose through the ranks in corporate finance and the incumbent born into wealth, who founded a successful cable bundling and installation firm at the dawn of the digital age.
Different outlooks, similar goals
Yes, of course Stefanowski says he wants to cut taxes more deeply — he rolled out a plan in New Haven a few days ago that he pegged at $2 billion — – but both men talk about investing in housing, workforce training and urban development in the same way. And Stefanowski has identified few if any spending cuts other than claiming he would manage the state better.
Claims that Lamont raised state taxes by $2 billion, or anything close to that, are just plain wrong. The real number was more like $350 million.
Stefanowski talks about reducing the state’s $98 billion in long-term liabilities, which is exactly what Lamont is doing, with $5.8 billion in extra payments on the pensions. That will save taxpayers $500 million a year for the next 25 years — in effect, a tax cut.
In short, Stefanowski may be grouchy (with a sense of humor about it) but he’s not the right-wing fanatic the Democrats portray. And Lamont is hardly the socialist-leaning liberal of GOP description.
Where they differ is in their views of how Connecticut has fared these last four years; and in the contrast between Stefanowski’s broad, sweeping statements when it comes to managing Connecticut Inc., and Lamont’s grasp of nuances in every issue as he steers the very centrist path Stefanowski advocates.
On the state of the state’s economy, Stefanowski points to Connecticut’s low ratings in national surveys of business climate, mostly due to high costs. He rails against inflation and rising prices, which are not unique to Connecticut, blaming government spending.
On Friday, he cited a freshly released CBIA survey of members, which showed just 8 percent of those who responded saying the state’s business climate is improving, down from 16 percent a year ago.
“Eighty-nine percent think it’s going to get more expensive to do business in Connecticut,” Stefanowski said, adding that a CNBC survey gave the state’s economy an F. “That’s not the way it should be…. If you had a CEO who produced that kind of results, would you give that person another chance? Of course you wouldn’t.”
Lamont’s case for reelection on economic grounds begins with the massive state surpluses, reversed from years of shortfalls that he inherited. In job creation, overall growth, attracting new residents, unemployment, manufacturing gains and housing markets, Connecticut is outpacing or remaining on par with the nation over the last year or so, as I outlined this summer.
“I kind of like where Connecticut is right now, I’ll be blunt,” Lamont told DiPentima. “I’ve got to build on this momentum… this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Big difference: Personal style
Stefanowski rails against increases in the state budget — variously citing $4 billion or $6 billion — as poor financial discipline that has not improved the state.
The increase over five budget years, through next June, will have totaled $3.8 billion, but off-budget federal pandemic relief spending adds to the total. The three increases until this year averaged a modest 2.9 percent a year, and this year’s 6.4 percent spending hike was due largely to scheduled increases in pension payments, debt service and transportation infrastructure; and longdelayed pay raises for nonprofit social service providers who has seen no raises in years.
As for the F rating, Lamont said that was based on 2019 numbers, which was “why I ran for governor in the first place.”
“The truth is somewhere in the middle,” DiPentima, the CBIA chief, told me at the end of the forum, echoing numerous conversations on and off the stage.
Told of Stefanowski’s comments on state spending by reporters, he didn’t cite numbers, but rather improvements in people’s lives. “What does he want? Does he want me to cut day care or child care? ... Am I spending too much on state police or on nurses?”
In the end, the biggest differences between them on business and the economy are not about business and the economy, but rather the personal styles of a government outsider speaking broadly vs. a governor who has fought through the details.
“I’ve got the skills to turn it around,” Stefanowski said. “We’ve got to be more competitive than Massachusetts and New York.” In crafting a state budget, he said, “You’ve got to assume that nothing is sacred, you’ve got to start with a blank piece of paper.” On the state’s near-duopoly of hospitals, with two dominant chains in Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health, he said, “We need more competition.”
“So, does he want to bust them up? I’m not sure what he means when he says make it more competitive,” Lamont said in response. “But I do want them to be more competitive, I want them to have more integrated medicine…. I think the benchmarking will be really helpful,” he said, referring to a new transparent pricing rule.
On spending, Lamont said, “I have to be the guy that makes choices. If I cut spending there, what am I not doing? I can tell you at the state level, we’re doing a lot more with less where we can.”
Are they? That’s the core of the campaign. Recent polls by Quinnipiac University (17 percentage points) and WTNH Channel 8/The Hill/Emerson College (10 points) show Lamont with a big lead. Stefanowski needs to make a better case if he wants voters to fire Lamont.
Promising to rehire the governor’s top business aide is an odd way to do that. But give credit to Stefanowski for honesty.