PPP-GOV CT: "...serious buyer's remorse about a Democratic Governor"

[Larkspur]

Bad news for Gov. Dannel Malloy in the latest poll from Public Policy Polling.

Over the course of 2011 we've found that voters in a lot of states wish they could do their Gubernatorial elections from last year over again and pick someone else. Connecticut is no exception but it does represent a twist- it's the first state where we've found serious buyer's remorse about a Democratic Governor. 52% of Connecticut voters say that if they could do it all over they'd vote for Republican Tom Foley, compared to only 41% who would stick with incumbent Daniel Malloy.

That desire to elect someone else is a product of Malloy's continuing unpopularity. Only 36% of voters approve of him to 52% disapproving. That makes him the most unpopular Democratic Governor in the country that PPP has polled on this year. His numbers with independents are bad at a 36/55 approval spread but the biggest problem for him is the party base- even with Democrats just 49% think he's doing a good job to 37% who disapprove. It's rare to find a major politician under 50% approval within their own party. Last year we found 20% of Democrats planning to vote for Foley the week before the election- now 28% do. Malloy has plenty of time to get back on the right track but for now his position is pretty bad.

Full PPP poll

Even though I'm not a Malloy fan, Foley would have been far worse. But Malloy doesn't help his approval numbers when he does things like this...

PELTO: "...What Shared Sacrifice? Malloy Aides and Senior Managers Get Full Longevity Payments"
Malloy's high ranking, non-unionized political appointees and other senior managers will get full longevity bonuses after all.

According to a breaking story just posted to CTMirror, the Malloy Administration will be sending out full longevity bonuses to about 3,500 senior state managers including people on the Governor's staff, over 60 high-ranking officials and employees in the Governor's Office of Policy and Management and a number of his Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and other top political appointees.

The Malloy/SEBAC "shared sacrifice" agreement was all about putting an end to what Malloy called the state's unsustainable compensation and benefits program for state employees.

In addition to the wage freeze, all union employees with at least 10 years of state service who serve in "capped positions" (which was most) also gave up their longevity payments which averaged $462 per employee.

Now comes the news that the "Deal" exempted approximate 3,500 or so non-union senior managers who will once again get their longevity payments - this time in their October paychecks.

While the average senior manager will be receiving about $2,000 on top of their regular pay in their October pay check, some of Malloy's top staff and closest advisors will be getting up to $5,600 in longevity payments despite the no wage increase, no longevity payment Malloy/SEBAC deal.

Some readers may recall my earlier blog posts about this topic including one last spring when Governor Malloy said "I have been critical of longevity payments for some time now. They are a luxury the state cannot afford."

And the Malloy/SEBAC agreement did end longevity payments for tens of thousands of unionized state employees, while reducing the payments to a group of unionized "un-capped" employees for the next two years.

However, as CTMirror is now reporting - Malloy's non-union managers will be getting their full longevity payments this year AND next.

At least three members of Malloy's personal staff in the Governor's Office will be splitting new longevity bonuses of $5,600.

Approximately sixty-seven employees in the Governor's budget office will be sharing over $167,000 in longevity bonuses. One top appointee at OPM will pocket an extra $4,800, three more will collect over $4,000 each and at least twenty-seven will get getting $3,000 or more in longevity bonuses.

Malloy's Commissioner of Corrections with get an extra $5,600, his Commissioner of Banking will get an extra $4,800, his Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will get an extra $3,600, his Commissioner of Veterans Affairs will get $2,400 and his Commissioners of Higher Education Mental Health and Addiction services will each pocket an extra $1,400.

The Connecticut unions blasted Gov. Malloy...

Front-line public service workers employed by the State of Connecticut are reacting to reports that managers and top agency officials may be receiving millions in bonuses over the next month. At issue are news accounts that seem to confirm approximately $7 million in longevity payments scheduled for October for the state's approximately 5,000 non-union employees. Handing out the full bonuses would violate the spirit of an agreement to save $1.6 billion ratified by union members in mid-August. Governor Dannel P. Malloy in remarks to the press earlier today conceded this point when he acknowledged the inequity the payments would create.

"'Shared sacrifice' should mean that state managers are treated the same as the unionized workforce," said Bob Rinker, Executive Director of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001, which represents a diverse range of state employees. "The members of our unions just agreed to concessions believing that that the budget would not be balanced on their backs alone. The issue is one of fundamental fairness, and the managers' longevity bonuses should reflect the same sacrifice as the front-line workers' reduced payments," Rinker said.

Rinker's comments refer to a landmark agreement reached between the statutory committee that comprises all the unions representing Connecticut state employees and the Malloy Administration. Early in the discussions, the governor's chief negotiator proposed permanently freezing all longevity bonuses, including those for front-line workers in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition's (SEBAC) unions. The proposal was rejected, but the administration and the legislature in June forced the change on managers, political appointees, and state employees without union representation.

"I was happy to hear that the governor reinstated longevity payments for our managers," said Joe Sorcinelli, a transportation engineer who coordinates bridge and roadway construction projects in lower Fairfield County and the New Haven area. "But it appears at odds with the 'shared sacrifice' mantra he spoke of prior to his election and throughout our recent negotiations. I would ask that the governor recognize our hard-working, front-line union members with the same compensation," said Sorcinelli, a 23-year veteran employee of the State Department of Transportation and a member of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001.

Under the SEBAC 2011 agreement, union members are scheduled for a one-time giveback and then a short-term, two-year freeze of longevity earnings. So-called "comparability language" in the agreement and then included in legislation passed by the General Assembly in June called for equivalent concessions from all non-union employees. Bob Rinker will later today issue a formal request that the governor treat the October 2011 longevity payments for managers and appointed officials in a manner consistent with the unionized workforce.

Press release from CSEA/SEIU Local 2001

What do you think is making Gov. Malloy the least popular Democratic Governor in the country?

[NewJeffCT]

1. well, he walked into a shitty situation

with a gigantic budget deficit. I'm sure if Foley won the race, his numbers would likely be even worse.

Economically, though, Malloy has done some good things for the long-term with getting Cigna to move their HQ from Philly to CT, getting UBS to keep jobs in Stamford, and getting Jackson Labs of Maine to build a big facility in Farmington. I think another big company is moving to CT, too, if I'm not mistaken? Of course, Pfizer moving out in his first month was bad, but that started under Rell.

I'm not thrilled with what's he's done, but I remember Colin McEnroe saying that the situation was so bad that whoever took over might be a one-term governor because they'd have to make a lot of bad choices. However, I think Malloy will do more for the long term than Foley ever would have done.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

2. Its an elevator company, I belive, that is moving

from NY (maybe Westchester Co) to CT.

I agree, Foley would have been worse. Its early in Dannel's term, too, when he has had to clean house. It will be interesting to see what sorts of initiatives he will try to launch once the cleaning is done