Malloy Takes Office, ‘Humbled By The Sense Of History’

By Mark Pazniokas and Arielle Levin Becker

©The Connecticut Mirror

HARTFORD — Dannel P. Malloy took office January 5 as Connecticut’s 88th governor and its first Democrat in that office in 20 years, assuming responsibility for a state with a stagnant economy, a historic deficit, and an appetite for change at the start of a new decade.

Under a vast skylight in the drill shed of the State Armory in Hartford, the 55-year-old former mayor of Stamford told an audience of about 2,800 that he begins his four-year term “humbled by the sense of history that lives within the soul of our great state.”

But Malloy struck a direct, blunt tone in his inaugural address, the first of two speeches he was to deliver, as he prepares to erase a deficit of more than $3.5 billion with tax increase and spending cuts.

“Today I see an economic crisis and an employment crisis, both fueled by an unfriendly employer environment, a lack of educational resources, a deteriorating transportation system, and an enormous budget crisis of historic proportions. All coddled by a habit of political sugarcoating that has passed our problems onto the next generation,” Malloy said in remarks prepared for delivery.

His inaugural touched on his personal story, recalling his large, Irish family and the learning disabilities he overcame to graduate with honors from Boston College and then from BC law school.

“My parents both worked very hard while raising eight children, but my mother, who was a nurse, knew I was different,” he said. “She knew I had learning disabilities, but she never let those challenges overshadow my strengths. She never gave up on me, and in doing so she taught me to never give up, to press on, to recognize challenges but focus on strengths, and possibilities.”

Malloy said he would confront the crisis facing the state in the weeks ahead. He warned of the sacrifices that would be demanded next month in his first budget.

“I believe the people of Connecticut are willing to make sacrifices if ‘shared sacrifice’ is really shared, that we understand where we’re going, and that it is sacrifice with a purpose,” he said. “At this crossroads of crisis and opportunity, I believe we will hold fast to our heritage — while we reach deep, rally hard, and choose well to leave Connecticut a better place.”

Malloy took the oath, then hugged his wife and sons.

He thanked his predecessor, M. Jodi Rell, who took office in dramatic fashion, after the resignation of John G. Rowland in the face of an impeachment inquiry.

Rell did not attend, but she hosted Malloy and legislative leaders at a luncheon at the Executive Residence in Hartford.

Malloy arrived at the Armory after a long journey — he has been seeking or planning to seek the office since losing a Democratic primary in 2006 — and a short walk, an inaugural parade that wound from Bushnell Park around the State Capitol to the imposing granite military building.

Spectators gathered along the parade route cheered as Malloy, his wife, Cathy, and three sons walked by. Some waved American flags and shouted “congratulations.”

Others had more direct messages.

“Let’s get that raise this year. Let’s get that raise,” one woman said on Trinity Street, probably not loud enough for the almost-governor to hear. State offices dot the route.

“Save our jobs!” another woman called out.

Three women on Capitol Avenue carried one letter each, spelling “DPW.”

“Look forward to working with you!” Malloy yelled to them.

As they passed in front of the Capitol, photographers swarmed Malloy. “I couldn’t get you guys to cover me a month, a year ago,” he said.

A block later, a line of supporters too young to vote chanted “Dan Malloy! Dan Malloy!”

“Congratulations on what you did for me,” Malloy told one young supporter after giving him a hug.

While Malloy was taking the oath, the National Guard waited outside to greet the new governor with a 19-gun artillery salute and a flyover by helicopters.

A snow squall enveloped the Capitol in the morning. By afternoon, it was blue skies that welcomed the new governor, at least on his first afternoon as chief executive.

(This material originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, nonprofit news organization covering government, politics, and public policy in the state.)