More Calls For Rowland Resignation

By Susan Haigh

Associated Press

HARTFORD –– Gov John G. Rowland came under increased pressure to resign Monday as a prominent GOP congressman called on him to step down and a new poll indicated nearly two-thirds of voters want him out of office.

Six more GOP state senators also urged the Republican governor to resign for accepting gifts from friends, employees, and a state contractor at his summer cottage. Eleven of the state’s 15 Republican senators have now asked that he step aside.

Rep Christopher Shays said he had been prepared to forgive Gov Rowland, who had initially denied accepting the gifts and then admitted lying about it.

“But I am not prepared to stand by a governor, even a friend, who has done wrong, lied about it, and then refused to account for his actions,” said Mr Shays, a nine-term congressman who has been a friend of Gov Rowland since the 1980s.

“He’s lost the trust of the people of this state,” Mr Shays said.

On Saturday, Republican Rep Rob Simmons called for Gov Rowland to resign, saying the governor had lost his “moral authority” to lead.

The governor is “disappointed on a personal level” by the calls for him to resign, said Dean Pagani, Gov Rowland’s chief of staff and spokesman. He said Gov Rowland remains committed to finishing out his third term, which expires three years from now.

Gov Rowland has admitted accepting gifts from several politically appointed state employees, including a former aide, Lawrence Alibozek, who pleaded guilty to federal charges that he took bribes to steer state contracts. He also accepted work from the Tomasso Group, a contractor at the center of a federal investigation into corruption in Gov Rowland’s administration.

Federal agents say Gov Rowland is now a subject of their investigation.

A University of Connecticut poll found 63 percent of state residents think Gov Rowland should resign, compared to 58 percent in a similar poll released last week. The telephone poll of 601 residents, conducted January 8–11, had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The new poll found 56 percent of residents support impeachment, compared with 50 percent last week.

If impeached in the House, Rowland would stand trial in the 36-member Senate. A two-thirds majority would be required to remove him from office.