Connecticut College News

On April 14, Dan Malloy, the current mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, visited Conn and answered questions posed by students. In February, Malloy launched a committee to explore a possible gubernatorial campaign in the state of Connecticut, and while visiting last Tuesday, Malloy made it quite clear that he intends to run for governor in 2010. In 2006, Malloy ran for governor, and despite receiving the endorsement at the Connecticut Democratic convention, he lost in the primary by 4,000 votes when over 256,000 people went to the polls. "Things are very different then they were in 2006," Malloy told students. "The primary battle between Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman shadowed over the gubernatorial primary then, but we hopefully won´t have that problem next year." He hopes for more success in 2010 because of the reforms that he has made in the city of Stamford. He spoke of how, during his fourteen years as mayor, Stamford has seen a sixty-seven percent decrease in crime, implemented Connecticut´s first city-wide preschool educational program, has greatly increased public school funding, and has helped Stamford to consistently make it on to the list of the FBI´s safest cities, ranking sixth in 2006, and within the top eleven during the past six years. Malloy also spoke about issues especially pertinent to college students. When asked about what he would do as governor to help colleges and universities in Connecticut, he said that he hoped to provide college students with more incentive to stay in Connecticut after graduating, which would mean creating more job opportunities for younger people. Additionally, he hopes to invest more in Connecticut universities and to keep projects and research that they start properly funded so that they can thrive and be competitive. ´Besides education, another issue that students focused on was the environment. Malloy is known for his commitment to the environment, and he has developed a facility in Stamford that converts wastewater into energy without carbon emissions. Brett Juliano ´09 asked the mayor if he had ever considered a system that would incorporate a progressive tax based on water usage to try and conserve. "Ya know, I´ve never thought of that before," Malloy said, "but in Stamford we have developed a system that charges residents based on both their water intake, and wastewater that goes back into the city´s system." Additionally, students focused upon the lack of transportation in Connecticut, especially the inconvenience of train transportation. Students complained that Shoreline East has inadequate stops in New London, and students have difficulty getting from campus to places such as New Haven or New York. In answering the question, Malloy said that during his term as governor he had improved the transportation of Stamford, increasing the frequency of trains, which has also led to improving the environment and an increase of jobs in the city. Throughout his discussion with students, Malloy focused on how Connecticut needs a change in leadership, and that it has been ranked last in job growth for many years, and suffers from a stagnant economy more so than other states. That is exactly what Malloy hopes to change as Connecticut´s next governor.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Amy Martin, 860-439-2526, a.martin@conncoll.edu or Deborah MacDonnell (860) 439-2504, dmacdonn@conncoll.edu