Malloy Receives “F” From Cato Institute; Occhiogrosso Clashes With Roraback On Cato Grade and Mike Meotti Raise

After the largest tax increase in Connecticut history, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy received an “F” on Tuesday in fiscal policy from a conservative thinktank.

The nationally known Cato Institute issued an “F” to five governors in its 11th biennial fiscal policy “report card.”  That rating touched off a round of clashes in Connecticut regarding the results.

Malloy, a Democrat, received the lowest possible grade, along with the governors of Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, and Minnesota. The highest grades – for those who cut taxes and spending – went to the governors of Florida, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Maine.

“I think he’s at the bottom of the heap,” Republican state Sen. Andrew Roraback said of Malloy. “It’s no surprise.”

Roraback, who is running for Congress against Democrat Elizabeth Esty, has been sharply critical of Malloy for his views on taxes and spending. As a member of the 10-member State Bond Commission, Roraback has voted against various proposals by Malloy, who chairs the bond commission and sets the agenda.

Roraback also tied Malloy’s “F” grade to the news Tuesday that former state Sen. Michael P. Meotti is giving up a $49,000 pay raise as a state employee in the higher education system. Meotti had been earning more than $183,000 annually, but the pay increase in June pushed him above $230,000 per year. The governor earns $150,000 per year. The state attorney general – who oversees about 200 lawyers – earns $110,000 per year.

Malloy had proposed and created the Board of Regents for higher education, and the plan was approved by the Democratic-controlled state legislature. Two of his top aides voiced Malloy’s displeasure over the raises directly Wednesday to Meotti and Robert Kennedy, the former University of Maine president who was nominated by Malloy for the job. Meotti, the former interim president, now reports to Kennedy.

Malloy personally recruited Kennedy, calling him out of the blue about the new job and leaving his cell phone number with Kennedy’s secretary. Kennedy had expected to retire, but he took the $340,000-per-year position and came to Connecticut to work with Malloy.

Malloy had highly praised Kennedy in August 2011 when he appointed him interim president of the system – before the full board voted.

“Bob is the right person to help lead us in this new direction,” Malloy said at the time.  “As someone with classroom and administrative experience at a number of institutions of higher education, I know that he understands that our resources need to be focused on the students who attend these schools and the preparation they need for the global economy in which they will compete.  Bob turned the University of Maine into a job engine and managed that institution with an entrepreneur’s eye for operating savings through first-in-the-nation energy initiatives and other measures.  His personality, his work ethic and his experience leading other institutions will enable him to lead this new system successfully, and I look forward to working with him and his team on this new endeavor.”

Former Malloy press aide Colleen Flanagan Johnson, a 30-year-old Democrat who now serves as chief spokesman for the board of regents and chief of staff, had her salary raised from $130,000 per year to $150,000 per year.

“What planet does this governor live on when his administration sees fit to allow a $50,000 raise?” Roraback asked reporters outside the state Capitol on Tuesday afternoon. “It would be hard to imagine that the governor’s office wasn’t privy to what they had in mind, but you’ll find that out.”

Malloy’s senior adviser and chief spokesman, Roy Occhiogrosso, said the governor’s office knew nothing about the raises and blasted Roraback.

“If the Cato Institute was praising Governor Malloy, all of us in this office would be very worried,” Occhiogrosso said. “I assume Senator Roraback supports the Cato Institute’s agenda? They are a right-wing group  funded by right-wing interests. Is that what Senator Roraback has become? Look at the people who fund the institute.”

At one point, Occhiogrosso said he was “speechless” at Roraback’s comments.

“Let’s stop and take this one piece at a time,” Occhiogrosso said. “Andrew’s campaign for Congress is not going particularly well. Lately, he appears to have this office in the cross-hairs. We understand he’s having a bad few weeks. He’s a smart, thoughtful guy, and he didn’t use to be this way. Bad campaigns have that effect on you.’’

“Senator Roraback’s rhetoric is just bizarre. This is not the Andrew Roraback that many people at the Capitol thought they knew,” Occhiogrosso said. “The more desperate he becomes, the more bizarre the rhetoric becomes.’’

Occhiogrosso said the governor’s office was not involved in the raises because the Board of Regents for Higher Education is independent.

“I guess he doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘independent,’ ” Occhiogrosso said. “Tell him to look it up in the dictionary.’’

“This office found out about the pay raises when we got a phone call from a reporter. The governor has been very clear that if the raises cannot be justified, then granting them was the wrong decision. Since a mistake appears to have been made in that process, it needs to be fixed.’’

But Roraback countered that the administration has “a tin ear” and is tone deaf to the realities facing the average citizen in the state.

“It is an administration that is out of tune with the reality that Connecticut citizens are facing,” Roraback said.

Occhiogrosso responded, “The reality that Connecticut citizens are facing is largely the result of 16 years in leadership in the governor’s office by Senator Roraback’s party. For 16 years, he sat by and did nothing as the car was driven into the ditch. Now, Senator Roraback finds his voice. What a coincidence.’’

“I think his campaign will end unsuccessfully on November 6, and so will his career,” Occhiogrosso said. “It sounds like it was a fairly bizarre performance.’’

J.R. Romano, the state director of the Connecticut branch of Americans For Prosperity, said, “Unfortunately, for those of us living and paying taxes in the state, Governor Malloy’s failing grade on fiscal policy comes as no surprise.  His tenure as governor is a testament of how to run businesses and individual taxpayers alike out of this state with over-the-top taxes and out-of-control spending.”

The Cato Institute report stated that Malloy signed into law a “huge $1.8 billion tax increase, which increased the top individual income tax rate from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, the top corporate tax rate from 8.25 to 9.0 percent, and the sales tax rate from 6.0 to 6.35 percent. The governor also increased hotel taxes, luxury goods taxes, online sales taxes, alcohol taxes, and the state death tax.”

Cato’s Chris Edwards wrote, “Some of these governors are schizophrenic on taxes: they jack up overall business tax rates, then give breaks to favored businesses.”

The Cato report is at http://cato.org