Yesterday
SEBAC announced poll results showing broad majorities of Connecticut voters believe that cutting public services or laying off workers -- whether in the public or private sectors -- during a time of recession will further damage the economy. These findings were released the day after our coalition of State public service workers unions held a
second meeting with the Rell Administration to address solutions to the growing budget deficit.
Our SEIU State Council organizers spent the better part of the day yesterday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford delivering copies of a
memo from Myers Research, Strategic Services detailing their poll's findings to lawmakers. It was critical to get this information to legislators before next
Wednesday's biennial budget address Governor Rell will be delivering to the General Assembly.
The poll generated a great deal of media buzz, too -- in part because the results show a stark contrast between public opinion about the need for generating new revenues and the
Governor's "no new taxes" declaration made the day before.
WTIC-AM Radio 1080 aired headline news coverage of the results throughout the day yesterday featuring comments by the pollster who conducted the statewide survey. But news of the poll was leaked the night before with an
entry at Political Capitol, the Stamford Advocate capitol bureau chief's blog.
By the end of the day today, the poll was all over the blogosphere -- click the hyperlinked text to access each report, and take a moment to post a brief comment about what the poll results mean to you at one or more of the source sites:
Then, be sure to watch NBC-TV's Connecticut Newsmakers on Sunday morning, which airs on Channel 30 at 6:30 AM. Earlier today, the Courant's
Capitol Watch announced that Secretary-Treasurer Patrice Peterson, along with Leo Canty of AFT Connecticut, will talk with host Tom Monahan about the poll -- and how we hope it will influence the Governor's budget plans.
And for those who prefer to sleep in on Sundays, catch the
re-run of the episode on the CT-N cable network at 9:08 PM that evening. If the video of the segment with Patrice and Leo is available online, we'll link it here to the blog, as well.
That media buzz is making waves. As I prepare to post this entry,
WTNH-TV is reporting that Governor Rell will deliver a statewide address to be carried on all of the state's TV networks Monday evening at 6:00 PM. Though it doesn't appear that she will reveal specific budget details, Administration insiders are echoing her "no new taxes" pledge.
She and her budget team would be wise to look closely at these poll results before putting the finishing touches on Monday night's speech -- or signing off on the budget she will be unveiling Wednesday. When voters were
asked to choose the best option for balancing Connecticut's budget, 54 percent preferred raising taxes on the wealthiest and big corporations, a better than two-to-one margin over cutting services (19 percent) and laying-off public workers (15 percent).
That is why we will also be up on Connecticut's TV, cable, and radio airwaves beginning Sunday to emphasize the value residents have placed on preserving quality services and avoiding lay-offs in this economic crisis. More to come on SEBAC's first round of advertising in a later post...
Posted by:
Matt OConnor on 1/30/2009 at 6:40:00 PM