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Sine Signifier Die

2025's legislative year ended its final week like it began, with North Haven's representatives taking instructions more from their out-of-touch party than the needs of their constituents.


In a shock to no one, neither representative from North Haven voted in favor of the state budget, with much hand-wringing about fiscal guardrails and overspending and such. Despite this, the budget and almost all of the bills we've mentioned in previous DTC newsletters passed.  

Yaccarino joined Cicarella in voting against protecting gender-affirming and reproduction care, which feels even more cruel in light of the Skrmetti Supreme Court decision and Trump's decision to cut essential live-saving suicide prevention LGBTQ+ services from the 988 emergency support line. Yaccarino also voted against expanding paid leave to public school support staff (sorry lunch ladies and school nurses!). 


The two locked hands in voting against worker protections in the form of unemployment insurance for workers who've been on strike over two weeks, rounding out a truly ravenously anti-labor session from the North Haven reps.  Cicarella joined Yaccarino in voting against the omnibus bill to tackle homelessness, affordability, and public transit (sorry unhoused, soon-to-be unhoused, and people who'd like to spend less than 50% of their income on housing!).  On these last two, they're potentially joined by the creepingly right-leaning millionaire Democratic governor who has threatened to veto SB-8 and HB-5002 to protect two of his core constituencies, union-busting corporate executives and suburban NIMBYs.

Look behind you, Dave!  I don't see any asterisks on that sign about local zoning control.
Look behind you, Dave! I don't see any asterisks on that sign about local zoning control.

Yaccarino and Cicarella parted ways on a number of items too.  Cicarella voted in support of prohibiting handcuffs on children ages 10 to 12, but Yaccarino voted against it (sorry 4th graders!).  Yaccarino voted against converting commercial real estate into residential property while Cicarella supported it.  Yaccarino also voted against the Senate bill that funded special education, while Cicarella supported it, though both reps voted in favor of the house bill that funded special education. Yaccarino tends to be a bit more moderate on many issues, but it looks like he's becoming more willing in recent years to meet his colleagues somewhere far-right of the middle. 


The parties of course did come together and support legislation regarding energy affordability, street takeovers, funding early childhood education, gaming regulation changes, first responder family fund payouts, and banning first cousin marriage (uh, we're just doing this now, in 2025?).   It's always nice to see these types of efforts and maybe I've been unfair not mentioning more of them here.  

The recommended housing changes mentioned above, like the meager ones offered on climate change rejected by Connecticut Dems, are not enough to combat the underlying issue of affordability. That our reps couldn't even be bothered to vote for modest reforms is of no surprise for a party that attempts to paint our cities as crime-ridden hellscapes and the suburbs as a refuge by way of de facto modern segregation. Of particular concern among the many legislative missed opportunities are exploited renters, who continue to face sudden, arbitrary evictions with practically no recourse.  Republicans will pounce on affordability issues as an opportunity to defund critical institutions of social wellness, but in truth there has been a bipartisan attempt to prioritize the earning potential of wealthy landlords and developers over the rights of human beings to maintain a roof over their head.


Connecticut continues to make incremental headway, but its pace is far too slow to adjust to the coming crisis as a wave of tariff-related consumer costs sweep in and federal funding shortfalls begin to impact the lives of our residents. Connecticut has maintained a great standard of higher-than-average median salaries amongst its workforce, but it has coupled this with a rising cost of living. This prices far too many out of their homes and makes safe and appealing communities like North Haven more exclusive and inaccessible to those without a financial head start. When your only solution to this is value-neutral tax cuts and not tax equity, it will inevitably undercut the very social safety net keeping many of these folks afloat and force them into desperate situations and difficult choices.





 
 
 

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