Vote for Ned Lamont – A Proven Progressive

Ned Lamont talking to voters in North Haven in 2018

What do we want from our political candidates? Inspiration? Experience? Proven records? Youthfulness? Outsider status? The answer might depend on what you project onto the democratic process.

If you think that the democratic process is bogged down in establishment politics that is too cowardly and entwined with elite interests to get anything done for “ordinary” citizens, then you might be attracted to certain candidate traits.

If on the other hand you think that the democratic process is an exercise in navigating complex and often competing interests, requiring the ability to work with multiple groups and to manage complex bureaucracies, then other candidates might be your cup of tea.

The truth is that you want a candidate who can accomplish both – someone who can challenge the status quo, but who also knows how to steer the ship of state. That is why I am voting for Ned Lamont this primary season. Ned Lamont has not accomplished everything I want, nor do his values always align with mine. But he has been able to push the needle forward on several progressive issues and maintain a strong democratic majority in this state.

I have appreciated Lamont’s ability to bring fiscal discipline to the state, continue and resolve the pension crisis, while bringing forth new initiatives such as paid family and medical leave and an endowment for universal pre-k education. Lamont has also worked effectively with our DC delegation to bring critical infrastructure dollars back to Connecticut, including projects that promote net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, Lamont signed one of the largest tax cuts for middle income families in Connecticut’s history.

Lamont, along with other members of the executive branch, have been clear in their opposition to the Trump administration and have taken several actions to defend Connecticut residents from draconian federal budget cuts and policies. Connecticut is a haven for women’s health, has continued to fund SNAP benefits and to subsidize ACA premiums, and has joined every lawsuit against the Trump administration.

I like Josh Elliott and would happily vote for him for governor. He correctly points out that more needs to be done to resolve the burden of property taxes and affordability in the state. However, I am not sold on how he plans to accomplish any of this.

The crux of his campaign is a pledge to raise taxes on high-income earners, claiming that Lamont is beholden to his class identity. I find that to be a simplistic, and in fact divisive piece of rhetoric. It turns a difference of opinion on tax policy into an attack on character.

His other big pledge is to allow local municipalities to operate their own electrical grid and public utilities. While this has popular appeal, it is again to my mind an empty promise that will not overcome both the legal and fiscal barriers, or actually reduce utility costs in the long-term.

Ned Lamont is a proven entity, who has received the lion’s share of endorsements from our elected officials, unions, and other organized groups. He has demonstrated how you can accomplish progressive goals not just through rhetoric but through the grueling and often frustrating day-to-day of democratic politics. He offers a politics that is forward thinking yet attuned to the practicalities of governing.

I might not have gotten everything I want from Ned Lamont, but then again isn’t that the point of living in a democracy?