Hartford, Ct. – Connecticut Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto released the following statement.

“Without a doubt, this is good news for Connecticut. Not only was the Republican budget unbalanced, it was built on months of lies and false promises. Republicans promised not to raise taxes, but they increased taxes on middle class working people by $150 million. They promised to reduce the deficit through ‘structural changes,’ but their budget increases the deficit by $100 million annually in the long run. And they promised to equitably fund education, but their budget strips education funding from struggling cities in order to increase funding for the wealthiest, highest performing schools in the state.

“Even beyond the lies, though, this budget is shortsighted and would hurt our economy. The draconian cuts to UConn would hinder our efforts to maintain an educated workforce to meet the employment needs of the 21st century. The lack of investment in our urban centers fails to recognize that our economy can only flourish if we build communities where people want to live. And the return to Rowland-era budget gimmicks only compounds our future budgetary woes.

“Lets be very clear. This Republican proposed budget reflects a choice made by Republican leaders and their candidates for higher office. These are the values upon which they should be judged, and make no mistake they will forced defend this vote to the people of Connecticut that would have suffered had it not been for the governor’s veto.”