Hartford, Ct. – The more the people of Connecticut learn about what’s in the horrendous Republican budget that passed the General Assembly, the worse it looks. Not only would it gut public higher education, kill the state’s groundbreaking clean elections program, attack the right to collectively bargain, and abandon homeowners in eastern Connecticut suffering from crumbling foundations, but it also breaks Republicans’ months-long promise to put forward a “no new taxes” budget, while rolling back the progress made on funding our pension obligations and increasing the state’s deficit in the long-term.

n fact, the Republican budget increases taxes by over $840 million, including a $139 million increase on working families.

With Governor Dan Malloy rightfully promising to veto the bill, the voters of Connecticut deserve to know whether the candidates running to succeed him would do the same or sign this backwards Republican budget. This is not fantasy – this is a real choice that would be in front of any of the candidates were they to elected Governor of Connecticut next year, they owe the people of Connecticut an answer.

We already have one answer for State Representative Prasad Srinivasan who endorsed and helped lead the passage of this unbalanced and devastating budget.

“It’s a very simple question: Would the Republicans running for governor sign this budget?” asked Connecticut Democratic Party Executive Director Michael Mandell. “There is no question the GOP budget would make Connecticut less competitive as it puts college further and further out of reach for families and fails to make necessary investments in the urban centers that drive our economy. But, the GOP candidates for governor have been less than forthright about whether they would sign this train wreck of a bill in its current form. The voters of Connecticut deserve a straight answer from Mark Boughton, Tim Herbst, Mark Lauretti, Dave Walker, and the rest of the feckless GOP field.”