Political Notes: Himes in town; Dunne says ‘no’; kudos for Duff, Lavielle

NORWALK, Conn. – State Senate candidate Bill Dunne wants to reject CL&P’s bid for a rate hike. State Sen. Bob Duff and state Rep. Gail Lavielle get some backing from a major conservation group,  and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes is in town for a couple of photo ops at Tauck Tours and the Emergency Operations Center. Looks like campaign season is heating up.

Dunne calls for opposition to rate hikes

Household electricity bills would increase an average of $12.48 each month if CL&P’s new rate hikes are approved by Hartford – specifically by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), according to a press statement from Bill Dunne, Republican candidate for State Senate from Norwalk and Darien.

But that would not be the worst of it, Dunne said.

“Connecticut electricity rates are already among the highest in the nation,” Dunne said. “They’ve already kept job-creators from coming into the state. They’ve kept existing job-creators in Connecticut from expanding. They’ve chased other job-creators out. Jobs have been lost. More jobs would be lost if the rates go even higher.”

“Let’s hope we see some leadership from our current state legislators on this issue when PURA holds public hearings,” Dunne added.

The nearest one will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, in the Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd.

Himes schedules Norwalk visits

U.S. Rep Jim Himes (D-Greenwich) is taking a “17 towns in 17 days” tour of his district, and has scheduled three stops in Norwalk, including two today (Tuesday, Aug. 26)

From 9 to 10:15 a.m. today, Himes will attend the weekly employee meeting at Tauck, a Norwalk-based leader in guided travel and tourism, with more than 100 escorted tours and cruises to more than 70 countries and all seven continents. Tauck, at 10 Norden Place, employs over 150 people in Connecticut and more than 450 worldwide.

From Tauck, the Congressman heads to the Norwalk Emergency Operations Center at 121 Connecticut Ave.

Himes will tour the facility at the Norwalk Fire Department’s state-of-the-art headquarters. The $13 million facility allows firefighters to train inside the structure. Himes helped to secure a $1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to incorporate the emergency operations center and support spaces into the new facility, according to a Himes press release.

Friday, Himes will be back in the city to tour the Head Start program at Nathaniel Ely Elementary School, 11 Ingalls Ave., from 10 to 11:15 a.m. He will discuss Head Start and early education programs with program administrators.

CT League of Conservation Voters lauds Duff, Lavielle

State Sen. Bob Duff (D-25), Senate chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee, has received a perfect “100” score from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters on its 2014 Environmental Scorecard, which rates Connecticut’s state legislators by the votes they have cast on key environmental bills.

Duff helped lead passage of new regulations that will clear the way for construction of new wind power in Connecticut, lifting an effective moratorium.

The full report can be found st the CTLCV website.

The bipartisan organization also endorsed state Rep. Gail Lavielle (R-143) for re-election.

The endorsement comes shortly after CTLCV’s announcement that, for the third consecutive year, it had named Lavielle one of its 16 designated “Environmental Champions” for the 2014 legislative session. (See Page 19 of the CTLCV 2014 Environmental Scorecard – click here).

The CTLCV, a bipartisan, statewide, nonprofit organization, endorses candidates for the state legislature based on their positions and track record on environmental issues. They must be committed to protecting Connecticut’s land, water, air, and wildlife, and to working for sustainable solutions to pressing state issues like transportation, energy, and waste management.