Spring Break
Two Mayors Give Governor Rell Competition
Kala Kachmar
Issue date: 8/7/06 Section: News
As the media focuses on the senate race between Sen. Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont, the democratic gubernatorial race has been forced from the spotlight of Connecticut politics and has received little attention.
Mayor Dan Malloy of Stamford and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven are competing for the democratic spot in the November elections against Governor Jodi Rell.
Although Conn. residents may be overlooking the race, UConn students and faculty regard it as an important one.
"This [race] is important because of all the corruption that went on when John Rowland was governor," said Leslie Keyes, a 3rd-semester physiology and neurobiology major. "I'm surprised people in Connecticut haven't paid more attention to Malloy and DeStefano, especially since Connecticut is primarily democratic."
According to an article published in the New York Times on August 1, Gov. Rell has a voter approval rating of 75 percent. The results of a Quinnipiac University poll, published in the Hartford Courant on July 26, showed that 59 percent of those surveyed did not know enough about DeStefano to form an opinion and 79 percent did not know enough about Malloy.
Fred V. Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at UConn, said in a recent issue of the New York Times that Malloy and DeStefano are two of the best mayors in the state of Connecticut.
"They both understand the importance of affordable housing ... and they've both put economic development at the core of their campaigns," Carstensen said.
But education, more than anything, concerns Amanda Higgins, a 3rd-semester pharmacy major.
"The most important issue for us right now is being able to afford college," said Higgins. "The costs keep going up and many families just don't have enough income to pay for the skyrocketing costs."
In a written statement on Dan Malloy's official web site, Malloy said he wants to "ensure that our colleges are affordable in order to improve the chances that all Connecticut students will have an opportunity to attend and graduate from college."
Mayor Dan Malloy of Stamford and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven are competing for the democratic spot in the November elections against Governor Jodi Rell.
Although Conn. residents may be overlooking the race, UConn students and faculty regard it as an important one.
"This [race] is important because of all the corruption that went on when John Rowland was governor," said Leslie Keyes, a 3rd-semester physiology and neurobiology major. "I'm surprised people in Connecticut haven't paid more attention to Malloy and DeStefano, especially since Connecticut is primarily democratic."
According to an article published in the New York Times on August 1, Gov. Rell has a voter approval rating of 75 percent. The results of a Quinnipiac University poll, published in the Hartford Courant on July 26, showed that 59 percent of those surveyed did not know enough about DeStefano to form an opinion and 79 percent did not know enough about Malloy.
Fred V. Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at UConn, said in a recent issue of the New York Times that Malloy and DeStefano are two of the best mayors in the state of Connecticut.
"They both understand the importance of affordable housing ... and they've both put economic development at the core of their campaigns," Carstensen said.
But education, more than anything, concerns Amanda Higgins, a 3rd-semester pharmacy major.
"The most important issue for us right now is being able to afford college," said Higgins. "The costs keep going up and many families just don't have enough income to pay for the skyrocketing costs."
In a written statement on Dan Malloy's official web site, Malloy said he wants to "ensure that our colleges are affordable in order to improve the chances that all Connecticut students will have an opportunity to attend and graduate from college."
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