Posted on 01/13/2004 10:12:06 AM PST by RJCogburn
Gov. John G. Rowland said Tuesday that he is not swayed by the growing number of calls that he resign for accepting gifts from state employees and a state contractor and then lying about it.
"I've made mistakes; I've apologized for those mistakes; I've taken responsibility for those mistakes. Now, it's time to govern to get back to work," Rowland said. He was in Cromwell to attend a conference on teen drug use.
The governor's remarks came a day after Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays added his voice to the growing chorus within Rowland's own party for Rowland's resignation.
In a news conference at the state Capitol in Hartford on Monday, Shays said he had been prepared to forgive the governor and support him after the scandal broke.
"But I am not prepared to stand by a governor, even a friend, who has done wrong, lied about it and then refused to account for his actions," said Shays, who is serving his ninth term in Congress.
Rowland, also a Republican, is under fire for lying who paid for improvements to his summer cottage. Last month, he told reporters he paid for the upgrades himself, but later admitted that much of the work was paid for, or donated by, friends and a politically connected state contractor.
Federal agents say Rowland is now a subject of their investigation. The governor maintains that he never provided favors in return for the gifts, and he has not been charged with any crime.
Dean Pagani, the governor's chief of staff and spokesman, said Rowland was "disappointed on a personal level" with Shays' call for his resignation. But he said Rowland remains committed to finishing out his third, four-year term, which expires in January 2007.
Shays' comments came as six more GOP state senators also urged the Republican governor to resign. Eleven of the state's 15 Republican senators have now asked that he step aside.
House Speaker Moira Lyons, a Democrat, is considering forming a bipartisan investigative committee that could recommend impeachment. If impeached in the House, Rowland would stand trial in the Senate, which has 21 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
The Hartford Courant reported Tuesday that Rowland privately told Democrats and Republicans that if they move to impeach him, they might find themselves being called by the media about favors and gifts they have received.
Some lawmakers described the comments, which were made in meetings with lawmakers last week, as veiled threats. Pagani denied the governor meant them that way.
"That is an issue that has come up — that the legislature is going to have to be mindful that whatever standard of conduct that they are going to apply to the governor is also going to apply to them," Pagani said Monday night.
Public opinion of the governor has plummeted since last month. A University of Connecticut poll released Monday found 63 percent of state residents think Rowland should resign. A similar poll last week put the number at 58 percent.
Lyons, who alone has the power to begin the impeachment process, is coping with the pressure of what she calls a "monumental" decision, she told The Advocate of Stamford.
The decision, she said, will be based on whether the governor can continue to govern, and whether he can to hold office with honor and work with the legislature.
"I want to do what's right, not what someone tells me to do," she said.
Under state ethics law, officials may not accept gifts valued at over $10 from anyone who does business with their office. Because the contractor who did work on Rowland's summer cottage, the Tomasso Group, did not work directly with Rowland's office, a question arose about whether the rule applies. At the request of the House majority leader, the State Ethics Commission is to meet Friday to discuss the question.
It's only OK to lie if you're a Democrat or a black official!
Geez, they all sound like Clinton! First of all, let's not confuse a "mistake" with a series of corrupt actions. A mistake is when you are adding up some numbers and put down a "9" for the sum of 5+3. A mistake is when a politician calls Russia "The Soviet Union." A mistake might even be getting drunk and kissing the hostess on the lips instead of the cheek as you leave the party. Banging everything that moves is not a mistake, it's a way of life. Accepting favors from contractors over a long period of time is not a mistake. It is deliberate corruption.
Then there is the word "responsibility." The word means more than pointing your finger to your chest and saying "my bad" after you lose the man you are guarding and he goes in for the winning layup. Responsibility is the coach telling you that you won't be starting the next game because of it. Guilty people tend to say they are accepting responsibility for their actions, when, in fact, they are merely acknowledging their actions. There is a vast difference.
That's like saying Clinton isn't guilty of sexual harassment of Paula Jones because she didn't work directly for him when he was Governor. Clearly, the state's chief executive has tremendous clout when it comes to contracts. For instance, the legislature could pass a bill authorizing a new shopping center. He could use his veto power to kill it, and adversely affect dozens of builders and contractors.
Rowland ought to come on over here to New Jersey. We have been the leaders in political payoffs and corruption for about a hundred years.
Technically legal or not...doesn't matter. He is corrupt. He should go. Repub or Dem. Doesn't matter.
Your justification for 'sticking with him' is poor, IMO.
What evidence do you have that he used that "clout" to influence contracts? I agree things look fishy, but so far no one's shown me what laws he's violated.
He is corrupt. Your justification for 'sticking with him' is poor, IMO.
What corruption has he engaged in? Please show me how I'm wrong.
That's enough for me.
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