Sen. Saud Anwar (opinion): ‘I believe it is time for Governor Lamont to step aside’

Stamford Advocate – Friday, June 6, 2025
By Saud Anwar

With the legislative session now ended, Connecticut finds itself facing an unprecedented challenge. The return of the Trump administration to power in Washington has brought with it a wave of deep and destructive federal spending cuts, targeting precisely the programs and initiatives that states such as ours rely on to support our most vulnerable residents. Funding reductions for Medicare, energy assistance grants, public education, and affordable housing programs are already on the horizon. These cuts will strain our communities and increase the burden on state and local governments to pick up the slack. We are being asked to do more with less at a moment when the needs of our residents have never been greater.

In this context, the path forward for Connecticut is clear: we can either raise the necessary revenue to sustain and protect vital services, or we can pass the pain along to our residents through state-level spending cuts. But make no mistake — choosing austerity in this moment would disproportionately harm working families, seniors, and our most at-risk communities. We cannot cut our way out of a crisis created by the federal government’s abdication of responsibility.

Other states recognize this reality. Massachusetts, our neighbor to our north, enacted a surtax on income over $1 million in 2023, and states such as Rhode Island and New Jersey have taken steps toward similar measures. These are not radical policies — they are pragmatic decisions to ensure state governments have the resources to function in the face of federal retreat. Yet Gov. Ned Lamont continues to reject any meaningful effort to increase revenue from the state’s wealthiest residents, even as federal taxes on those same households have been slashed. His refusal to adapt to the new fiscal landscape is not just short-sighted; it’s dangerous.

Governor Lamont is not only an outlier among Democratic leaders of other states, but he is increasingly so among Democrats in Connecticut. This year, the Democratic leaders of the state Senate proposed adjusting Connecticut’s income tax code as new federal tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy go into effect. The proposal would have raised state income tax rates on high earners to ensure Connecticut can continue investing in and protecting working- and middle-class families. The idea, like so many others that attempt to get the 1% to pay their fair share, went over like a lead balloon with the Greenwich Democrat.

In the past two years alone, Governor Lamont has vetoed or threatened to veto legislation that would make a meaningful difference in the lives of Connecticut’s working families. In May of 2024, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed striking workers to access unemployment benefits after 14 days — a basic protection available in several other states. When the legislature passed a similar bill again this year (S.B. 8), the governor has once again signaled his intent to block it. These decisions are not fiscally neutral; they place the full burden of labor disputes on workers and strip them of any meaningful leverage.

In education, the governor’s budget proposals have consistently fallen short of what our students and educators need. With inadequate funding at the state level, municipalities are being forced to raise property taxes to make up the difference. In contrast to income taxes, property taxes are a comparatively regressive form of taxation, hitting low- and middle-income homeowners and renters the hardest. This is not a sustainable or equitable approach to public finance.

In health care, the governor privately blocked SB 1507, a bill that would have prohibited private equity ownership and control of hospitals. In the wake of Prospect Medical Holdings’ collapse and its devastating impact on Waterbury Hospital, Manchester Memorial, and Rockville General, the need for reform could not be clearer. This legislation was a direct response to the growing consensus — among patients, providers, and public health experts — that purely profit-driven investment firms have no place controlling the fate of critical health infrastructure. Yet rather than support guardrails to prevent further crises, Governor Lamont signaled his opposition behind closed doors, bowing to the same financial interests that have jeopardized the stability of our health care system. The opposition threat sent a chilling message: that even amid bankruptcy and service cutbacks, the governor is unwilling to challenge the unchecked power of private capital in medicine.

Lamont has also opposed efforts to impose even modest capital gains taxes on high-income earners, rejecting proposals to apply a small surcharge on individuals earning at least $250,000 and married couples earning $500,000 or more. He has insisted on mostly preserving the state’s volatility cap in its current form, even though reforms could allow Connecticut to garner the revenue the state needs to weather this new federal storm.

Beyond fiscal matters, Governor Lamont has shown a pattern of conservatism that is out of step with the urgency of our times. One notable example is his threat to veto S.B. 7 due to its inclusion of provisions authorizing Overdose Prevention Centers. These centers are a proven public health tool, already saving lives in other states and backed by extensive data. At a time when opioid overdose continues to devastate families across Connecticut, rejecting such a solution is a serious misstep and a missed opportunity for saving lives.

At a time when Connecticut needs bold, compassionate, and adaptive leadership, Governor Lamont has too often defaulted to a politics of caution and austerity. Perhaps that approach made more sense in a time of economic stability and federal support, but it is simply incompatible with the world we live in now. Our residents cannot afford a leader who continues to govern as though nothing has changed.

As we look to the 2026 election, I believe it is time for Governor Lamont to step aside. That is not a decision I suggest lightly. I have worked with the governor and respect his years of public service, especially in the context of navigating our state through the COVID-19 pandemic. But the challenges before us demand a different vision for what Connecticut can be. One that is willing to ask more of those who can afford it, rather than asking those who are already struggling to carry more weight.

I am heartened by the many strong Democratic leaders across our state who are rumored to be considering a run for governor. Should Governor Lamont choose not to seek re-election, I hope those individuals will move forward with their campaigns. In fact, I would urge them to do so regardless of what the governor decides.

Our party, and our state, would benefit from a robust and forward-looking debate about the direction we must take. I look forward to supporting those who share a bold and compassionate vision for Connecticut’s future. The moment demands it.

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