Where there's smoke, there's fire.
…And Connecticut is about to Burn. 

Contracts, corruption and resignations, oh my! 

Connecticut Republican Party Chairman released the following statement: 
 

Today, the Governor will give a statement where he will announce that OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw will step down. This is yet another indicator of the improper steering of school construction projects to select contractors. 

While Lamont dismisses his relationship with one of his most trusted and essential employees, Secretary McCaw, who had the ultimate responsibility to oversee and ensure that literally hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money was being spent wisely, efficiently and in a manner that ensures our money is being utilized in the best possible manner, it is becoming clear the Governor and his top aides and advisors either were unaware of the the pattern of abuse and corruption at the State Capitol or, with a wink and nod, gave their approval to these actions. Either way, the buck stops with Governor Ned Lamont.

The nefarious activities are not limited to school construction. State abatement contracts running through Diamantis were being directed to companies like AAIS Corp., a company which was barred from the state contractor list in 2003 because one of its owners pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Bridgeport contracting scandals. This begs the questions, if the company was barred from the state contracting list, how did they get back on and who allowed them to get back on, and what did it cost AAIS to get back on the list

This is an administration whose ethical standards are already coming into question after SEMA4, funded by Annie Lamont’s venture capital firm, was awarded millions of dollars of no-bid contracts to handle the state’s COVID testing. Now, the Lamont administration continues to fall further and further into the abyss of scandals, corruption, illicit and illegal activity, all at a time when Connecticut, more than ever, needs firm, competent, mature and forward thinking leadership. 

Unfortunately, the Connecticut Democrats are circling their wagons and setting up any barricade they can to stop the public from learning more. Republican leaders in the General Assembly have called for a bipartisan committee of eight legislators to investigate these scandals and report to the people of Connecticut what happened, who was involved and what legislation needs to be put in place to ensure this never happens again. Legislative Democrats, led by Senator Looney and Speaker Ritter, have said an unequivocal NO to any such committee. What are the Democrats afraid of? Does this scandal go beyond the Executive Branch? Senator Looney and Speaker Ritter are working hard to make sure we never find out.

If nothing else, the public has a right to demand of its elected officials that they ask the most important question of  Governor Lamont: What did Governor Lamont know and when did he know it?

It's time for Democrats to step up and demand answers for the public.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Lamont-denies-being-warned-about-CT-school-16920470.php

https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2022-02-24/state-releases-new-guidelines-for-hazardous-waste-removal-contracts

https://ctmirror.org/2022/02/22/second-guessing-begins-on-lamonts-approach-to-diamantis-scandal/

https://ctmirror.org/2021/11/22/sema4-was-a-hot-ct-startup-then-came-covid-state-contracts-and-a-boost-from-annie-lamonts-firm/