Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?

As Gov. Dannel Malloy marked a budget victory and continued rancor-free talks on labor givebacks, his mansion seemed a world, not 42 miles, away from City Hall.

Malloy invited the state’s news editors Wednesday morning to the governor’s 19-room residence on the bucolic far western fringe of Hartford for a chat about the $40.1 billion two-year state budget. The legislature passed the budget around midnight; Malloy signed it Wednesday afternoon. Officials claimed it was the earliest anyone remembered a budget passing, despite its controversial inclusion of $2.6 billion in tax hikes over two years.

Malloy also offered only a partial update on his talks with state employee unions, during which he’s seeking a whopping $2 billion in concessions. Those talks are headed to a best-scenario denouement—or else a fateful impasse—Friday. Malloy said in the meantime he would continue to honor a “blackout” on the state’s specific demands and labor’s response.

“I don’t think we’d still be having conversations if we hadn’t done that,” he said.

Meanwhile, down the highway in New Haven, Malloy’s alter ego Mayor John DeStefano remained in a bitter, vitriolic impasse with his own unions. One in which both sides have made their cases publicly, in detail.

Like Malloy, DeStefano faces a budget crisis; Malloy had to close a $3.2 billion gap in the upcoming fiscal year budget, DeStefano a $57 million gap. Like Malloy, DeStefano identified out-of-control pension and health care costs as the biggest cause of the problem, not just now, but for the indefinite future. Like Malloy—a fellow hands-on, policy-wonk Democratic urban mayor who set his sights on becoming Connecticut’s governor—DeStefano decided to use a budget crisis to seek structural changes in his administration’s relationship with labor in order to make government “sustainable” over the long term.

And both set out on their quests promising a “transparent” process.

What they meant by transparent turned out different. DeStefano started as early as last fall to publicize New Haven’s position going into negotiations. Urging all participants to understand the stakes, he detailed what he called unsustainable pension and health costs. He estimated that the two city pension funds, currently only 47 and 52 percent funded, would go bankrupt in under 20 years if left unchecked. He publicized the city’s demands, including requiring cops to work longer than 20 years to earn a pension and having city workers contribute more to their health plans.

Only three city labor unions have reached agreements; 11 others are facing contracts that will have expired by June 30. Some have already ended up in arbitration, where the mayor is trying to convince decision-makers that the city’s can’t afford to continue benefits at current levels.

Meanwhile, labor has organized protests. In one case 200 cops blocked downtown streets and marched into DeStefano’s office. Another time unions brought Al Sharpton to town. Protesters have directed their greatest vitriol at the mayor—who in his 18-year career had previously enjoyed strong support from unions. Some even compared Democrat DeStefano to union-busting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Labor negotiators have gone public with accusations that the mayor cut off negotiating sessions and wouldn’t consider their positions; DeStefano responded with claims that the unions are ignoring fiscal reality and refusing to come to the table with reasonable positions.

Even before Malloy barely won last fall’s gubernatorial election, he too laid out unpopular positions—namely, that he wouldn’t rule out raising taxes to solve the state’s budget mess.

Since his election he laid out a “shared sacrifice” plan that included a wide range of tax increases as well as the $2 billion in labor givebacks.

But he didn’t go into specifics. Labor did rally in Hartford—and Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman joined them onstage.

At Wednesday’s governor mansion gathering, Malloy welcomed dozens of editors from around the state to the dining room, then fielded questions from the head of the table as a painting of former Gov. Samuel Foot watched him from a wall.

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