U.S. Senate
Photo by U.S. Senate Photo Studio
Posted 6/29/09
During this year’s legislative session, the words “gubernatorial veto” were heard more often than usual, with numerous Democrat-sponsored bills supposedly targeted for a veto from Republican Gov. Jodi Rell. A bill to change the way Connecticut would fill any possible vacancy in a U.S. Senate seat faced a definite veto threat, yet last week, Rell signed the measure into law.
Until Rell inked the new law, Connecticut gave the governor full authority to name a successor when a U.S. Senate vacancy occurred due to death, resignation, or other reasons. The new law will fill the seat by using a special election. In most instances, the governor will issue an election writ within 10 days of the vacancy, and the special election would be held on the 150th day after the process was triggered.
The governor will retain some appointing power. If a vacancy occurs in the last year of a Senator’s term, the governor would nominate a candidate for the post, and that person would need to be approved by two-thirds of the members in the state House and Senate. There is a also what might be viewed as a “terrorism” provision in the new law. If a large number of U.S. Senators were killed, the governor would have the power to quickly appoint a successor in the interest of maintaining the authority of the Senate.
When Democrats began pushing the senate vacancy bill, Republicans derided it as an insult to Rell, some of them called the legislation a “power grab”, and Rell’s press secretary criticized the measure as “blatant partisan politics."
In Connecticut, there have been no U.S. Senate vacancies to fill since the 1940s and 1950s, but the possibility kept cropping up in recent years. First there was talk Sen. Joe Lieberman might be named Defense Secretary by President George Bush—that didn’t happen. This year, with Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd sinking in the polls, there was some thought Dodd might resign—that didn’t happen either.
Either way, Republicans believed Democrats were protecting their own interests, not wanting a GOP governor to get a chance to fill a Senate seat vacated by a Democrat. So when the Dems said they wanted a special election process in the name of “good government”, GOP lawmakers said the bill was motivated by political expediency.
In any case, it seemed a Rell veto was in the cards right after the senate vacancy bill cleared the House and Senate. Instead, Rell decided to take the high road and sign the measure.
“Although the current process for filling a Senate vacancy has worked well, this bill gives directly to the people of Connecticut the decision on who would fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate,” said Rell. “Since taking office, I have done everything in my power to make Connecticut a model for all states when it comes to openness, transparency, and citizen participation in government,” she said.
Rell’s signature on the vacancy bill recalls her stunning decision to support public financing for political campaigns, a move that surprised both parties. Though many Republicans still oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund campaigns, the system will be used for the first time in a gubernatorial election next year. Rell could employ the voluntary system, if she chooses to seek reelection.
Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, an advocate of the senate vacancy bill, praised Gov. Rell, saying she “has done the right thing and signed this long overdue election reform into law.” Bysiewicz said the special election process will help Connecticut avoid “the kind of nepotism, cronyism and corruption seen in other states such as Illinois (the Rod Blagojevich debacle) when governors misused their power.”
State Sen. Gayle Slossberg (D-Milford), co-chair of the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, thanked Rell for going along with the vacancy bill. “No one person, no one party, and no one special interest group should have the power to put an individual in this powerful seat,” said Slossberg. “The people should have the right to choose who represents them in the Senate.
The new law took effect when Rell signed the legislation, so its provisions will be used the next time a vacancy crops up for a U.S. Senate seat from Connecticut.