CT Senate Republican Leaders Press Executive Branch to Probe Port Authority
February 16, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CT Senate Republican Leaders Press Executive Branch
to Probe Port Authority
Connecticut Senate Republican lawmakers are calling on the governor and attorney general to probe controversies at the Connecticut Port Authority (CPA).
“While we in the legislative branch will continue pressing for policy reforms which make CPA more transparent and accountable, we urge the Executive Branch to conduct its own review of CPA,” Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) and Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Paul Formica (R-East Lyme) wrote in a Feb. 16 letter (attached) to Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong. “Another CPA contract is creating public controversy. That contract is an alleged May 2018 agreement with a subsidiary of Seabury Capital Group to manage the process of finding an operator for State Pier in New London.”
The lawmakers said that “a thorough probe by the Attorney General’s office… we feel, would send a strong and positive signal to middle class families of Connecticut that the Executive Branch values their tax dollars. An Executive Branch-led review of CPA practices will show that potential systemic problems at any state taxpayer-funded government agency will receive a comprehensive examination. Your findings could also lead to additional legislative reforms aimed at creating more transparency and accountability at CPA.”
Sens. Kelly and Formica noted in their letter that in April 2019, former Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano wrote to Gov. Lamont and Attorney General Tong asking for an immediate review of “every bid and every contract signed by the Connecticut Port Authority since its establishment.” That request was denied.
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