Editor's note: The following statement was released by the Republican Town Committee chairmen of Norwalk and Darien. State Sen. Bob Duff of Norwalk is a Democrat representing the 25th state Senate District:
By Art Scialabba and Harry Artinian
Darien and Norwalk Republican Town Committee Chairmen Harry Artinian and Art Scialabba today highlighted a series of recent votes by State Sen. Bob Duff in order to show the senator’s disconnect with area taxpayers.
“Over the years, Senator Duff has steadily moved away from his constituents and further and further toward the extreme left. This year, he has completely shed his cloak of independence in order to cast important votes to help the Malloy administration and the liberal wing of his party pass record tax hikes, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and legislation enabling violent criminals to qualify for early release from prison, ” states Art Scialabba.
In recent weeks, Duff has:
- voted to raise our taxes by a record $3.7 billion over two years adding to our considerable financial burden;
- voted to provide in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, thereby denying taxpaying, legal residents the opportunity for that benefit;
- voted to enable violent criminals, including rapists and those convicted of manslaughter, to be eligible for early release from prison.
"Senator Duff is clearly more interested in supporting the left-wing policies of the big Democratic Party machine in Hartford rather than representing his constituents in Darien and Norwalk. Claims of 'independence' while compiling a consistent record of voting for higher taxes, bigger government, support of illegal immigrants and now, the early release of dangerous felons, ring more and more hollow.
"Bob Duff is strongly supporting policies that are crushing, and now endangering, the very middle class he purports to be so concerned about." states Harry Artinian.
“Senator Duff’s votes in this legislative session have threatened our state’s fiscal solvency and public safety. He prides himself on being an ‘independent,’ and a ‘fiscal conservative,’ but his voting record tells a different story. He has enabled more government spending, higher taxes, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, and more lenient sentencing for dangerous criminals. This is not what the people of Darien and Norwalk want from their representation in Hartford. Bob is no longer standing up for us–he is just standing for increases in state spending and higher taxes,” states Art Scialabba.
Correction: The original version of this article misstated the state Senate district that Bob Duff represents. It is the 25th, not the 26th.
