In a state that has seen its share of public corruption, indictments, investigations and resignations, there is something different about the case of former Senate minority leader Lou DeLuca. And the hope that his case marks the beginning of a new era.
From Paul Silvester to Ernie Newton, there has always been the belief in Connecticut government and political circles that each case has been an aberration of some kind. The players have always been able to explain away the behavior of a few bad apples. The more bizarre the behavior (see, for example, Mayor Phil Giordano of Waterbury) the easier it was to ignore.
The DeLuca case is much different because everyone likes Lou. Although the process that led to his forced resignation was long and painful, we should not overlook how difficult it was on a personal level for those involved.
The 74-year-old DeLuca was never a menacing figure at the Capitol. He was loved not loathed. Like his friend, Democrat Billy Ciotto, DeLuca was everybody’s buddy or pal. Tossing him over the brass railing of the Senate was like kicking your own grandfather out the back seat of a moving car. Anyone with an ounce of human compassion would have a problem with it.
When the DeLuca story first broke, with his arrest and guilty plea in June, the immediate reaction was to circle the wagons and protect a colleague. Soon though, it became apparent that the news media and the public were not going to accept that approach. It may have worked in the past, but no more.
Political Play
Certainly there is a purely political dimension to how the DeLuca case played out. It was apparent from the start that, in the second half of a two-year legislative election cycle, no senator wanted to spend his re-election campaign defending DeLuca’s behavior. DeLuca’s decision to resign clearly came once he realized he didn’t have the votes to survive a trial in the Senate.
On one level, it was about the individual political survival of his colleagues and the vote count.
On another level it’s about setting new standards. The decision to empanel a committee of review should signal to all Connecticut political leaders — regardless of office — that ethical lapses will no longer be swept under the rug. If DeLuca can’t survive the public scrutiny of what he believed was an entirely private family matter, then no one can survive a similar indiscretion.
There are signs the Senate leadership has received the message loud and clear and intends to take action. Less than an hour after DeLuca’s emotional resignation, Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams and Minority Leader John McKinney both pledged to begin work on reforms to be enacted in the next session. Both agreed one avenue worth exploring is the establishment of a permanent Senate ethics committee. This, too, would be an important signal to current and future senators that a mechanism is in place to deal with you if you go astray. If the Senate takes this step, the House would almost certainly be forced to follow.
Hooliganism
Along with the high profile cases that end with prison terms, Connecticut government has been rife with less egregious misbehavior on the part of its elected officials: drunken driving, bar fights, failure to report potential bribery and everyday conflicts of interest.
The DeLuca case may be transformative because it serves as a bridge between the felonious and the mundane. It says that the state’s elected leaders have been paying attention, and they realize, as Sen. McKinney said, “The voters don’t care if the unethical behavior is committed by a Democrat or a Republican; they just want their government to be ethical.”
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
