Since I first moved to Connecticut back in 2004, English Station has always been there. The massive, hulking, derelict power plant, built in the 1920s, sits on an island in the middle of Mill River in New Haven, facing the harbor. United Illuminating shut it down in 1991, and it has stood idle ever since—a Gothamesque, Art Deco relic sitting on heavily contaminated land.
English Station is located right next to the water, across from two heavily populated New Haven neighborhoods. You would think that in the thirty-plus years since it closed its doors, someone would have decided to do something useful with that ruin and replace it with something — anything — more beneficial to the community than a crumbling hull. Yet, in all these years, countless politicians, lawyers, and utility company executives have lazily colluded into inaction.
I bring up English Station because it is a clear, visual example of how Connecticut politics has this long-standing tendency to let problems linger. Despite our status as a reliably blue, “progressive” state with large Democratic supermajorities in the state legislature and a Democratic Governor, our state leaders often seem to mistake moderation for inaction, leaving major issues unaddressed year after year.
Take, for instance, paid sick days. Connecticut was the first state in the nation to pass a paid sick leave bill, all the way back in 2011. Being the first meant that the legislation was fairly narrow, covering less than 15% of the workforce. Everybody understood then that the bill was going to have an immediate positive impact and that, after a few years, it would have to be revised to cover all workers. No one, no matter where they work, should have to choose between earning a paycheck and staying home to take care of a sick child.
In the following years, however, Connecticut lawmakers failed to expand the bill. Corporate-aligned legislators in the General Assembly worked relentlessly to stop proposed changes year after year. Somehow, doing nothing to support families with kids was the “moderate” position, as helping working families is something we should only do occasionally and with great restraint. It was the bipartisan thing to do; crossing the aisle to block a policy with widespread support and clear economic benefits became a badge of courage proudly displayed by certain lawmakers to the praise of commentators and pundits alike. Paid sick days became one of many legislative priorities that fell by the wayside, time and time again, as moderates preferred to seek “bipartisan support” for non-solutions instead of actually fixing things.
Last year, following years of pressure by activists, advocates, and us here at the Working Families Party, the General Assembly at last expanded paid sick days to cover all workers, effective in 2027. Voters took notice. One of the most vocal opponents of the bill ended up losing the election by under 100 votes. No legislator who supported the bill (including quite a few moderates in swing districts) lost. I am fairly sure it is not a coincidence that, in the same election, several WFP-endorsed candidates won in GOP-held districts with a message focused on making working families their main priority.
Once the new General Assembly convenes in January, I am certain that many centrist lawmakers and even-keeled commentators will be calling again for moderation and incremental change. They will point to the likely barrage of terrible policies coming down from the second Trump administration to advocate for restraint, bipartisanship, and small tweaks on the margins. And invariably, when presented with any plan to fix real, pressing problems for working families in our state, they will stall, call for delays, and seek to block them in the name of caution.
Do not listen to them. The best way to counter and fight back against a second Trump administration is not by hiding but by truly fighting for the working families of our state. If Connecticut has become increasingly unaffordable. It is time, then, to take steps to fix our broken housing policy and build the safe, welcoming neighborhoods and communities we need across the state. If parents struggle with childcare costs, let’s ensure every single child in the state has access to quality early care and education. If health insurance premiums are increasingly unaffordable, let’s provide a public option as an alternative for small businesses and families. If electric rates are growing faster than anywhere in the country, it is time to stand up to private utilities and their shareholders in a meaningful way while embracing clean energy alternatives, like offshore wind. And instead of hiding behind arcane budget rules as an excuse for inaction, let’s modify the so-called fiscal guardrails so we can make the long-term investments in education, healthcare, and economic development we need to grow our state.
These are not, obviously, simple problems to address. They will require plenty of debate, negotiation, and fine-tuning. Reaching broad agreements with wide support, especially on complex structural issues, is usually a good idea. Lawmakers, however, should not use seeking consensus or bipartisan support as an excuse for inaction. Their priority should not be appeasing those who believe that finding agreement is more important than finding solutions, but building a stronger Connecticut for working families.
Also, let’s do something about English Station when we have a chance. It is an eyesore.