Thomas MacMIllan File Photo
Marty Looney won not just another term in the State Senate — but also a reaffirmed party majority that he vowed would fight to protect price-gouged consumers and police-hassled citizen photographers.
Democrat Looney’s reelection Tuesday as a New Haven state senator was never in doubt. No one ran against him.
What was in doubt was his party’s 22 – 14 majority in the State Senate. Looney serves as Senate majority leader. He watched nervously as, for the first time, Super PACs and other freespending outside groups poured money into a half-dozen Senate races in recent weeks to try knock out six Democrats.
All six Democrats, including Senate President Don Williams and Branford Sen. Ed Meyer, held onto their seats. Two other seats switched hands — one to Democratic, one to Republican hands. So the big majority held.
“It’s especially gratifying since the Republicans spent $350,000 in six or seven races in the last ten days in Super PAC Citizens United funding in trying to go after a number of our incumbents and failed to dislodge any of them,” Looney said in an interview Tuesday night. “This is the first cycle we’re seeing this massive super PAC funding, which in some cases increased the budget of the campaign by 50 percent or more.”
(Click here for a previous interview with Looney about some of his accomplishments as majority leader.)
Looney quickly identified three steps he hopes that majority can take in the next session in tandem with a Democratic governor and House of Representatives:
• Passing his proposal to protect the rights of citizens to photograph and video-record the actions of police officers in public; and to hold cops criminally liable if they make improper arrests of citizen photographers. The State Senate passed the proposal this past year, but it died in the House.
• Passing his proposal to cover services, not just goods, in state price-gouging legislation. Massive storms prompted Looney’s proposal after citizens got taken advantage of after massive storms. Read about it here.
• Passing a proposal related to appeals of denials by insurance companies of medical treatments and medication. Looney wants to see patients continue to receive those treatments or medications while their appeals are pending.