Connecticut Democratic State Senator Gayle Slossberg of Milford announced on Friday that she won’t be seeking another term in office. She recently recused herself from voting on Andrew McDonald, Governor Dannel Malloy’s nominee to be Connecticut’s next chief justice.
Slossberg is a centrist Democrat who’s in her seventh two-year term in the State Senate. She says she’s not seeking another term in office for personal reasons. In recent years, Slossberg sided with Republicans on some key votes including a controversial union concession deal and last year’s state budget.
She’s say she’s recusing herself from voting on Justice Andrew McDonald because she previously had a legal conflict with him. In an affidavit she had accused McDonald of having been verbally abusive to her. Some Democrats say Slossberg’s recusal from the McDonald vote puts his confirmation in jeopardy in the evenly divided Sate Senate.
Senate Republican President Len Fasano accuses Democrats of trying to intimidate Slossberg to tow the party line. “I think that going after Gayle is ridiculous. You want to support Justice McDonald, who’s a nice guy, I have no problem with that. But attacking someone who actually had the courage – it takes a lot of courage to write an affidavit about events that took place – is obscene.”
In response, Senate Democratic President Martin Looney says Fasano is marching in lockstep with Republicans in Washington in preparing to block the confirmation of an historic and highly qualified nominee.