Freshman Rep Steinberg Learns He Isn’t in Westport Any More

Westport state representative Jonathan Steinberg began his freshman term in Hartford in January with “high ideals.” Guided by the collegiality of our Representative Town Meeting, he learned quickly that in Hartford, “those in power have lots of it and use it for their own purposes.”

As one of 33 freshmen in a House with 151 members, he had “a real sense of being a part of a cohort.” He began his term by offering a bill to control pesticides and another to require hospitals to use check lists to reduce potentially fatal errors.

As he watched other freshman select more modest issues he learned that big, broad bills, no matter how well intended, don’t get passed – at least not by freshmen.

He won a sought after seat on the Energy and Technology Committee and joined in writing a bill that originally wanted to reduce energy consumption in public and private commercial buildings across the state. That daunting task was gradually carved down to 12 state buildings in Hartford.

The bill requires these buildings to reduce energy consumption by 10% by 2013. This will begin to rein in Connecticut’s high energy costs and reduce our carbon footprint. It will, Steinberg said “finally put Connecticut on the brink of going from an energy problem state to an energy opportunity state.”

He also told the club that he joined a moderate caucus — a socially liberal and fiscally moderate group (given the tenor of the times) that did not support the governor’s budget bill. He commended the governor for creating a balanced budget in six weeks, but was troubled because it funded $1.6 billion of the state’s deficit with a “promissory note.”

Now that the unions have bought in “we can move ahead.”

Steinberg brings a strong financial analytical background to his new job. He now seeks to join the legislature’s Results Based Accountability group. The RBA group’s objective is to take government off cruise control by continually assessing the cost-benefit of every state funded program and department. In the most macro sense, the question is, is the taxpayer getting his money’s worth? Is the program both effective and efficient?

Joining this group, he said, helped him “get his mojo back.”

He called his experience in Hartford “an incredibly steep learning curve.” He called the legislature “a culture shock, and added that while relationships are invaluable, legislating is a partisan process in which Democrats and Republicans rarely collaborate.

Looking ahead, he believes we need a full time legislature to effectively address the lengthening list of issues — with jobs at the top –to offset lobbyists who work full time in Hartford and to reform government, not react to legislation at the last minute.