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Connecticut (IPA: /kəˈnɛ.tə.kət/) is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Southwestern Connecticut is part of the New York metropolitan area.
Connecticut's first European outposts were several Dutch military posts on its Southwestern coast, and one inland near Hartford, and the Dutch claimed the Connecticut River as the Eastern boundary of New Amsterdam. However, the first real settlement by Europeans was in 1636, when Thomas Hooker led a band of followers overland from the Massachusetts Bay colony to settle in the Hartford, Wethersfield & Windsor townships.
Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. Residents of Connecticut are sometimes referred to as Connecticutians, Nutmeggers or Yankees.
Connecticut has the highest per capita income in the country, and ranks 1st in median household income.[4] It is the richest state in the United States.[5]
Connecticut is the 29th most populous state and ranked 48th in size by area, making it the 4th most densely populated state.[2]
Law and government
See also: Administrative divisions of Connecticut
The Connecticut State Capitol in downtown HartfordHartford has been the sole capital of Connecticut since 1875. Before then, New Haven and Hartford alternated as capitals.[33]
[edit] Constitutional History
Connecticut is known as the “constitution state.” While the origin on this title is uncertain, the nickname is assumed to reference the Fundamental Orders of 1638-39. These Fundamental Orders represent the framework for the first formal government written by a representative body in Connecticut. The government has operated under the direction of four separate documents in the course of Connecticut Constitutional History. After the Fundamental Orders, Connecticut was granted governmental authority by King Charles II of England through the Connecticut Charter of 1662. While these two documents acted to lay the ground work for the state’s government, both lacked essential characteristics of a constitution. The Fundamental Orders and the Connecticut Charter could both be altered simply by a majority vote of the General Assembly. Separate branches of government did not exist during this period, and the General Assembly acted as the supreme authority. A true constitution was not adopted in Connecticut until 1818. Finally, the current state constitution was implemented in 1965. The 1965 constitution absorbed a majority of its 1818 predecessor, but incorporated a handful of important modifications. Another possible source of the nickname "constitution state" comes from Connecticut's pivotal role in the federal constitutional convention of 1787, during which Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth helped to orchestrate what became known as the Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise. This plan combined the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan to form a bicameral legislature, a form copied by almost every state constitution since the adoption of the federal constitution.
[edit] Executive
The governor heads the executive branch. The current Governor of Connecticut is M. Jodi Rell (Republican). There is also a Lieutenant Governor. From 1639 until the adoption of the 1818 constitution, the governor presided over the General Assembly. Connecticut was the first state in the United States to elect a woman as governor without electing her husband first, Ella Grasso in 1974.
There are several executive departments: Administrative Services, Agriculture, Banking, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, Economic and Community Development, Education, Environmental Protection, Higher Education, Information Technology, Insurance, Labor, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Mental Retardation, Military, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Public Safety, Public Utility Control, Public Works, Revenue Services, Social Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs. In addition to these departments, there are other independent bureaus, offices and commissions.[34]
In addition to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, there are four other executive officers named in the state constitution that are elected directly by voters: Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General. All executive officers are elected to four year terms.[33]
[edit] Legislative
The legislature is the General Assembly. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of an upper body, the State Senate (36 senators); and a lower body, the House of Representatives (151 representatives).[33] Bills must pass each house in order to become law. The governor can veto the bill, but this veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each house. Senators and representatives, all of whom must be at least eighteen years of age, are elected to two-year terms in November on even-numbered years. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the senate, except when absent from the chamber, when the President Pro Tempore presides. The Speaker of the House presides over the House; James A. Amann is the current Speaker of the House of Connecticut. The Democrats currently hold the majority in both houses of the General Assembly.
Connecticut's U.S. senators are Christopher J. Dodd (Democrat) and Joseph I. Lieberman (Independent - CT For Lieberman)who is part of the Democratic Caucus. Connecticut currently has five representatives in the U.S. House.
[edit] Judicial
The highest court of Connecticut's judicial branch is the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Connecticut. The Supreme Court is responsible for deciding on the constitutionality of the law or cases as they relate to the law. Its proceedings are similar to those of the United States Supreme Court, with no testimony given by witnesses, and the lawyers of the two sides each present oral arguments no longer than thirty minutes. Following a court proceeding, the court may take several months to arrive at a judgment. The current Chief Justice is Chase T. Rogers.
Before 1818 the highest court in Connecticut was the General Assembly, and later, the Upper House, with the Governor having the title "Chief Judge".[citation needed] In 1818, the court became a separate entity, independent of the legislative and executive branches.[35] The Appellate Court is a lesser state-wide court and the Superior Courts are lower courts that resemble county courts of other states.
[edit] Local government
See also: Administrative divisions of Connecticut and several lists: List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, List of towns in Connecticut, List of cities in Connecticut, Borough (Connecticut), List of counties in Connecticut
Connecticut has 169 towns, which serve as the fundamental local political subdivision of the state; the entire state is divided into towns.[33] Connecticut shares a local form of government with the rest of New England called the New England town. There are also 21 cities,[33] most of which are coterminous with their namesake towns and have a merged city-town government. There are two exceptions: City of Groton, which is a subsection of the Town of Groton and the City of Winsted in the Town of Winchester. There are also nine incorporated boroughs which may provide additional services to a section of town.[33][36] One, Naugatuck, is a consolidated town and borough.
Unlike most other states, Connecticut does not have county government. Connecticut counties were mostly eliminated in 1960, with the exception of the sheriff system.[37] In 2000, the county sheriff was abolished and replaced with the state marshal system, which has districts that follow the old county territories. The judicial system is divided, at the trial court level, into judicial districts.[38] The eight counties are still widely used for purely geographical purposes, such as weather reports.
The state is divided into 15 planning regions defined by the state Office of Planning and Management.[39] The Intragovernmental Policy Division of this Office coordinates regional planning with the administrative bodies of these regions. Each region has an administrative body known as either a regional council of governments, a regional council of elected officials, or a regional planning agency. The regions are established for the purpose of planning "coordination of regional and state planning activities; designation or redesignation of logical planning regions and promotion of the continuation of regional planning organizations within the state; and provision for technical aid and the administration of financial assistance to regional planning organizations."[39]
[edit] Politics
Presidential elections results[40] Year Republican Democratic
2004 43.95% 693,826 54.31% 857,488
2000 38.44% 561,094 55.91% 816,015
1996 34.69% 483,109 52.83% 735,740
1992 35.78% 578,313 42.21% 682,318
1988 51.98% 750,241 46.87% 676,584
1984 60.73% 890,877 38.83% 569,597
1980 48.16% 677,210 38.52% 541,732
1976 52.06% 719,261 46.90% 647,895
1972 58.57% 810,763 40.13% 555,498
1968 44.32% 556,721 49.48% 621,561
1964 32.09% 390,996 67.81% 826,269
1960 46.27% 565,813 53.73% 657,055
Connecticut is a generally left-leaning state, allotting its electoral votes to Democratic candidates in the past four presidential elections but to Republican presidential candidates five times in the 1970s and 1980s. Connecticut has a high number of voters who are not registered with a major party. As of 2004, 33.7% of registered voters were registered Democratic, 22.0% were registered Republican, and 44.0% were unaffiliated with any party, with 0.2% registered with a minor party.[41] Voters in the state are more supportive of fiscal conservatives and may be considered to be generally socially liberal.
Many Connecticut towns show a marked preference for moderate candidates of either party. Democrats hold a registration edge especially in the cities of Hartford; New Haven; and Bridgeport. The state's Republican-leaning areas are the rural Litchfield County and adjoining towns in the west of Hartford County, the industrial towns of the Naugatuck River Valley, and some of the affluent Fairfield County towns near the New York border. The suburban towns of New Canaan and Darien in Fairfield County are considered the most Republican areas in the state, the former being the hometown of conservative activist Ann Coulter. Westport, a wealthy town a few miles to the east, is often considered one of the most loyally-Democratic, liberal towns in Fairfield County. Norwalk and Stamford, two larger, affluent communities in Fairfield County, have in many elections favored moderate Republicans including former Governor John G. Rowland and Congressman Chris Shays, however they have favored Democrats in recent US presidential candidates. Waterbury has a Democratic registration edge, but usually favors conservative candidates in both parties. InDanbury unaffiliated voters outnumber voters registered with either major party. Other smaller cities including Meriden, New Britain, and Middletown favor Democratic candidates.
Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in both houses of the state legislature. In 2006, Republicans were reduced from three out of five to one out of five congressional seats. The remaining Republican, Chris Shays, is the only Republican from New England in the House of Representatives in the current Congress. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman are Connecticut's U.S. senators. The senior Dodd is a Democrat while the junior Lieberman serves as an Independent Democrat caucusing with Senate Democrats after his victory on the Connecticut for Lieberman ballot line in the 2006 general election. Lieberman's predecessor, Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., was the last Connecticut Republican to serve as Senator. Weicker was known as a liberal Republican. He broke with President Richard Nixon during Watergate and successfully ran for governor in 1990 as an independent, creating A Connecticut Party as his election vehicle. Before Weicker, the last Republican to represent Connecticut in the Senate was Prescott Bush, the father of former President George H.W. Bush and the grandfather of President George W. Bush. He served from 1953–1963.
Further information: U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Connecticut
[edit] Political corruption
In recent years, Connecticut politics has been plagued by widespread corruption. Several mayors, state legislators, and government employees have been convicted and imprisoned for crimes ranging from bribery to racketeering. In 2004, Governor John G. Rowland was forced to resign when it was discovered he helped steer state contracts to firms that offered him gifts and free vacations.[42] Following his resignation, he pled guilty to corruption charges and served ten months in federal prison. Former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano was stripped of power in 2001 after a corruption investigation had to be cut short when phone taps unexpectedly revealed alleged sexual acts with 8- and 10-year-old minor girls and other possible acts of pedophilia.[43] In 2003, he was convicted and sentenced to 37 years in federal prison.[44] Democrats have been convicted of corruption as well, most notably former Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. The current Mayor of Bridgeport, John Fabrizi admitted to using cocaine while in office, but has stayed on while not running for re-election.[45][46] In August 2007 Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez announced he had been investigated for ties to a city contractor. [2]
On June 1, 2007, Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca (R-Woodbury) was arrested on conspiracy charges after it was discovered he was dealing with a local Mafia boss who is currently facing federal charges stemming from his trash-hauling operations. [47]
Following Rowland's resignation, the state legislature passed a campaign finance reform bill that bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors in future campaigns.[48]
check realtime wiki> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut
Connecticut (IPA: /kəˈnɛ.tə.kət/) is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Southwestern Connecticut is part of the New York metropolitan area.
Connecticut's first European outposts were several Dutch military posts on its Southwestern coast, and one inland near Hartford, and the Dutch claimed the Connecticut River as the Eastern boundary of New Amsterdam. However, the first real settlement by Europeans was in 1636, when Thomas Hooker led a band of followers overland from the Massachusetts Bay colony to settle in the Hartford, Wethersfield & Windsor townships.
Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. Residents of Connecticut are sometimes referred to as Connecticutians, Nutmeggers or Yankees.
Connecticut has the highest per capita income in the country, and ranks 1st in median household income.[4] It is the richest state in the United States.[5]
Connecticut is the 29th most populous state and ranked 48th in size by area, making it the 4th most densely populated state.[2]
Law and government
See also: Administrative divisions of Connecticut
The Connecticut State Capitol in downtown HartfordHartford has been the sole capital of Connecticut since 1875. Before then, New Haven and Hartford alternated as capitals.[33]
[edit] Constitutional History
Connecticut is known as the “constitution state.” While the origin on this title is uncertain, the nickname is assumed to reference the Fundamental Orders of 1638-39. These Fundamental Orders represent the framework for the first formal government written by a representative body in Connecticut. The government has operated under the direction of four separate documents in the course of Connecticut Constitutional History. After the Fundamental Orders, Connecticut was granted governmental authority by King Charles II of England through the Connecticut Charter of 1662. While these two documents acted to lay the ground work for the state’s government, both lacked essential characteristics of a constitution. The Fundamental Orders and the Connecticut Charter could both be altered simply by a majority vote of the General Assembly. Separate branches of government did not exist during this period, and the General Assembly acted as the supreme authority. A true constitution was not adopted in Connecticut until 1818. Finally, the current state constitution was implemented in 1965. The 1965 constitution absorbed a majority of its 1818 predecessor, but incorporated a handful of important modifications. Another possible source of the nickname "constitution state" comes from Connecticut's pivotal role in the federal constitutional convention of 1787, during which Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth helped to orchestrate what became known as the Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise. This plan combined the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan to form a bicameral legislature, a form copied by almost every state constitution since the adoption of the federal constitution.
[edit] Executive
The governor heads the executive branch. The current Governor of Connecticut is M. Jodi Rell (Republican). There is also a Lieutenant Governor. From 1639 until the adoption of the 1818 constitution, the governor presided over the General Assembly. Connecticut was the first state in the United States to elect a woman as governor without electing her husband first, Ella Grasso in 1974.
There are several executive departments: Administrative Services, Agriculture, Banking, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, Economic and Community Development, Education, Environmental Protection, Higher Education, Information Technology, Insurance, Labor, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Mental Retardation, Military, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Public Safety, Public Utility Control, Public Works, Revenue Services, Social Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs. In addition to these departments, there are other independent bureaus, offices and commissions.[34]
In addition to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, there are four other executive officers named in the state constitution that are elected directly by voters: Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General. All executive officers are elected to four year terms.[33]
[edit] Legislative
The legislature is the General Assembly. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of an upper body, the State Senate (36 senators); and a lower body, the House of Representatives (151 representatives).[33] Bills must pass each house in order to become law. The governor can veto the bill, but this veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each house. Senators and representatives, all of whom must be at least eighteen years of age, are elected to two-year terms in November on even-numbered years. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the senate, except when absent from the chamber, when the President Pro Tempore presides. The Speaker of the House presides over the House; James A. Amann is the current Speaker of the House of Connecticut. The Democrats currently hold the majority in both houses of the General Assembly.
Connecticut's U.S. senators are Christopher J. Dodd (Democrat) and Joseph I. Lieberman (Independent - CT For Lieberman)who is part of the Democratic Caucus. Connecticut currently has five representatives in the U.S. House.
[edit] Judicial
The highest court of Connecticut's judicial branch is the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Connecticut. The Supreme Court is responsible for deciding on the constitutionality of the law or cases as they relate to the law. Its proceedings are similar to those of the United States Supreme Court, with no testimony given by witnesses, and the lawyers of the two sides each present oral arguments no longer than thirty minutes. Following a court proceeding, the court may take several months to arrive at a judgment. The current Chief Justice is Chase T. Rogers.
Before 1818 the highest court in Connecticut was the General Assembly, and later, the Upper House, with the Governor having the title "Chief Judge".[citation needed] In 1818, the court became a separate entity, independent of the legislative and executive branches.[35] The Appellate Court is a lesser state-wide court and the Superior Courts are lower courts that resemble county courts of other states.
[edit] Local government
See also: Administrative divisions of Connecticut and several lists: List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, List of towns in Connecticut, List of cities in Connecticut, Borough (Connecticut), List of counties in Connecticut
Connecticut has 169 towns, which serve as the fundamental local political subdivision of the state; the entire state is divided into towns.[33] Connecticut shares a local form of government with the rest of New England called the New England town. There are also 21 cities,[33] most of which are coterminous with their namesake towns and have a merged city-town government. There are two exceptions: City of Groton, which is a subsection of the Town of Groton and the City of Winsted in the Town of Winchester. There are also nine incorporated boroughs which may provide additional services to a section of town.[33][36] One, Naugatuck, is a consolidated town and borough.
Unlike most other states, Connecticut does not have county government. Connecticut counties were mostly eliminated in 1960, with the exception of the sheriff system.[37] In 2000, the county sheriff was abolished and replaced with the state marshal system, which has districts that follow the old county territories. The judicial system is divided, at the trial court level, into judicial districts.[38] The eight counties are still widely used for purely geographical purposes, such as weather reports.
The state is divided into 15 planning regions defined by the state Office of Planning and Management.[39] The Intragovernmental Policy Division of this Office coordinates regional planning with the administrative bodies of these regions. Each region has an administrative body known as either a regional council of governments, a regional council of elected officials, or a regional planning agency. The regions are established for the purpose of planning "coordination of regional and state planning activities; designation or redesignation of logical planning regions and promotion of the continuation of regional planning organizations within the state; and provision for technical aid and the administration of financial assistance to regional planning organizations."[39]
[edit] Politics
Presidential elections results[40] Year Republican Democratic
2004 43.95% 693,826 54.31% 857,488
2000 38.44% 561,094 55.91% 816,015
1996 34.69% 483,109 52.83% 735,740
1992 35.78% 578,313 42.21% 682,318
1988 51.98% 750,241 46.87% 676,584
1984 60.73% 890,877 38.83% 569,597
1980 48.16% 677,210 38.52% 541,732
1976 52.06% 719,261 46.90% 647,895
1972 58.57% 810,763 40.13% 555,498
1968 44.32% 556,721 49.48% 621,561
1964 32.09% 390,996 67.81% 826,269
1960 46.27% 565,813 53.73% 657,055
Connecticut is a generally left-leaning state, allotting its electoral votes to Democratic candidates in the past four presidential elections but to Republican presidential candidates five times in the 1970s and 1980s. Connecticut has a high number of voters who are not registered with a major party. As of 2004, 33.7% of registered voters were registered Democratic, 22.0% were registered Republican, and 44.0% were unaffiliated with any party, with 0.2% registered with a minor party.[41] Voters in the state are more supportive of fiscal conservatives and may be considered to be generally socially liberal.
Many Connecticut towns show a marked preference for moderate candidates of either party. Democrats hold a registration edge especially in the cities of Hartford; New Haven; and Bridgeport. The state's Republican-leaning areas are the rural Litchfield County and adjoining towns in the west of Hartford County, the industrial towns of the Naugatuck River Valley, and some of the affluent Fairfield County towns near the New York border. The suburban towns of New Canaan and Darien in Fairfield County are considered the most Republican areas in the state, the former being the hometown of conservative activist Ann Coulter. Westport, a wealthy town a few miles to the east, is often considered one of the most loyally-Democratic, liberal towns in Fairfield County. Norwalk and Stamford, two larger, affluent communities in Fairfield County, have in many elections favored moderate Republicans including former Governor John G. Rowland and Congressman Chris Shays, however they have favored Democrats in recent US presidential candidates. Waterbury has a Democratic registration edge, but usually favors conservative candidates in both parties. InDanbury unaffiliated voters outnumber voters registered with either major party. Other smaller cities including Meriden, New Britain, and Middletown favor Democratic candidates.
Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in both houses of the state legislature. In 2006, Republicans were reduced from three out of five to one out of five congressional seats. The remaining Republican, Chris Shays, is the only Republican from New England in the House of Representatives in the current Congress. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman are Connecticut's U.S. senators. The senior Dodd is a Democrat while the junior Lieberman serves as an Independent Democrat caucusing with Senate Democrats after his victory on the Connecticut for Lieberman ballot line in the 2006 general election. Lieberman's predecessor, Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., was the last Connecticut Republican to serve as Senator. Weicker was known as a liberal Republican. He broke with President Richard Nixon during Watergate and successfully ran for governor in 1990 as an independent, creating A Connecticut Party as his election vehicle. Before Weicker, the last Republican to represent Connecticut in the Senate was Prescott Bush, the father of former President George H.W. Bush and the grandfather of President George W. Bush. He served from 1953–1963.
Further information: U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Connecticut
[edit] Political corruption
In recent years, Connecticut politics has been plagued by widespread corruption. Several mayors, state legislators, and government employees have been convicted and imprisoned for crimes ranging from bribery to racketeering. In 2004, Governor John G. Rowland was forced to resign when it was discovered he helped steer state contracts to firms that offered him gifts and free vacations.[42] Following his resignation, he pled guilty to corruption charges and served ten months in federal prison. Former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano was stripped of power in 2001 after a corruption investigation had to be cut short when phone taps unexpectedly revealed alleged sexual acts with 8- and 10-year-old minor girls and other possible acts of pedophilia.[43] In 2003, he was convicted and sentenced to 37 years in federal prison.[44] Democrats have been convicted of corruption as well, most notably former Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. The current Mayor of Bridgeport, John Fabrizi admitted to using cocaine while in office, but has stayed on while not running for re-election.[45][46] In August 2007 Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez announced he had been investigated for ties to a city contractor. [2]
On June 1, 2007, Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca (R-Woodbury) was arrested on conspiracy charges after it was discovered he was dealing with a local Mafia boss who is currently facing federal charges stemming from his trash-hauling operations. [47]
Following Rowland's resignation, the state legislature passed a campaign finance reform bill that bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors in future campaigns.[48]
check realtime wiki> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut