HARTFORD -- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told a standing-room-only crowd of union leaders Friday that the stakes for passing the state budget are very high for both the unions and for himself.
In a public acknowledgement of the political consequences facing him, Malloy said it is crucial that he reaches his goal of $2 billion in state-employee savings over the next two years.
"If we don't succeed, I probably won't be re-elected," Malloy told the crowd in a ballroom in a Hartford hotel.
Malloy told more than 150 union leaders that it would be "unimaginable'' for him not to achieve the union savings because it would lead to more budget cuts or the layoff of thousands of state employees.
"Listen, the consequences are dire,'' Malloy said in response to a question. "They're dire. It's against a backdrop in which I've already said I'll raise taxes by $1.5 billion, which in real numbers - not adjusted - is the largest tax increase in the state's history. ... I got elected by actually fewer than 7,000 votes, and the first thing I do out of the box is tell the people of Connecticut - almost half of whom did not vote for me - that I'm going to raise your taxes by $1.5 billion. The consequences are dire for us all if we don't succeed.''
In a meeting arranged by the AFL-CIO, Malloy met with labor leaders in the Hilton Hartford that is operated by unionized employees.
At one point, Malloy told those assembled, "I'm not stupid, folks, and I'm not evil. I'm really trying to do my best job."