Gov. John G. Rowland has decided to resign amid a months-long cascade of graft allegations, a federal investigation and a rapidly gathering drive to impeach him for accepting gifts from friends and businessmen.
...One longtime friend, a state contractor, bought the governor's Washington condominium at an inflated price through a straw buyer. Rowland received cigars, champagne, a vintage Ford Mustang convertible, a canoe and free or discounted vacations from employees and friends including some with state contracts. The FBI was even looking into whether Rowland skimmed money from low-stakes poker games he hosted.
For months, Rowland has insisted he never did anything in exchange for the gifts. But the drumbeat of allegations sent his approval ratings plummeting and led to demands for his resignation from Republicans and Democrats alike.
"The governor has chosen late in this journey to take the honorable road. John Rowland made many bad choices that led us to today's resignation," said House Speaker Moira Lyons, a Democrat. "I am sad that such a gifted and talented leader chose a path of deception and ethical malaise for so long."
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...One longtime friend, a state contractor, bought the governor's Washington condominium at an inflated price through a straw buyer. Rowland received cigars, champagne, a vintage Ford Mustang convertible, a canoe and free or discounted vacations from employees and friends including some with state contracts. The FBI was even looking into whether Rowland skimmed money from low-stakes poker games he hosted.
For months, Rowland has insisted he never did anything in exchange for the gifts. But the drumbeat of allegations sent his approval ratings plummeting and led to demands for his resignation from Republicans and Democrats alike.
"The governor has chosen late in this journey to take the honorable road. John Rowland made many bad choices that led us to today's resignation," said House Speaker Moira Lyons, a Democrat. "I am sad that such a gifted and talented leader chose a path of deception and ethical malaise for so long."
It's patriotic.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Remember this post on the whacko Rowlands around Christmastime last year? The link in that post is to a New York Times article which has since been archived and requires a paid subscription to get, but here are the good parts (available through a Lexis/Nexis search):
In an appearance that mixed religious imagery, a reference to the capture of Saddam Hussein, admissions of personal frailties and his wife's barbed Christmas poem about his embattled status, Gov. John G. Rowland said on Wednesday that he would fight to keep his job.
Making his first scheduled public appearance since admitting last week that he had accepted favors from aides and powerful business interests, Mr. Rowland, a Republican, told a largely supportive crowd that he had made mistakes but was determined to finish the three remaining years of his term.
...Wednesday's crowd, which consisted mostly of businesspeople, lobbyists and supporters of the governor, was a veritable Who's Who of Connecticut newsmakers.
...Also invited were several soldiers who were recently in Iraq, whom the governor introduced, noting that their heroics abroad "puts everything in perspective real quick."
...Quoting the "Christian author C. S. Lewis," he said that "in our adversity, God shouts to us."
"Needless to say, I am hearing him loud and clear," he said.
In his remarks, laden with mentions of God and faith, Mr. Rowland said he had "grappled with more than my fair share" of failures, and "with these failures comes embarrassment and a profound sense of humility." He asked voters "to keep all things in proportion, the good of nine years versus the bad."
And then, after hearing him say: "With your forgiveness and your support, I will get back up," the crowd heard his wife, Patricia Rowland, deliver a stinging sing-song rebuke of the news organizations that had reported on her husband's shortcomings and the widening federal investigation into his administration.
Opening with the line " 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except me, the first spouse," she read for the crowd a poem that praised her husband and damned the press, particularly the state's largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
"They used to be good girls and boys, Santa said," the poem said of the press. "But the poison pen's power has gone to their head."
After the poem's tone became clear and the audience gasped, she glanced at the governor to assess his reaction. "Go for it, hon," he said. "What can they do to us?"
"They can't make it worse," she replied, and continued reading.
Making his first scheduled public appearance since admitting last week that he had accepted favors from aides and powerful business interests, Mr. Rowland, a Republican, told a largely supportive crowd that he had made mistakes but was determined to finish the three remaining years of his term.
...Wednesday's crowd, which consisted mostly of businesspeople, lobbyists and supporters of the governor, was a veritable Who's Who of Connecticut newsmakers.
...Also invited were several soldiers who were recently in Iraq, whom the governor introduced, noting that their heroics abroad "puts everything in perspective real quick."
...Quoting the "Christian author C. S. Lewis," he said that "in our adversity, God shouts to us."
"Needless to say, I am hearing him loud and clear," he said.
In his remarks, laden with mentions of God and faith, Mr. Rowland said he had "grappled with more than my fair share" of failures, and "with these failures comes embarrassment and a profound sense of humility." He asked voters "to keep all things in proportion, the good of nine years versus the bad."
And then, after hearing him say: "With your forgiveness and your support, I will get back up," the crowd heard his wife, Patricia Rowland, deliver a stinging sing-song rebuke of the news organizations that had reported on her husband's shortcomings and the widening federal investigation into his administration.
Opening with the line " 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except me, the first spouse," she read for the crowd a poem that praised her husband and damned the press, particularly the state's largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
"They used to be good girls and boys, Santa said," the poem said of the press. "But the poison pen's power has gone to their head."
After the poem's tone became clear and the audience gasped, she glanced at the governor to assess his reaction. "Go for it, hon," he said. "What can they do to us?"
"They can't make it worse," she replied, and continued reading.
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