New Haven State Senator Martin Looney told an immigrant success story — his family’s immigrant success story — to urge the state legislature to renew and redefine its commitment to expanding the American dream.
Looney told the story to the legislature Wednesday on the opening day of the session, to mark a milestone: His becoming the president of the State Senate.
He spoke of how his parents joined millions of immigrants in coming to American more than 80 years ago, in their case from County Clare, Ireland; how his dad, living in Fair Haven, drove a forklift at the old Winchester rifle plant and helped organie a union while his mother cooked for the Sisters of of Mercy at St. Rose Convent.
“Every door was welcoming,” he said.
“Up and down Wolcott Street it was the same: the Biondis, the Gregos, the Morrisseys the Moscas and the Looneys shared the same dreams of a better life, carving out their little corner of the American experiment. It is a dream shared today on Wolcott Street by the Rodriguezs, the Ortizs and Jacksons and Williams. It is the same dream of a better life here in America.
“Why should the Rodriguezes the Ortizes and Jacksons and Williams not be entitled to the same opportunities that Connecticut afforded the Espositos, Greenbergs and Looneys as well as the Townsends and the Saltonstalls before them?”
He said the legislature has done that in recent years by raising the minimum wage, passing a paid-sick leave bill and a state earned income tax credit, expanding pre-kindergarten, among other measures. He called for continuing that effort by “mak[ing] college more affordable,” the tax system fairer, retirement more secure, energy policies more consumer-friendly, and the health care system more transparent.
A written version of Looney’s speech follows:
I could not begin my remarks today without acknowledging my wonderful and beautiful wife Ellen. I love you. Thank you
I also want to thank my son Michael my grandson Matthew for being here today. My daughter in law Becky is home with our New granddaughter Anna Katherine but Becky’s dad and Anna’s other proud grandpa Assistant Attorney General Steve Strom is here this morning.
And to my predecessor Don Williams: your decade of thoughtful and steady leadership has been a great gift to the people of Connecticut. Your wisdom and grace under pressure will stand as an inspirational model for all leaders in this beloved chamber. We all wish you the best in your new endeavors. You will be missed in this circle.
And to my new partner, our new Majority Leader Bob Duff, your work ethic and energy and sound policy analysis has already distinguished you in this body and I look forward to working side by side with you.
To my friend and law partner Judge Jack Keyes — here we are. Not too bad for a couple of kids from New Haven’s parochial schools and Notre Dame High School.
More than 80 years ago my parents left County Clare, Ireland for a new life in America as millions of immigrants from around the world have done before and after them.
Across the Atlantic they came to Connecticut in search of opportunity, filled with hope but not knowing what to expect here.
Theirs is an immigrant story. It is a Connecticut story.
On Wolcott St in New Haven’s Fair Haven section they eventually settled where my father drove a forklift at Winchester’s and helped organize a union and became a union steward while my mother worked as a cook for the Sisters of Mercy at St. Rose Convent. They prayed at Saint Rose of Lima Church, brought me into this world and worked toward that better life with a firm belief in the value of education for their only child.
What the late New York Governor Mario Cuomo said about his parents who came from Italy could also be said about mine:
It was my father “who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example. I learned about our kind of democracy from my father. And I learned about our obligation to each other from him and from my mother. They asked only for a chance to work and to make the world better for their children, and they — they asked to be protected in those moments when they would not be able to protect themselves. This nation and this nation’s government did that for them”.
Wolcott Street will always hold a special place in my heart.
Every door was welcoming.
Up and down Wolcott Street it was the same: the Biondis, the Gregos, the Morrisseys the Moscas and the Looneys shared the same dreams of a better life, carving out their little corner of the American experiment.
It is a dream shared today on Wolcott Street by the Rodriguezs, the Ortizs and Jacksons and Williams.
It is the same dream of a better life here in America.
It is the same dream.
A place where their children can grow up to fulfill their potential.
Why should the Rodriguezes the Ortizes and Jacksons and Williams not be entitled to the same opportunities that Connecticut afforded the Espositos , Greenbergs and Looneys as well as the Townsends and the Saltonstalls before them.
Over the last 4 years Connecticut has become a more welcoming place.
I urge my colleagues to continue our state down that path.
For Connecticut to be a place of opportunity for all — not for some.
A place where it doesn’t matter if your fore fathers came from County Clare or Amalfi or Jalisco or Lagos.
We are one Connecticut. A stronger Connecticut when we embrace souls seeking the American dream.
Time and again throughout our history we have seen how government can be a force for good in people’s lives:
A rising minimum wage,
paid sick leave,
an Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor
cleaner air and water
the largest expansion of pre-kindergarten in our history
Job Training through the STEP-Up program
The loans and grants of the Small Business Express program
Partnering with our largest employers to keep jobs here in Connecticut
We are not a United States Congress suffering from the paralysis of partisanship — one where the leaders won’t acknowledge let alone speak to one another.
Today in Washington there are far too many people there who loathe Government. Who see no place for it in a market driven world; who want to see it fail and want to starve it of the resources needed to achieve and then discredit it when it stumbles and falls short.
Those are not the values of this chamber and those are not the values of this government and those are not Connecticut’s values.
Will we disagree? Yes. Ours is a system of 2 parties, with competing ideas offered in good faith. That is normal. That is to be expected.
In close partnership with our great Governor and Lieutenant Governor we can reach inspiring and magnificent goals. And we must because our collective potential has not yet been achieved.
There is more work to do.
We need to make college more affordable
We need more fairness in our tax system
We need to provide retirement security for Connecticut’s seniors
We need consumer-friendly energy policies
We need to make good on our commitment to early education
We need to bring more transparency to our hospitals and health care system
We need to invest in a 21st Century transportation system
And we need to continue the critical task of developing a climate where opportunities for good paying jobs and rewarding careers are within reach of those who are willing to study hard and to work hard.
We have much work to do.
To our new colleagues: I say ‘welcome’ to this historic chamber
To my returning colleagues: it is truly a blessing to be here, with you, today.
