Fasano Looks Beyond Covid Closures

Republican State Senate leader Len Fasano hopes to accomplish a major goal before retiring this year — helping the economy recover from Covid-19 — by working with, not against, his Democratic colleagues.

He may have do it by phone. But he hopes to get it done.

“We’ve got to start thinking about the economy post-Covid,” about helping restaurants and other small businesses get back on their feet, Fasano said during an appearance (by Zoom) on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.”

Fasano and his Republican and Democratic fellow legislative leaders have worked harmoniously since the Covid crisis began. They agreed together to shut down proceedings in the state Capitol. They talk by phone three times a week, he said. And they have worked alongside Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont without a hitch.

“This is historic. There’s no playbook. This is new territory for the world,” Fasano reflected from his New Haven law office, where he and a social-distanced crew are putting in several hours a day to help clients refinance mortgages (sometimes delivering paperwork to them in the parking lot).

“This governor and his staff have been very responsible. They welcome suggestions,” Fasano said. He also said the governor has used his emergency powers with appropriate caution.

This week Fasano checked with state economic development chief David Lehman about efforts not just to get short-term recovery dollars to businesses, but also to think about how those businesses will reopen whenever the dust clears.

“How will we ease out of isolation and get the economy going?” Fasano asked. ​“Individuals who have sunk their life interests in a restaurant, a bar … How are we going to help them reopen?

One specific concern he raised is with permit renewals. Some businesses may not be paying renewal fees when their permits expire during this shutdown period. They may not be able to afford to. Afterward, it could take at least three to four weeks based on past experience — and probably longer, given the back-up that will likely accumulate — for those same businesses to get an inspector in to clear the way for renewals. Fasano is suggesting that those businesses receive state permission to operate during the interregnum between a renewal filing and an inspection.

Fasano said he decided to retire because, at 61, he wanted to leave at the top of his game. After 18 years of a relentless schedule of events to attend and legislation to stay on top of, he felt it was time to make time to, say, visit his grandchildren in Florida on a long weekend rather than attend political events around the state.

“In politics the key is to know when to get in and get out. I didn’t want to be like that athlete who doesn’t know when to leave,” said the former undergraduate Yale football fullback.

A listener to ​“Dateline” asked Fasano to name his proudest moment in office. The senator didn’t name legislation he authored. He didn’t cite fights in which Republicans prevailed over Democrats.

Rather he cited work on which the two sides found common ground to address important issues.

“I’m most proud of my ability to work across the aisle and keep an open mind” to pass bipartisan legislation, Fasano said.

He mentioned the 2017 bipartisan budget deal. That took months of leadership meetings in which both sides listened to each other, respected each other, understood each other’s positions, and winnowed away the differences.

That doesn’t always happen. Sometimes the two sides can’t agree. But at least in Connecticut, unlike on the national stage, legislative leaders do know how to work together to legislate.

We can be around a table, have a sandwich, talk, joke, and trust each other,” he said. ​“We come together despite differences.”

Click here to read a previous story about how Fasano and his Democratic colleague, New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney, worked together during the term that the Senate had an 18 – 18 party split.

Fasano also mentioned laws he passed with Looney to protect consumers on health care. (Read about that here.)

One of his proudest accomplishments was working with New Haven’s Democratic State Sen. Gary Winfield on criminal justice reform, Fasano said. First they worked on ​“second chance” legislation to help ex-offenders transition out of jail into productive lives. During those discussions Winfield mentioned his support for body cameras for police. Fasano said he shared that general position, even though their perspectives differed somewhat. In the end they and their colleagues produced a law that police chiefs supported, and led to departments across the state adopting the cameras.

Fasano was asked for his capsule takes on the four governors during whose tenure he has served at the Capitol.

On John Rowland: An ​“amazing politician,” able to connect with people, ​“very down to earth. He made some bad personal decisions.”

On Jodi Rell: A ​“cuddly, friendly grandmother,” ​“the right person at the right time,” succeeding Rowland during his impeachment and criminal proceedings. ​“I wish she was a little tougher” when it came time to address the economic recession.

On Dannel Malloy: ​“Had the best work ethic — not only of any governor I’ve known; of any person I’ve known. He knew the issues cold. He had an agenda. You were either with him or against him. … He wasn’t the kind of guy you could chummy up with and have a beer.”

On Ned Lamont: ​“Heart and soul, [he] always wants to do the right thing. Laid back. Nothing fazes the guy. He’ll listen to everybody.” He had a ​“big learning curve” when he took over. ​“He needs to plan a little better” and will need to adopt a ​“stronger voice” to lead a rebuilding of the economy.

Click on the video to watch the full episode of WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven” program with State Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano: