60 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017
GOVERNORS
Lowell Weicker
The governor was in the middle of his only term
when the Hartford Business Journal was born in
1992. But what a term it was. Weicker, who lost
his U.S. Senate seat to Joe Lieberman in 1988, ran
for governor under the Connecticut Party banner
in opposition to the state income tax. In a three-
way race, he defeated Republican John Rowland
and Democrat Bruce Morrison. Once elected, he
changed positions and led the fight to pass the tax.
The new revenue eased the state's fiscal crisis
but enraged the electorate who felt betrayed. An
estimated 40,000 turned out for one Hartford
protest rally. An effort to repeal the tax passed
the legislature but Weicker vetoed it and the
vote to override fell just one vote short. Weicker,
the grandson of a founder of the E. R. Squib
Corp., previously had served three terms in the
U.S. Senate, one in the House and two in the
Connecticut House, all as a Republican.
John Rowland
After losing the governorship to Lowell Weicker
in 1990, Rowland was elected in 1994 and
reaped the benefits of Weicker's controversial
income tax. The state ran budget surpluses on
his watch and plowed $2 billion into upgrading
higher education. He was re-elected in 1998
and 2002 but resigned in 2004 amid corruption
investigations centering on unpaid work done
25 Years of Political Leaders
A look at some city, state and federal lawmakers who
have impacted the region over the last 25 years.
By Norm Bell
Special to the Hartford Business Journal
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