Editing Lowell Weicker (section)

==Governor of Connecticut==
Weicker's political career appeared to be over after his 1988 defeat, and he became a professor at the [[George Washington University]] Law School. However, he entered the [[1990 Connecticut gubernatorial election|1990 gubernatorial election]] as the candidate of [[A Connecticut Party (1990)|A Connecticut Party]], running as a [[good government]] candidate<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuMCAAAAMBAJ&q=lowell+weicker+governor&pg=PA12|title=Playing Favorites|last=Byron|first=Christopher|date=January 10, 1994|publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|language=en}}</ref> and drew upon his coalition of liberal Republicans, moderate Democrats, and independent voters.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Early 1990s recession in the United States|early 1990s recession]] had hit Connecticut hard, worsened by the fall in revenues from traditional sources such as [[sales tax]] and [[corporation tax]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-01-vw-1250-story.html|title=A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess.|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=July 1, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Connecticut politics had a tradition at the time of opposition to a state [[income tax]]—one had been implemented in 1971 but rescinded after six weeks under public pressure.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/23/nyregion/budget-is-passed-for-connecticut-with-income-tax.html|title=Budget Is Passed for Connecticut With Income Tax|last=Johnson|first=Kirk|date=August 23, 1991|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Weicker initially campaigned on a platform of solving Connecticut's fiscal crisis without implementing an income tax. He won in a three-way race with Republican [[John G. Rowland]] and Democrat [[Bruce Morrison]], taking 40% of the vote against Rowland's 37% and Morrison's 21%. Weicker lost [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield]] and [[New Haven County, Connecticut|New Haven County]] counties to Rowland, but won eastern Connecticut, drawing especially strong support from the [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] metro area, where he had been strongly endorsed by the ''[[Hartford Courant]]'' and by many state employee labor unions. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that support from Democrats was credited for Weicker's victory, reflected in Morrison's third-place finish.<ref name=":0" />

After taking office, with a projected $2.4 billion deficit,<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2016/02/weicker-feel-good-speech-income-tax/|title=Budget Address by Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., to a Joint Session of the Connecticut General Assembly, 13 February 1991 |date=February 13, 2016 |publisher=Yankee Institute for Public Policy |language=en-US|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Weicker reversed himself and pushed for the adoption of an income tax, a move that was very unpopular.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /> He stated, "My policy when I came in was no income tax, but that fell apart on the rocks of fiscal fact."<ref name=":8">{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975293,00.html|title=The Gutsiest Governor In America: Lowell Weicker|last=Ellis|first=David|date=April 13, 1992|magazine=Time|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Weicker vetoed three budgets that did not contain an income tax, and forced a partial government shutdown, before the [[Connecticut General Assembly|General Assembly]] narrowly passed it in 1991.<ref name=":6" /> The 1991 budget set the income tax rate at 6%,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-01-vw-1250-story.html|title=A Taxing Situation: Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess.|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=July 1, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> lowered the sales tax from 8% to 6% while expanding its base, reduced the corporate tax to 10.5% over two years, and eliminated taxes on capital gains, interest, and dividends.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> It also included $1.2 billion in line-by-line budget cuts,<ref name=":8" /> including the elimination of state aid to private and parochial schools, but held the line on social programs.<ref name=":2" /> His drastic measures provoked controversy.<ref name=":5" /> A huge protest rally in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] attracted some 40,000 participants, some of whom cursed at and spat at Governor Weicker.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

Weicker earned lasting criticism for his implementation of the income tax; the conservative Yankee Institute claimed in August 2006 that after fifteen years the income tax had failed to achieve its stated goals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fifteen Years of Folly: The Failures of Connecticut's Income Tax |url=http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/68087%20text.pdf |access-date=August 28, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127043154/http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/68087%20text.pdf |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |publisher=Yankee Institute for Public Policy}}</ref> However, he earned national attention for his leadership on the issue, receiving the [[John F. Kennedy Library Foundation]]'s [[Profile in Courage Award]] for taking an unpopular stand, then holding firm.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Kirk |title=MAY 24–30: Profile in Courage; Lowell Weicker Jr. Wants Washington To Take Note|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/31/weekinreview/may-24-30-profile-in-courage-lowell-weicker-jr-wants-washington-to-take-note.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A6%22%7D|access-date=October 6, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 31, 1992}}</ref> Within two years, the state's budget was in surplus and he was well-regarded among voters.<ref name=":2" /> In retirement, he commented, "You've had 19 years to repeal it, and all you've done is spend it."<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" />

Despite his increasing popularity, he did not seek re-election as governor in 1994, citing wanting to spend time with his children as the reason. His last year in office was marked by a controversy over the firing of the state commissioner of motor vehicles, Louis Goldberg.<ref name=":4" /> In 2000, he endorsed Senator [[Bill Bradley]] (D-NJ) for President. In 2004, Weicker supported former [[Vermont]] Gov. [[Howard Dean]]'s (D-VT) presidential bid. He expressed sympathy for the budget struggles of Governor [[Dannel Malloy]], drawing a parallel with his own efforts to remedy a fiscal crisis.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" />

In his book ''Independent Nation'' (2004), political analyst [[John Avlon]] describes Weicker as a [[Radical center (politics)|radical centrist]] governor and thinker.<ref>Avlon, John (2004).  ''Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics''.  Harmony Books / Random House, pp. 177–93 ("Radical Centrists").  {{ISBN|978-1-4000-5023-9}}.</ref>