Re-elect Sen. Andrew Maynard in 18th District

State Sen. Andrew Maynard has been a voice of fiscal moderation in a Democratic Senate caucus that has been unwilling to attack the structural problems with the state budget. Risking the wrath of the majority party's leadership, Sen. Maynard voted against the current budget and was absent a year earlier when the Senate approved the 2009-10 budget.

Those badly flawed spending plans depended on borrowing to pay for ongoing expenses, quickly chewed through federal aid that is unlikely to return and did little if anything to address the problems that are driving costs well beyond projected tax revenues. There was no significant consolidation of agencies or departments, no effort to get the cost of pension obligations under control, not even an honest accounting.

Sen. Maynard, 48, sees the need to revamp a bloated and inefficient Department of Transportation. He calls for streamlining the Department of Motor Vehicles to make better use of electronic documentation, bringing the department into the 21st century. He wants to phase in a 401(k) retirement savings system for state workers to replace a pension system that could bankrupt the state.

In 2009 Sen. Maynard was out of the country when the Senate finally enacted a budget on Sept. 1, ending a special session that dragged through the summer. This past May he voted "no" during the budget roll call.

The senator's fiscally moderate approach well suits the sprawling 18th District he represents, snaking from the coastal communities of Groton and Stonington, where he lives, north to include the conservative-leaning communities of North Stonington, Preston, Plainfield, Sterling, Griswold and Voluntown. He is seeking a third term.

Our greatest problem with the senator was his failure to convince leadership to pass a fiscally responsible budget. He tells us the unwillingness of outgoing Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to stand tough on fiscal spending undermined the efforts of moderate Democrats. We agree.

But the next governor, whoever he is, must get serious about reining in state spending. Only real change can address a budget hole projected at about $3.4 billion. Democrats, likely to retain their majority, will need voices of reason in their caucus who demand genuine budget reform.

We cannot conclude without making note of the senator's good work as Senate chair of the Select Committee on Veterans Affairs. In that position he has been a friend to veterans, including advocating for legislation that provides unemployment compensation benefits to military spouses forced to leave their jobs due to a military relocation. Tuition waivers at state public colleges are available to the dependent children and surviving spouses of military persons in considerable part because of Sen. Maynard's efforts.

Sen. Maynard was instrumental in fighting for creation of a state Office of Military Affairs, a small but vital office for a state, and a district, that are home to a submarine base and major defense manufacturer.

In Stuart R. Norman Jr., 61, a longtime member of the Griswold Board of Education, Sen. Maynard faces a fellow moderate. Mr. Norman, a Republican, says it would be a travesty if the legislature solved the state budget problem by cutting aid to towns and driving up property taxes. He's right.

But Mr. Norman fails to provide any details on how to reduce state government spending and has not brought any fire, or significant funding, to his candidacy.

In the 18th District The Day endorses the re-election of Sen. Andrew Maynard.