It's hard to think that, not long ago, the region sent mostly Democrats to the General Assembly in Hartford.

These days, Republicans are much more prominent in the delegation, representing some of the largest towns.

Who would have thought New London, of all places, a city, would have one Republican representative and a Republican senator.

It also looks like more Republicans around here could step aboard the delegation in the fall election.

The only Democrat so far to announce for Sen. Andrew Maynard's soon-to-be-vacated senate seat is an alpaca farmer from Preston.

Timothy Bowles, a former one-term state representative and retired state social worker, announced a run for Maynard's seat last month.

Bowles, who receives a $62,808 state pension, seems like an unlikely standard bearer for pension reform, which should be an important issue in the next election.

I understand Bowles is a personable, likeable guy.

But Heather Bond Somers of Groton, the only announced Republican in the race, would eat him alive in a debate.

A Bowles' candidacy could mean Democrats, in a year when unfunded pension liabilities are part of a fiscal firestorm, would be putting up two candidates for state senate from the region who collect substantial state pensions.

In addition to her two salaries for serving as first selectman of Sprague and in the state senate, Cathy Osten also collects a state pension for the years she worked as a corrections officer, a trifecta of publicly funded compensation.

There is no Republican competition yet for the house seat held by Diana Urban of North Stonington.

But if someone surfaces, there is a ready-made argument against the Democratic incumbent, who, incredibly, just voted for substantial school funding cuts for Stonington and Groton.

Urban said her party's leadership promised the cuts would be restored, but given the intra-party shoving going on in Hartford right now, it would seem all promises may be off.

Democrats around here and in the General Assembly seem completely tone deaf in this cataclysmic fiscal year.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has been trying to lead the legislative wing of his party down a new path, specifically warning them at the outset of this lawmaking session that the world has changed, that Connecticut has to curb its spending habits for good.

I saw Senate Democrats at their worst this year as they continued to pretend that the brain-injured Sen. Maynard is mentally capable to serve, as he voted up the party's agenda.

I ran into Maynard outside the Capitol a few weeks ago.

He greeted me warmly, seemingly oblivious to the many columns I have written saying he is unfit to be voting.

He readily agreed that day to sit down for an interview, waving toward the Capitol as he got out of the passenger side of a car.

He nodded enthusiastically when I said I would call to arrange the interview.

Of course, the interview never happened; his staff said no.

I don't blame Maynard for staying on through the term to which he was re-elected, to finish the service he needs for a pension and retirement medical benefits.

I do blame his party for not coming up with a solution that would have allowed him to retire with dignity and give his constituents a fully cognizant voice in democracy.

Instead, Senate leaders created a lie, complete with a color mailer to his constituents, an elaborate illusion that the senator is functioning normally in his job.

At least the Democratic Senate leadership is now providing a staff member to drive the disabled senator. His serious car accident this year in Waterford — thankfully no one was badly hurt — could have been avoided.

When it was clear he was not capable of serving, Senate Democrats could certainly have given Maynard a short-term state job that would have seen him through to his retirement, and let him resign from his voting Senate seat.

But, as we can see even more clearly now, that would have only likely put Heather Bond Somers in that seat a lot faster.

And the Senate Democrats couldn't control those votes.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com