I recently reviewed the statistical summary of state Senate voting patterns from the spring legislative session, and I have some very good news: bipartisanship is alive and well at the State Capitol in Hartford, and your elected representatives are doing some wonderful, positive things for the people of Connecticut.

Who knew?

To hear some tell it, Republicans and Democrats don’t get along at all in Hartford: one party rules with an iron fist, there is no communication, and every vote is a knock-down, drag-out fight.

And yet, Senate Republicans voted with me and the rest of the Democratic Senate majority 86.6 percent of time this spring: that’s seven out of every eight votes that we agree on, across 485 topics, over the course of five months.

Quite frankly, I don’t believe I agree with my mother or my daughter 86 percent of the time, so I’d say we’re doing pretty well up at the Capitol.

The most “disagreeable” Republican (and I say that with all good humor and admiration) still voted with Democrats 83 percent of the time this session, which is five out of every six votes. Several Republicans voted with the majority nine out of every 10 times.

That’s astonishing, and it may come as a surprise to the general public. Allow me to observe that no one ever boosted their political opportunities by saying how much they actually do agree with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle. So, in a way, all the complaining about divisiveness does serve a political purpose, even when it is inaccurate.

So what do we agree on?

Well, a lot.

Legislative sessions generally begin on a positive and bipartisan note. Senate Republican leaders join Senate Democratic leaders at bipartisan press conferences to express universal support for new public policies like the CARE Act, which ensures that family caregivers are given follow-up medical instructions when a patient is discharged from the hospital to ensure proper healing and to reduce costly hospital readmissions.

Democrats and Republicans went to bat together for female veterans when we established the Connecticut Women Veterans’ Program that reaches out to women veterans (like me) to improve their awareness of federal and state veterans benefits.

Democrats and Republicans worked together on workplace harassment laws pertaining to interns, on encrypting customer’s personal insurance data, on safe sleep practices for infants, and on various hospital and health care reforms.

Not every vote is a huge, standalone issue. Democrats and Republicans work together on what are called consent bills, bills that both sides agree do not need more than a brief discussion before being added to a list of bills that we all agree to vote for. These lists can be 20, 30, or even 40 or more bills.

As a committee chair, I have had countless conversations with my ranking Republican committee colleagues about language they would like to see added, or dropped, or changed in a bill. It’s all part of the bipartisan political process to make life better for Connecticut residents.

Do Republicans and Democrats ever disagree? You bet we do – often on spending issues, although the public might once again be surprised to learn that this year’s Republican budget proposal differed from the Democrats’ by only 2 percent.

We also disagree on other issues, such as women’s health matters, the environment, immigrant opportunities and the rights and responsibilities of unionized workers. But those disagreements are minor compared to the depth and breadth of issues that Democrats and Republicans do agree on.

So next time you read or hear about partisan politics in Hartford, remember this number: 86.6. That’s how often Democrats and Republicans agree in the state Senate. And that’s a good thing for everyone.

State Sen. Catherine Osten, a Democrat, represents the 19th senatorial district. She is also the first selectwoman of Sprague.