Claiming they’ve been left in the dark, top state Republicans want more details about the governor’s proposal to use state pension funds to buy a stake in the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
The Republicans say they’re not opposed to keeping the Sun in the state, but they’re questioning the use of public funds to do it, calling it a risky investment.
“We’re here today to call on both the treasurer and this administration,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding at a Thursday press conference in Hartford, “to bring some common sense and transparency to our hard-earned money, whether it be through the state employees’ pension, or whether it be through the taxpayers.”
“The state employer retirement funds, for the benefit of both state employees and taxpayers,” said Sen. Ryan Fazio, who’s running for governor, “should be invested on the basis of protecting their retirement and protecting the taxpayers, not political questions.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, asked about Republicans’ criticism on Wednesday, said, “Do they have a constructive alternative, or are they just criticizing from the sidelines? Do they think we shouldn’t be fighting to keep the Connecticut Sun here?”
Lamont calls the potential transaction a good investment, citing the increasing value of WNBA franchises. The league has reportedly blocked majority offers of $325 million for the Sun. Mohegan Sun bought the franchise for $10 million more than twenty years ago.
But the Republicans say they need more assurances, and, more widely, they say the state treasurer, currently Democrat Erick Russell, should not have sole power over the pension fund: To insulate the fund from political whims, they’re repeating their effort to install a board to oversee the fund, a plan they say has been rejected by Democrats.
Fazio said, “Our proposal would protect taxpayers, would protect state employees, would broaden out responsibility and power for the management of tens of billions of dollars rather than investing it in a single individual.”
On the potential minority purchase of the Sun, Russell recently said, “What we would be looking at is something, if this is where we landed, that would be in the benefit of pensioners.”
The Sun is committed to remaining at Mohegan Sun Arena through at least the 2026 season. The state pension fund proposal is intended to keep the team in the state, with some games to be potentially played in Hartford.