Connecticut District 5: Representative Jim Maloney
A River Defender Takes On Polluters
Two years ago Danbury Democrat Jim Maloney staged an upset over conservative
Republican incumbent Gary Franks. At the time, Franks had the worst environmental
voting record in the state's congressional delegation, and Maloney was vice chair
of the state senate's Environment Committee, working to protect open space and
waterways. Maloney called himself a "vigilant environmental defender." The Sierra
Club agreed, and its participation in the campaign was instrumental in his
victory.
This year the Republican Party is retaliating by making Maloney one of its top
targets. While the GOP hadn't held its primary at presstime, the opposing
candidate is expected to be state Senator Mark Nielsen, a strong conservative who
tried to kill a bill in the Connecticut statehouse that would have required
utilities spraying pesticides to warn those living nearby.
In his first year as representative, Maloney earned a score of 88 percent from
the League of Conservation Voters. He has cosponsored bills to protect wilderness
in the Arctic and Utah, as well as the Children's Environmental Protection and
Right to Know Act. Along with Christopher Shays (R), who represents a neighboring
district, Maloney has worked to increase funding for the cleanup of
"brownfields," polluted former industrial sites, of which there are more than 150
in the Naugatuck Valley. Already, with Maloney's help, a brownfield has been
returned to use as the New Waterbury Mall.
Maloney's favorite environmental cause, however, is clean water. The state's
rivers have suffered greatly from industrial pollution, and many residents rely
on private wells for their water. Maloney made his support of the Clean Water Act
an issue in his 1996 campaign, attacking Franks for voting to gut the act. "The
repeal of the Clean Water Act would have meant more pollution of the Naugatuck
and Housatonic rivers," he said.
"Maloney is going to make sure that Connecticut residents who are concerned about
clean water and a clean environment will be protected," predicted then-Sierra
Club President Adam Werbach. Werbach's prophecy came true the first time-now it's up
to Connecticut voters to make it come true again.
