There is a strong drinking culture in the Connecticut House of Representatives and it has been a problem for many years.

For instance, I personally attended a state party fundraiser a few years back where there was members of the house who were blackout drunk and yet still drove home. The former Mayor of Hartford at the direction of the former Governor even ordered the Hartford police chief to move a DUI checkpoint away from the party fundraiser to avoid any embarrassment.

Let’s be honest, this isn’t a political issue. This is a public safety issue. And I am angry about it. While the vast majority of our Representatives are responsible and are professional and would never do anything to put other people’s lives in danger, there are around 15 members of the General Assembly - primarily from the House and from both political parties (as well as some legislative staffers) - who need to be called out and held to a higher standard. It isn’t just Representative Comey. She by far isn’t the first one to drive while under the influence. She just got caught.

I’ve seen so many instances of legislators getting drunk even in the mornings at the Capitol, to legislators and staffers getting hammered at the end of session even to the point of taking off their clothes and throwing hoops from the forth floor balcony onto the Nathan Hale statue in drunken celebration. And back in 2020 when several members were caught drinking in the middle of session and when Rep Comey was drunk on the House floor, the Speakers of the House refused to do anything but issue a stern warning not to drink on the job. There were no consequences. And the message that everyone received at the Capitol was drinking is acceptable and we can do whatever we want as there won't be any consequences.

There is a huge drinking culture at the Capitol. It is extremely problematic. Some people have even left their jobs because they felt unsafe. Some were sexually harassed and assaulted while employed. I personally have never witnessed a drinking culture so intense and that includes my time in college.

There is no other workplace where you can show up to your job drunk and keep your job. There is no other workplace where you can drink on the job and not face any consequences. Let's be honest: Speaker Ritter failed in his job by refusing to uphold the laws of our state and apply them equally to people in positions of power. Speaker Ritter refused to hold multiple legislators accountable for their behavior and for their failure to follow the law and there should be an independent inquiry to investigate the behavioral misconduct by both representatives and senators - not just for the substance abuse issues but in matters including sexual harassment issues as well - in order to ensure a safe working environment for all legislators, all staffers, and all members of the public.

I like Representative Comey and she is a good legislator. But she needs to resign and seek professional help. She could have been killed. She could have killed others. It is nothing sort of a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. I had a very close friend who was killed by a drunk driver and I hate to see anyone else get hurt.

This is not a one time incident but an on going issue spanning decades and a issue that is getting significantly worse. There needs to be an independent investigation into the drinking culture as well as the sexual misconduct issues at the Capitol and people need to be held accountable. Legislators and legislative staffers who are found as a result of a investigation to have engaged in unlawful or improper conduct need to resign. Also, there needs to be a thorough examination on why there was a failure to follow state laws and legislative rules at the seat of government. And finally, there should also be a independent task force should make recommendations as to any legal safeguards that should be implemented in order to prevent more people from getting hurt or worse.

Edit: grammar