Weicker: Malloy just 'cleaning up' budget mess

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) - The former Connecticut governor who pushed to establish the state income tax says naysayers should lay off Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for his proposed budget cuts and tax increases.

Lowell P. Weicker Jr. says he's not a big Malloy fan, but that the current Connecticut governor is "cleaning up the mess" he inherited and there is "no point in giving him grief."

Weicker was a former Republican and U.S. senator who launched his own political party and became an independent, serving as governor from 1991 to 1995. He marked his 80th birthday Monday.

Weicker also makes no apologies for the income tax he championed.

He told Hearst Newspapers in an interview that Connecticut clearly enjoys spending the money, considering the tax hasn't been repealed since it started 19 years ago.

Read more at GreenwichTime.com