Malloy claims that do not add up

I got a press release from the Foley for governor campaign that everyone should see. I reporduce it below in its entirety:

"Dannel Malloy has said a lot of things in his ads and on the campaign trail that just don’t add up, including many statements he made at a debate with Tom Foley on Friday:

Personnel Cuts: In his TV ad, Malloy says he will cut the size of the governor’s staff by 15%. When informed that would equal less than five full time positions, he said in a debate on Friday that he meant 15% of the whole executive branch. Well that would be about 7,500 jobs. Is that really what he meant? He says in the same ad that he will cut state agencies by 30%, but he doesn’t say if he will eliminate them or just consolidate them which wouldn’t result in any savings. Meantime, in the last ten days he has proposed two new government agencies to oversee harbor development and Bradley Airport. So is he eliminating agencies or creating new ones?

Taxes: In his TV ad, Malloy says he “held down taxes” as mayor of Stamford. But the Hartford Courant and other news organizations have reported taxes went up every year Dannel Malloy was in office and increased overall nearly 80%. Does anyone other than Dannel think that is holding down taxes?

Spending: Dannel Malloy says he thinks the state budget needs to be cut, but on the campaign trail he has committed to at least $500 million of new spending.

Jobs: Dannel Malloy says he created 5,000 jobs while mayor of Stamford, but the Hartford Courant, quoting the state Department of Labor, says Stamford lost more than 13,000 jobs from 2000-2009 and more than 7,000 jobs from 1996-2009, his full term as mayor. So just when exactly did Dannel create these jobs? On Friday, he conceded Stamford has lost jobs, but now he says it wasn’t his fault.

Education: Dannel Malloy claims Stamford has a top ranked school system, but test results from the state Department of Education show Stamford has the biggest achievement gap of any city in Connecticut and that only 37% of its 10th grade public school students are performing at grade level. Exactly who gave Stamford schools their supposed top ranking?

Death Penalty: Dannel Malloy has been consistently against the death penalty and acknowledged that the death penalty would likely be abolished if he is elected. On Friday he said the defendants in the Petit murder case would be put to death even if he signed a law to abolish the death penalty. As a lawyer and former prosecutor, he should know better. A statute abolishing the death penalty, even if it excluded the Petit murderers, would almost certainly give them a solid legal case for overturning their death sentence.

Tolls: Dannel Malloy said in a speech last week that he supported tolls to pay for the completion of Route 11. So this is two new state agencies, $500 million of new spending, and a new tax from Dannel Malloy in just a few weeks. Is anyone checking to see if all of this really adds up?

“Dannel Malloy has established a record in this campaign of making unrealistic promises, being loose with the facts, and then flip-flopping when called on it,” said Justin Clark, campaign manager for Tom Foley for Governor. “Connecticut needs leadership that works with real information, doesn’t over promise, and is truthful with voters. Dannel Malloy isn’t meeting that standard.”