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Good Turnout At Gov. Dan Malloy Town Hall In Stamford

STAMFORD, CT (WCBS 880) - While a lot of people had a axe to grind or hoped to promote a special interest, others expressed a genuine interest in hearing the state of the state from the governor himself.

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau with reaction

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Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy continued his series of town halls, bringing his message to Stamford on Tuesday.

He went in upbeat and confident.

"Historically, what governors have done in Connecticut is, you know, come up with a budget, throw it on the table and run away," Malloy told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau. "I'm not running away from this. This is about change, a change in direction, and I'm pretty proud of it"

"Well, I am very interested in hearing the governor's plans for getting the state out of the deficit and I'm hearing all kinds of rumors, but I figured I would come listen to the person that has the plan," said one man.

As for ideas from the gallery, the governor's budget director, Ben Barnes says sometimes he hears a suggestion worth noting.

"There are few things that I have written down and thrown into the hopper. So, we take suggestions whereever we can find them and we've certainly heard a few pretty good ones here."

Part of Malloy's plan to balance the budget depends on givebacks from state union workers and some lined up to question the governor on that.

Others had questions about the plan to raise taxes.

But one woman said that with the state facing a $3.5 billion budget deficit, "it's something we have to live with."

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