be limited. Allies of Governor Jodi Rell labelled the proposal an attempted power grab. That year Gaffey also opposed efforts to increase education aid to suburban school districts, even those represented by fellow Democrats, in favor of adding more funds to urban districts. His response to complaints from suburban legislators was "Like everything else in those districts, that is rich!" Gaffey has also clashed with leaders of his local school board over the installation of artificial turf. In November 2007 Gaffey suggested that the state had to impose a more stringent school integration plan on suburbs in the Hartford region. "The notion that we're going to get a better result by voluntary programs is ridiculous," said state Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, co-chairman of the legislature's education committee. "We need to shift away from the model of remedy that the state has been pursuing for years. The district is as racially isolated today as it was 10 years ago. It suggests you need to do something different." Another Gaffey initiative was a bill that banned most out-of-school suspensions. Educators were unsure how they could comply with the law. In 2008 Gaffey did break with party leadership to support a Three Strikes Law to give life sentences to career violent criminals supported by Governor M. Jodi Rell. Thomas P. Gaffey was the father of three children. His son, Thomas M. Gaffey died on February 2, 2009, at the age of 16. In 2005 the Connecticut Appellate Court denied the Senator's ex-wife's request for increased child support. CSU bonding scandal On December 2, 2007, Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie detailed Gaffey's efforts on behalf of a billion dollar bonding proposal from the Connecticut State University system; which he promoted while being romantically involved with the university administrator lobbying for the proposal. Much of Rennie's story detailed personal communication between Gaffey and his girlfriend over state e-mail accounts. On December 3, 2007, Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and Republican State Chairman Chris Healy demanded an investigation into whether Gaffey's conduct violated state ethics rules. The Democratic senate caucus was split on the need to investigate, with Fairfield County Democrats Andrew McDonald and Bob Duff suggesting an investigation was needed, while Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. flatly rejected the idea. On December 7, the Hartford Courant's editorial page called on Gaffey to be censured for his role in this affair, despite a letter from