The Democratic campaigns of Ned Lamont and Dannel Malloy got into a dust-up Monday as they clashed over endorsements on the eve of Lamont’s official announcement that he is running for governor.
Malloy, a Stamford Democrat whose political base is in lower Fairfield County, announced the endorsements Monday of “east of the river” officials that include state Sen. Gary LeBeau of East Hartford – who recently dropped out of the governor’s race.
But longtime Democratic activist Nick Paindiris, who is volunteering to help coordinate delegate counts for Lamont for the state party convention in May, said Malloy’s move was an act of “desperation” that was specifically timed for a reason.
“He wanted to counter-balance today’s event,” Paindiris said Tuesday at the Old State House in downtown Hartford before Lamont officially entered the race for governor.
“Among the delegates, Dan has the lead,” Paindiris told Capitol Watch. “Dan has been working it for five years, and Ned has been doing it for four months.”
Malloy strategist Roy Occhiogrosso, who considers Paindiris as a friend, countered that it was not an act of desperation – saying Malloy made a similar announcement recently about his support among top Democrats in New Britain and Berlin, including state Sen. Donald DeFronzo and state Rep. Timothy O’Brien.
“If the convention were held today, Dan would win it,” Occhiogrosso said. “There is no doubt in my mind.”
A Glastonbury lawyer who has supported numerous candidates through the years, Paindiris ran Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign in Connecticut in 2004 and former Sen. Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign in the state in 2000.
Since Malloy won the convention in 2006 before losing to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano in the primary, some insiders believe that Malloy will won the convention once again this year. And the Lamont camp expects to win the primary in August in the same way that he defeated Joseph I. Lieberman in the August 2006 primary.
“The game-changer will be when Ned goes on TV,” Paindiris said. “Dan is stuck at 12, 13, 20 percent name recognition. And he doesn’t get his money until the convention.”
Malloy has pledged to abide by the state’s campaign finance law, which would provide him with $1 million in public funding for the primary and $3 million for the general election. But under a “millionaire’s penalty,” any candidates who qualify by raising $250,000 in private funds would be eligible to receive additional funding if a millionaire candidate blew through the spending cap.
If Lamont blows through the limits, Malloy could receive a maximum of $2.5 million for the primary and $4 million for the general election for a total of $6.5 million in public financing, Occhiogrosso said.
The $2.5 million for the primary – between late May and early August – would be more than the amount that Malloy had in that timeframe in 2006, Occhiogrosso said. Overall, both Malloy and DeStefano raised and spent about $4 million for the primary in 2006.
“Ned spent $16 million or $17 million of his own dollars in 2006,” Occhiogrosso said. “How far did that get him?”
This year, if Lamont spends $13 million, he would have a 2-to-1 spending advantage over the maximum amount that Malloy could receive.
Malloy has not yet qualified for public financing, based on the law that says he must raise $250,000 in contributions of $100 or less. But Occhiogrosso predicts that Malloy “will have more than sufficient funds” to get his message out this year.
The campaign, he said, should be about ideas and not about money – something that will be mentioned in the next three months before the delegates vote at the convention and then right up through the hot August primary.