It was meant as a joke.
When state Democratic Party spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan came to a Christmas party in the state Capitol press room, she brought a chocolate cake with green writing from one of the top bakeries in Hartford – Mozzicato DePasquale’s Bakery and Pastry Shop on Franklin Avenue.
Placed on a table in the historic press room, the dessert said, “My Race Is Going To Be A Piece of Cake” and it was signed, “Love, Chris.”
At that moment, in mid-December, Dodd was trailing in the Quinnipiac Poll against the two Republican frontrunners in the U.S. Senate race – former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons and World Wrestling Entertainment entrepreneur Linda McMahon.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who attended the party, appeared stunned when an attendee suggested that she look at the cake. She questioned whether Dodd had actually sent the tasty dessert.
State GOP chairman Chris Healy was also stunned – enough to prompt him to take a picture for posterity.
It turned out that the cake was the work of Flanagan, who is now stepping down as the party’s spokeswoman. A former employee of Dodd, Flanagan was heavily involved in the party’s work when Dodd was still running for re-election to the Senate.
But since Dodd dropped out of the race on January 6, Flanagan has been relatively silent – as compared to the daily barbs that she had e-mailed to political reporters. Starting Monday, she will start working for Dodd again – in his downtown Hartford office.