Author: Christopher Keating

Despite winning their party’s political conventions Saturday, Republican Tom Foley and Democrat Dannel Malloy did not see substantial change in their poll ratings in the governor’s race.

That was the analysis Thursday from Douglas Schwartz, the director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

“We didn’t see any bounce for Malloy or Foley,” Schwartz told reporters Thursday.

Foley continued to lead the Republican field by 26 points in the latest Q poll – the exact lead that he had in the previous poll more than two months ago. Malloy, despite winning the party’s convention endorsement for the second time, remains behind Democratic challenger Ned Lamont by 17 percentage points, according to the poll.

Overall, 65 percent of registered Democrats said they did not know enough about Malloy to form an opinion. That rating came even though Malloy has now won the party’s convention endorsement for governor in 2006 and 2010. He raised and spent $4 million before losing the August 2006 primary to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, who later lost in the general election to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell by 63 percent to 35 percent.

“It says that he hasn’t gotten better known,” Schwartz said of Malloy. “It was a problem that he had four years ago – getting better known outside Fairfield County. Now, he will have the matching funds so that he can spend some money on advertising that will help him get better known.”

Depending on how much Lamont spends, Malloy – who became the first person in state history to qualify for public funding in the governor’s race – could receive as much as $2.5 million in public funds for the primary.

Although Malloy has been behind Lamont in the polls for the past six months, his strategist, Roy Occhiogrosso, say there are many differences between this campaign and the one four years ago. Malloy had predicted back then that he would defeat DeStefano, saying that the New Haven mayor had wasted money on statewide television advertisements that reached all voters instead of targeting Democratic voters with a history of voting in primaries – which was his strategy. 

“Dan has a lot of things going for him this time that weren’t in place in 2006,” Occhiogrosso said. “More money, more time to spend on the campaign trail, more of the spotlight from the media, a sharper contrast with his opponent, and strong labor support.”

On the Republican side, Foley remained in the lead with 37 percent of those polled, compared to 11 percent for Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele of Stamford and 5 percent for longtime business executive Oz Griebel of Simsbury. Among Republicans, 42 percent remain undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 6.5 percentage points in the Republican primary.

With a multi-million-dollar fortune from his business career, Foley has poured $2 million of his own money into a campaign that has been broadcasting television commercials on a steady basis.

Despite Foley’s lead, the race is still in flux because of the high number of undecided and the lack of name recognition among the candidates. Among registered Republicans, 58 percent said they did not know enough about Foley to form an opinion. In addition, 78 percent said they did not know enough about Fedele, who has been lieutenant governor for more than three years and served in the legislature for 10 years as a representative from Stamford.

Griebel, a Dartmouth College graduate who is on leave as the CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, is even less known to the general public. Among registered Republicans, 88 percent did not know enough about him to form an opinion. Among Republican women, the figure increases to 91 percent.

In the Democratic race, Lamont has been consistently ahead of Malloy – over the past four Quinnipiac polls that date back six months to November 2009. Lamont was ahead of Malloy by 14 percentage points when Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz was still in the race. Since then, Lamont has been ahead by 16, 10, and 17 percentage points over the past three polls.

Lamont has not said how much he will spend on the race, but many insiders expect that it will be millions. Lamont spent about $17 million of his own money in the 2006 race against U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, which included an upset victory in the primary and then a defeat by 10 percentage points in the general election.

Behind in the polls and behind in fundraising, former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy challenged Greenwich cable TV entrepreneur Ned Lamont to 17 debates Wednesday as they launch into the primary season.

Malloy, who faces Lamont on August 10 in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, wants “a different kind of campaign” with debates in all 17 cities and towns that have a daily newspaper.

Malloy wants to have many debates, saying there was only one debate in his unsuccessful 2006 campaign for governor in the Democratic primary – a prime-time, televised debate at the Garde Arts Center in New London.

“One,” Malloy said emphatically when asked by a veteran Capitol political reporter Wednesday how many debates he had in 2006 with New Haven Mayor John DeStefano. “That was the New London one. There were some joint appearances, but not many. I don’t think there were joint appearances after the convention.”

But the archives of The Hartford Courant show that there were at least a dozen debates in 2006 on television, radio, and in front of live audiences around the state. The contests included taped debates that aired on “Beyond The Headlines” on Channel 61 and WFSB-TV, Channel 3. The debate at the Garde theatre was held on July 18 – two months after Malloy’s convention victory. Longtime reporter Mark Davis of Channel 8 held a debate on the morning of the convention, and the two candidates appeared live on WPLR morning radio show and on the Stan Simpson radio show at the time. They also appearance in East Hampton, which was memorable because former Gov. William A. O’Neill was in attendance.

Other debates were not televised live, including the first post-convention debate on June 8, 2006 at Rockville High School in Vernon against DeStefano, who later won the primary. Malloy was happy to see the number of newspaper and television reporters at that debate.

“We have more press at this debate than we had at any of the eight or nine debates in the three weeks, four weeks leading up to the convention,” Malloy said that day in June 2006 in Rockville.

Malloy won the Democratic nomination for the second time at the state party’s convention Saturday, but he has remained behind Lamont in the past three Quinnipiac University polls over the past several months. Another poll is scheduled to be released Thursday morning.

In the proposed debates, Malloy said he and Lamont can “test one another’s intellects, test one another’s conceptions of governance, test one another’s experience, and the applicability of that experience to a state in crisis.”

Malloy unveiled the idea to the Capitol press corps on Wednesday morning without having asked Lamont about it. He said he would be calling Lamont in about two hours to ask him personally.

The Lamont campaign said that U.S. John McCain offered the same proposal during the 2008 presidential campaign, but the difference was that McCain called the Obama campaign in advance before going public.

“Ned and Dan have appeared together more than 20 times already this year, and they’ll do so again before the primary,” said Justine Sessions, a spokeswoman for Lamont. “But even after 20 joint appearances, we still haven’t heard Dan offer a single idea for how to create jobs.  If he wants to try a “different kind of campaign”, that’s where he should start.”

Malloy told reporters that if he called Lamont in advance and Lamont had said no, then Malloy would be holding a press conference criticizing Lamont about not debating.

Roy Occhiogrosso, a political strategist for Malloy, said the Lamont campaign’s response was unclear.

“Is that a yes or a no?” he asked.

Debates have a long history in Connecticut. In a series of debates that are remembered among the most contentious, then-U.S. Sen. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. and Democratic challenger Toby Moffett traveled around the state for six debates – in the six Congressional districts at the time – in clashes in 1982 that were often broadcast live on public television.

In the general election in 2006, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell had two debates against DeStefano.

The Hartford Courant’s Jon Lender reports that Malloy made references Wednesday to the famous Lincoln – Douglas debates that have been studied for more than a century in the history books.

“Now I couldn’t have come up with this concept this idea without thinking perhaps of the greatest series of debates in our nation’s history,” Malloy said. “As you know, Lincoln debated Douglas, stood toe to toe for seven debates across the state of Illinois. … Those debates lasted a minimum of three hours. One of them, I am told, went as long as eight hours.  They started with a 60-minute opening statement, followed by a 90-minute opening by the other, followed by a 30-minute rebuttal by the first candidate. Now, I know some people’s attention spans are not as long as they were in 1857, but I also know that people are yearning for information. People want to be informed.”

Malloy continued, “People want to feel that they’re part of  the process. I know that this is a ground breaking concept, and some of you might even dismiss it. There’s no preconceived ground rules. I think what we should do is reach out to the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association and the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, and to other organizations, and bring them in to get this job done.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has released an advertisement on the Web regarding Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s statements about the Vietnam War.

The ad includes clips from Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who has become one of Blumenthal’s biggest critics.

A spokeswoman for Blumenthal, Maura Downes, could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday night.

WNPR’s John Dankosky says that the smiling photograph of Blumenthal that is used in the ad actually came from WNPR, which does not endorse any candidates. He is asking for it to be taken down.

http://whereweblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/national-republican-senatorial-committee-swipes-wnpr-photo-for-attack-ad/

Vice President Joseph Biden, in speaking about Vietnam, said he didn’t want to make a “Blumenthal mistake.”

Biden jokes about avoiding ‘Blumenthal mistake’ in session with veterans

HARTFORD – While many campaigns were taking a breather Monday from the long hours of the political party conventions, Democrat Ned Lamont came to the capital city to talk about job creation with a group of young professionals.

About a dozen attendees gathered around long tables to kick around ideas about how to improve Connecticut’s image among some that it is merely a stopping point between New York and Boston. The group gathered at the University of Hartford, which is about halfway between Albany and Providence.

“All my friends are headed to D.C., New York or San Francisco,” said Meg Evans, a 22-year-old senior at Yale University who has lived in Connecticut virtually her whole life. “That’s a big pull.”

Many of her friends, she said, actually live in Manhattan and make the reverse commute to work in Stamford.

“If you go to those train stations in Fairfield County, there are as many people coming in as going out,” Lamont responded.

One woman caught Lamont’s attention when she said she left the famed Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and is now teaching political science at the University of Connecticut. She said that Connecticut would be a better state if there was a light rail system to get from UConn to New Haven.

Others in the roundtable discussed the long-stalled New Britain-to-Hartford busway, although some said that will not make much difference in the quality of life in either of those cities.

“The heck with the Research Triangle,” Lamont told the group. “You want to be in New Britain. … Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport were three of the richest cities in the world a few generations ago, and they can be again.”

Lamont will be facing former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy in the Democratic primary on August 10. On the same day, Republicans Tom Foley of Greenwich, Mike Fedele of Stamford, and Oz Griebel of Simsbury will be battling in the GOP primary.

The national fallout continues as Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal became a topic of conversation Sunday on “Meet The Press” in a nearly week-long string of widespread attention over comments he has made about serving in Vietnam.

The story broke last week on The New York Times web site, including a video of Blumenthal saying in 2008 in Norwalk that he served in Vietnam. He apologized for the remarks Sunday night in an e-mail to The Hartford Courant.

On NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Blumenthal was defended by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He noted that some veterans rallied around Blumenthal at his press conference last week in the same way “as he’s had their back” in the past on various issues.

Menendez also criticized Republican convention nominee Linda McMahon, whose campaign researched Blumenthal’s background in the Vietnam era. Menendez said that professional wrestling is “a dirty business,” and that the excesses of wrestling are done “all for the purposes of making money.” 

But Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Menendez’s counterpart for the Republicans, said Blumenthal “has damaged his reputation … by misrepresenting his record.”

“Meet The Press” is one of many national shows that have focused attention on Blumenthal over the past week.

McMahon was interviewed on the Fox News Channel by conservative host Sean Hannity, who seemed to be out of the loop by suggesting that the McMahon campaign had absolutely nothing to do with the New York Times report on Blumenthal.

“And you had no role whatsover in The New York Times breaking the story?” Hannity asked.

“No,” McMahon responded, noting that her campaign had a role in the story. “We contributed some research, you know, to the story for the New York Times, but they initiated. They did the research. They did all the verification for it.”

Earlier, Hannity asked, “How do we characterize this? Chronic liar? What’s the word you are using to describe his behavior? … This was not one time. This was multiple times.”

“He’s just not leveling with the people of Connecticut, and they sense it,” McMahon said.

Former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy and Greenwich cable TV entrepreneur Ned Lamont still had not talked as of Sunday morning regarding their upcoming primary contest.

One of the questions that Malloy was asked Saturday after winning the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial convention nomination at the Expo Center in Hartford was if he had talked to Lamont yet. He had not.

Within minutes of his acceptance speech, Malloy was sharply criticizing Lamont regarding his views on campaign finance reform as Malloy is accepting public financing in the race and Lamont is not. Malloy also criticized Lamont on paid sick leave – an issue that Malloy supports that failed again this year to be approved by the state legislature. The issue did not get a vote in either the House or the Senate, which are both controlled by the Democrats with veto-proof majorities.

On a television program on Sunday morning on Channel 3 at the studios in Rocky Hill, Malloy was asked again if he had spoken yet to Lamont.

“I think he left the hall while I was speaking,” Malloy responded.

As reported by The Hartford Courant on Saturday and Sunday, Lamont was actually speaking to a group of reporters as Malloy was making his acceptance speech. Lamont had walked to the press area near the back of the hall, diverting the attention of many reporters as Malloy was still speaking on stage.

Lamont remained in the hall throughout the balloting in the lieutenant governor’s race between his running mate, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, and Malloy’s running mate, state Comptroller Nancy Wyman. Wyman defeated Glassman with almost exactly the same number of votes that Malloy surpassed Lamont – by more than a 2 to 1 ratio.

The next major stop for all four candidates is the August 10 primary – which is surely to be a hotly contested matchup.

Lamont has been the leader in the Democratic primary in the past three Quinnipiac University polls over the past several months. He had initially been behind Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, but she dropped out of the governor’s race in January and will not be on the ballot this year.

State party conventions are a time of arm-twisting and deal-making.

But some politicians do their best to avoid confirming the actual deals that are happening in the hallways. Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura, though, is not one of those who hides in the shadows.

When asked to confirm whether he was involved in any deals to help him secure the Democratic nomination for state comptroller, Jarjura smiled and said, “It’s a convention. Isn’t that what we do?”

He declined to confirm whether he had been involved directly in a deal involving vote trading for the secretary of the state. But he said he was in a deal for his own race for comptroller.

“My deal has been with the mayors of Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport,” Jarjura said. “Everybody made a deal.”

He noted that New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said that the mayors need “one of our own advocating for us” in the state comptroller’s office.

“They’re going to have a friendly ear,” Jarjura said of his fellow mayors. “I wouldn’t think deals are anything nefarious at a convention.”

In one of the deals of the day, secretary of the state candidate Gerry Garcia of New Haven withdrew his name from the nomination on the second ballot after he had already qualified for a primary. Garcia then threw his support to state Sen. Jonathan Harris of West Hartford, and the New Haven delegation delivered all 81 votes to Harris.

But House Majority Leader Denise Merrill of Storrs won the party’s nomination, defeating Harris in a close race on the second ballot.

“Thanks, everyone!” Merrill yelled from the stage after her victory. “Oh, my God, what a great day to be a Democrat!”

Merrill thanked Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who will not be on the ballot this fall.

“Susan has left some big shoes to fill,” Merrill said. “Why do I want to be secretary of the state? Because I think it’s the best job in the world.”

HARTFORD – Former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Saturday by more than a 2 to 1 margin over challenger Ned Lamont – setting the stage for a hotly contested primary in August.

The victory marked the second time that Malloy has won the party’s endorsement, coming on the heels of his 2006 nomination that later ended in a defeat in the primary.

This year, Malloy says the outcome will be different against Lamont, who burst onto the national political scene four years ago by defeating U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in the Democratic primary before losing the general election.

On Saturday, Malloy captured 68 percent of the delegates to Lamont’s 32 percent. Malloy’s running mate, state comptroller Nancy Wyman, also defeated Lamont’s running mate, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman. The vote count was similar to the Malloy count as Wyman received more than 1,200 votes.

In his acceptance speech at the Connecticut Expo Center, Malloy noted that he was the first candidate to qualify for public financing at the statewide level. He could receive as much as $2.5 million in public funds for the primary to battle against the millions of dollars of his own money that Lamont is expected to spend.

“We made history!” Malloy said of the public financing. “They said it couldn’t be done, and you did it.”

“I will not let you down. We will win this battle,” Malloy said. “I am prepared for this job. … Some other candidates do not have the experience.”

Sounding one of his campaign themes, Malloy said he sharply improved his hometown of Stamford during his years as mayor.

“In 14 years, what did we do? We turned it around,” he said.

The official count from Democratic officials was 1,232 votes for Malloy and 582 for Lamont.

Even while Malloy was delivering his victory speech, Lamont came to the press area at the convention center, where reporters peppered him with questions instead of watching the end of Malloy’s speech at the other end of the hall.

“This is what we did four years ago,” Lamont told reporters. “We won that primary. … It’s a primary that [running mate] Mary Glassman and I will win.”

While Malloy is touting the work he did in improving Stamford as mayor over the past 14 years, the mayors of the state’s three biggest cities – who have all worked with Malloy – have all endorsed Lamont.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano stood on the stage during one of the nominating speeches for Lamont, although they did not make speeches themselves. Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, who was a strong supporter of Malloy in 2006 and helped swing the Hartford delegation in his favor, has now switched sides and is supporting Lamont.

“Lamont reached out to me and people in Hartford,” said Perez, who is a Hartford delegate. “Lamont understands the importance of the cities.”

Overall, the Hartford delegation voted in favor of Malloy by 45 to 20, said Matthew J. Hennessy, a Lamont supporter and former Perez aide who was walking the convention floor with Perez.

Perez has had his own troubles lately as he is in the middle of a bribery and extortion trial after prosecutors charged that he received $40,000 worth of repairs at his home on Bloomfield Avenue. When confronted with the allegations about the repairs, prosecutors say that Perez lied when he said he had already paid for the repairs 18 months earlier.

Preparing for one of the biggest days of his political career, Malloy arrived at the Connecticut Expo Center to survey the hall on Saturday at 5:30 a.m.

Noting that he might have the chance to speak at the state Democratic Party convention later in the day, Malloy wanted to get the lay of the land. Overnight, the cavernous convention hall had been cooled down because more than 1,800 delegates were scheduled to arrive only three hours later.

“The place was like a meat locker,” Malloy said of the 5:30 a.m. temperature.

While other candidates have switched races on a regular basis this year, Malloy has been focused like a laser beam on the governor’s office. He has captured support because he has been running for governor for about six years – dating back to his August 2006 primary loss against New Haven Mayor John DeStefano. He is challenging Ned Lamont, who burst onto the national political stage by defeating U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in the 2006 primary before losing in the general election.

For Lamont, the goal Saturday was to qualify for the primary. Most party insiders expected Malloy to win the nomination, and even Lamont’s supporters conceded that he was behind in the delegate count.

Once the voting began Saturday morning, it reflected the hard-fought battle between the two combatants.

The day started well for Lamont with the first vote of the day showing that Bridgeport delivered 74 delegates for Lamont and none for Malloy. The count then began a roller coaster ride with each candidate showing strength in various communities. Malloy won all 52 delegate votes in his hometown of Stamford, along with unanimous wins in Shelton and Trumbull.

Malloy supporters broke out into loud applause when it was announced that he won all 49 votes in Waterbury.

Lamont won all 28 votes in Democratic-leaning Meriden, where House Speaker Christopher Donovan is a strong Lamont supporter. He also scored a huge win in New Haven by 79 to 2 in the city with the largest delegation at the convention and the highest number of registered Democrats in Connecticut.

But across the state, the delegate votes were close. That was shown in Farmington, Canton, Weston, Goshen, and Redding, where the votes were tied. In Lamont’s hometown of Greenwich, he eked ahead with 14 votes compared to 12 for Malloy.

In West Hartford, a key town that is known for its political activism, Malloy captured 25 delegates and Lamont had 17. In Enfield, another important town for Democrats, Lamont won by 16 to 6.

When the names of Hartford and Middletown were called, no delegates were there to report the votes. As such, the vote continued for other towns.

The first speech of the day came from Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who received an ovation from the crowd.

“I’m going to remember that my bad week was nothing compared to the thousands of Connecticut residents who don’t have jobs,” Bysiewicz said. “And so I’m going to fight for the Democrat principles and policies that we all share.”

“Let me say something to Republicans who think they had a good week,” Bysiewicz said. “Dick Blumenthal has never backed down from a tough fight. Connecticut Democrats have never backed down from a tough fight.”

With the nominating speeches in alphabetical order, the first speeches came for Lamont. Surrounded by a rainbow coalition of Lamont supporters, state Rep. Mae Flexor said that Lamont is the best candidate for the party to recapture the governor’s seat.

“For far too long, our governor’s office has let us down, but in Ned Lamont, we have a leader with the ideas, the experience, and the determination to help dig us out and get back on offense,” said Rep. Christopher Lyddy of Newtown.

Numerous other Lamont supporters came to the stage during the speeches, including Donovan, DeStefano, Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. Since the rules allowed only a small amount of time for speeches, none of those four addressed the convention. 

The first nominating speech for Malloy came from West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka. He sounded Malloy’s theme by saying that running the state government of 169 cities and towns is similar to running a small city.

“With one huge difference – Stamford is working,” Slifka said. “Connecticut needs a Democratic governor who does know, who does care.”

Carmen Boudier, the leader of the powerful New England Health Care Employees, District 1199, union, said, “We can do it. We can win in November!”

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield of New Haven noted that Malloy has taken a stance on issues by favoring paid sick days and gay marriage.

Merrick Alpert spoke to The Courant’s Rinker Buck on Friday night at the Democratic Party convention.

Alpert said, “They cut every backroom deal possible to deny me the nomination. They don’t want a primary because it’s easier for Dick Blumenthal to run unimpeded by opposition within his own party. But the fact is that if we held the general election today, the party wouldn’t be strong enough to prevail. I went to Nancy DiNardo and said, ‘Why are you blocking me?’ Allow me to speak at the convention. She said she couldn’t tell the rules committee what to do. But it was her rules that they were enforcing.”

      Alpert’s campaign treasurer, Patrick Terrell of Mystic, said that Alpert’s exclusion from the state convention is simply a policy that was practiced all year by the Democrats. At many Democratic Town Committee meetings, where candidates go months before the convention to try and line up delegates, Alpert was denied entry and wasn’t allowed to speak to the delegates, Terrell said.

       “It’s wholly undemocratic,” Terrell said. “We’ve been blocked out. This is our one chance to talk to the delegates of a Democratic convention. But we are the opposition they never wanted to take seriously. In theory, this is a party that celebrates inclusiveness. But there was no inclusiveness tonight.”

           The Blumenthal and DiNardio strategy was clear–deny Alpert the 15 percent of votes that would have allowed him to get on the ballot for a primary and thus avoid an expensive extra fight at a time when Blumenthal prefers to take on his likely GOP opponent–Linda McMahon–right away.

          But not all Blumenthal delegates at the convention agreed with this shutout strategy, and its implications for the image of the Democratic party in the state. Tim Bowles is a delegate from Preston and a strong Blumenthal supporter with Blumenthal stick-on badge pasted to his shirt. He is a member of the Democratic  Town Committee from Preston.

          “I think the party should be inclusive. I’m on the town committee in Preston and we had Alpert come to speak to us a few months ago and I thought he was very impressive. He’s not ready yet for the office he is seeking, but he’s quite an impressive guy. I would like to have seen a more open and democratic process.”

Democrats Late In …

Nancy DiNardo, Democratic Party chairwoman, gaveled the convention open about 6:15 p.m. Friday. It took awhile to gain control, though. She called for order several times but couldn’t corral more than 1,800 distracted activists. The sergeant at arms then took the podium, also several times, to gain order, asking the assistant sergeants at arms to clear the aisles.

… Early Out

During Richard Blumenthal’s speech, diehard supporters clapped at all the right points, but before it was over the majority of delegates were heading for the exits or visiting with friends. Many were reading newspapers, checking their Blackberries, or buying drinks for their friends in the back. The parking lot was filling with exiting delegates, most of them headed for the Lamont/Glassman or Malloy/Wyman hospitality tents. While Blumenthal was still speaking inside, there were long lines at the tent bars. “It’s a mass exodus — it’s all over,” said Kyle Anderson, a Hartford delegate. “There’s nothing more to watch. As soon as Merrick Alpert gave his concession speech, there was no point to be in the convention hall.”

Eddie Shows Up

A tough week in court couldn’t keep Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez away from the Democratic Convention, where he was mingling and looking relaxed.

Lambasting Linda

Merrick Alpert bashed wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon, who was across town battling for the Republican nomination against former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons of Stonington and investor Peter Schiff of Weston.

“I am running because I cannot stand the thought that Linda McMahon from World Wrestling can buy it, and you can’t tolerate that, either,” Alpert said. He added, “We all know that the highly effective attack in Tuesday’s New York Times was hatched in Linda McMahon’s office. If we settle on our nominee tonight, that exceedingly well-funded and vicious machine, created by Karl Rove but now housed at World Wrestling, will be gifted three additional months to ruin our candidate.”

Working The Room

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont was shaking hands and chatting, with a staffer following him around with a video camera. … Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, expected to win the party’s endorsement for governor, came through the press area, shaking hands as he moved along.

aka Merrick Alpert

Merrick Alpert couldn’t give his own speech, but the essence of it was delivered anyway — about 7 p.m., by Gregory Schulte in his nomination.

 “The rules committee changed the rules today, and he will not be permitted to speak to you,” Schulte said from the podium. Then he pretty much read Alpert’s four-page speech. The seconding speech was scheduled to be delivered by Shawn Asselin. Alpert and his wife, Alex, stood in the center of the hall and applauded.

 

With several references to his problems of the past week, Richard Blumenthal accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate on Friday night by saying that he might be outspent but will never be outworked or intimidated in this fall’s election.

Blumenthal’s campaign is still reeling from the controversy caused by his videotaped speech in Norwalk in 2008 in which he said he had served in Vietnam – when he actually served stateside during the war in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

“I have made mistakes,” Blumenthal told the crowd at the state Democratic Party nominating convention in Hartford. “I regret them. And I have taken responsibility. But this campaign must be about the people of Connecticut.”

In an acceptance speech that lasted 12 minutes, Blumenthal never once mentioned the word “Vietnam.”

He mentioned his troubles, however, in the speech.

“This week, as you all know, I have a little bit of a tough time myself,” Blumenthal told the crowd at the beginning of his speech at about 8:10 p.m. “You all have been hearing what my wife, Cynthia, has been telling me for almost 30 years – that I am not perfect. That I make mistakes.”

To the fighting tune of “I Won’t Back Down” by rock artist Tom Petty, Blumenthal walked onstage for his speech. The song played again as he waved to the crowd, with his wife, Cynthia, after his remarks.

He turned to saying he has been a fighter for decades, criss-crossing the state as attorney general. Blumenthal is known as one of the hardest-working politicians in the state, visiting Democratic town committees and attending funerals of veterans on a constant basis. His whirlwind schedule runs into long days and spills over into the weekend on a regular basis.

He talked about problems with jobs, the economy, and frustration with the elected representatives in Washington, D.C.

“We want good schools and affordable electricity and clean energy jobs,” Blumenthal said as many delegates continued talking and a general din remained over the convention hall. “But Washington isn’t listening!”

On the night that Democrats intended to coronate Blumenthal as their nominee for U.S. Senator, his opponent, Merrick Alpert, was initially prevented from speaking at the party convention. But after votes had been cast for Blumenthal  by many delegations, Alpert suddenly appeared at the podium.

“I would like to formally withdraw my name from nomination,” Alpert said shortly before 8 p.m. That line generated enthusiastic applause from the crowd. “We’re going to have an early dinner. Good night.”

Immediately after Alpert’s remarks, Blumenthal was nominated by acclamation.

Alpert originally intended to deliver a speech to more than 1,800 delegates at the Democratic Party convention at the cavernous Expo Center in Hartford’s North Meadows, but the rules committee prevented it, according to Alpert.

Alpert released a copy of the speech that he intended to deliver – as he struggled to try to reach the minimum of 15 percent of the delegates that are necessary to force a primary.

“You deserve a primary. We need a primary,” Alpert said in his prepared remarks.

Known for his outspokenness, Alpert had prepared to tell the delegates that he believes the recent controversies of the past week would cause the Democrats to lose the U.S. Senate election in November. He included remarks that many of the delegates clearly would not want to hear on their party’s big night.

“We’re not ready to win the Senate election,” Alpert said in his remarks. “My assessment is if the general election were held this Tuesday, we would lose. After the events of this week, the polls confirm my assessment.”

Alpert did not expressly mention the recent controversy surrounding Blumenthal, who delivered a speech that was captured on videotape in Norwalk in 2008 in which he said that he had served in Vietnam. Since then, other speeches have been unearthed in which he said similar things. In fact, Blumenthal remained in the United States throughout the conflict and never served in Southeast Asia.

“We need a candidate who is straight with himself and straight with the people of Connecticut,” Alpert said. “We need a candidate who has fought and earned the nomination, not one who has sat quietly while the crown of coronation has been placed on his head. And, we need a candidate who has been completely vetted so we have no more unpleasant surprises. Think about it in your own life: if you have a son who will play football in the fall, do you keep him in the house over the summer to keep him safe or do you have him running contact drills to toughen him up?”

The nominating speech for Blumenthal came at 7:15 p.m., and it was quite brief – much shorter than the speech delivered for Alpert. Soon after, the roll call for Blumenthal’s nomination began – in a pre-determined nomination. Starting in the Fourth Congressional District, the first 64 votes came in from Bridgeport – an overwhelmingly Democratic city. Only three votes were cast for Alpert in Bridgeport.

In Blumenthal’s current hometown of Greenwich, 18 votes went to him and 8 went to Alpert from the 26-member delegation. 

Earlier, party chairwoman Nancy DiNardo gaveled the convention open at about 6:15 p.m. Friday and tried to gain the attention of the distracted delegates who were still filing into their seats. She called for order several times in an attempt to corral more than 1,800 activists who were talking politics in the aisles and in the delegations. The sergeant at arms then took the podium several times and tried to regain order, asking the assistant sergeants at arms to clear the aisles.

“We are the party of the people,” DiNardo told the crowd in her opening remarks.

Throughout the beginning of the convention, Alpert supporters could be heard shouting, “Let’s go, Merrick!”

Alpert also bashed wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon, who is battling for the Republican nomination against former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons of Stonington and investor Peter Schiff of Weston.

“I am running because I cannot stand the thought that Linda McMahon from World Wrestling can buy it, and you can’t tolerate that, either,” Alpert said. He added, “We all know that the highly effective attack in Tuesday’s New York Times was hatched in Linda McMahon’s office. If we settle on our nominee tonight, that exceedingly well-funded and vicious machine, created by Karl Rove but now housed at World Wrestling, will be gifted three additional months to ruin our candidate.”

At about 7 p.m., Gregory Schulte delivered the nominating speech for Alpert. In essence, he read Alpert’s four-page speech that is quoted above. As such, Alpert was able to get his thoughts officially delivered to the convention.

“The rules committee changed the rules today, and he will not be permitted to speak to you,” Schulte said from the podium as he began his remarks.

 A short seconding speech was delivered by Shawn Asselin, who said a primary is necessary.

“My strong support for Merrick Alpert is not an attack on Dick Blumenthal at all,” Asselin said. “I believe Merrick Alpert is the strongest candidate. … Let’s have a primary. … Let the voters decide. To me, the choice is clear. Merrick Alpert is our best candidate for United States Senate.”

The convention adjourned at about 8:25 p.m. and will reconvene Saturday with nominations for governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller, treasurer, attorney general, and secretary of the state.

While Blumenthal and Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz capturing the headlines this week, relatively little has been said about Ned Lamont and Dannel Malloy – the two Democratic candidates for governor. A fellow Greenwich resident, Lamont said that he left a message for Blumenthal about his troubles.

“He’s a good friend,” Lamont said of Blumenthal. “Whatever happens, we’re sticking with him.”

(In photo, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and his wife, Cynthia, wave to delegates after accepting the nomination for the U.S. Senate seat. Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant)

This year has already proven to be the most unpredictable in Connecticut politics in the past four decades with a never-ending pattern of twists and turns.

There has not been a time at least since 1970 when so many positions were open and so many incumbents were retiring from high-profile positions.

That roller coaster ride will continue today with the state party conventions, which will both be held in Hartford – turning the capital city into ground zero for state politics.

The seats that are up for grabs this year are U.S. Senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of the state, and comptroller. Those who are not running for re-election this year include U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Gov. M. Jodi Rell,  Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, and Comptroller Nancy Wyman.

Fedele is running for governor, while Blumenthal is running for U.S. Senate. Wyman is running for lieutenant governor on a ticket with former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy. They are facing the team of Greenwich cable TV entrepreneur Ned Lamont and Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman in the nominations for governor and lieutenant governor.

All the changes have set off a major scramble as virtually anyone with political ambitions has been maneuvering and trying to get into a seat that rarely comes open.

In another twist on the state’s political rollercoaster ride, state Rep. Arthur O’Neill said Thursday afternoon that he is running for attorney general – slightly more than 24 hours before the state Republican convention opens on Friday night.

O’Neill is working to gather support from delegates before the convention votes on the attorney general nomination Saturday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

When asked why he waited until Thursday to make the announcement, O’Neill said, “I didn’t want to wait for the last possible minute.”

That last minute would have been Friday at midnight, he said.

O’Neill made his decision after the shockingly quick ruling this week by the State Supreme Court that Democratic front runner Susan Bysiewicz is not eligible to run for attorney general because she lacks the necessary 10 years of active practice of the law.

With Bysiewicz out of the race, Republican attorney Ross Garber – her brother-in-law – jumped in on Wednesday. Now, O’Neill has made the same decision. 

O’Neill described Bysiewicz as “a Democrat with a huge warchest and very high name recogntion” – two things that he does not have at the moment. He also described her as “essentially unbeatable unless you were an independently wealthy individual who could afford to spend several million dollars of your own money” because she had already raised a large amount of money.

“This is an opportunity to take a run at this office,” O’Neill said during his announcement at the state Capitol press room on Thursday afternoon.

O’Neill’s announcement is the latest twist in the most interesting year in Connecticut politics in decades.

There has never been as many open seats in decades – with contests for U.S. Senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and secretary of the state at the moment.

Incumbent Denise Nappier of Hartford is running for re-election as the state treasurer. All of the other constitutional offices are open as Comptroller Nancy Wyman is running for lieutenant governor and U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell are not seeking re-election.

It is still unclear which position Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz will run for. Some expect her to run for comptroller.

“This is by far the craziest convention on the Democratic side. The Yankees do less trades than what we’re doing now,” said state Rep. Stephen Dargan, a veteran West Haven Democrat who has served for two decades at the state Capitol. “Lembo was running for lieutenant governor. Now, he’s running for comptroller. Glassman was running for governor and runs now with Lamont. Bysiewicz was running for governor. Jarjura was running for governor. Now he’s running for comptroller. Secretary of the State – everybody pretty much stayed the same way there. The only one who is staying is Denise Nappier, our treasurer. … Saturday should be fun. If you’re a political junkie, you won’t be bored this weekend in Hartford.”

He added, “It’s easier to handicap the horses than it is to handicap this convention.”

The state Democratic Party has released the schedule for Saturday’s nominating convention at the Expo Center in Hartford’s North Meadows.

Conventions are known for lasting longer than expected, and the schedule is also subject to last-minute changes.

The line-up at the moment is treasurer, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of the state and comptroller.

On the Republican side, the governor’s nomination is normally last.

The Hartford Courant’s Josh Kovner has the latest from the extortion and bribery trial from Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez.

Perez’s well-known defense attorney, Hubert Santos, had said earlier that he would seek a mistrial, but he has now backed off from that position.

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/eddie-perez/hc-eddie-a-perez-trial-0520,0,4477265.story

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-eddie-a-perez-trial-update-0520,0,5430550.story

Republican Ross Garber, a well-known attorney, is now running for attorney general.

Garber, who defended the office of Gov. John G. Rowland during the impeachment inquiry in 2004, had stayed out of the race this year because his sister-in-law, Democrat Susan Bysiewicz, was in the race.

Garber, who ran previously for state treasurer in 2002 against Democrat Denise Nappier, took a shot at the incumbent, Richard Blumenthal.

“Connecticut needs an attorney general who will vigorously and diligently represent the state and its citizens, and who will do so without grandstanding or self-promotion.  I hope to be that attorney general,” Garber said in a statement. “As a lawyer who has spent his career representing individuals and businesses in their most important cases, I will be ready to do the job on day one.”

He added, “This is a challenging and exciting time in Connecticut.  I look forward to the chance to be the people’s advocate.”

Garber served as chief counsel to the governor’s office in 2004. As such, he represented the governor’s office during the impeachment inquiry. Rowland also had a private defense attorney, Willie Dow of New Haven, in that case.

In his last run for statewide office, Garber received 389,304 votes – compared to 527,216 for Nappier. He received more votes that year than any other Republican candidates for office, except the ticket of John G. Rowland and M. Jodi Rell.

Garber will be facing Avon attorney Martha Dean, who was also on the ballot in 2002. Dean ran against Blumenthal that year, and Blumenthal defeated her with 632,351 votes to 330,874. Dean defeated Blumenthal in her hometown of Avon by less than 400 votes, but she lost the statewide race by more than 300,000 votes.

Several other Republicans have expressed interest in the attorney general’s office this year, but the race is still wide open.

Republican fundraiser John P. Pavia III of Easton will make his final decision Friday, but he is leaning toward opting out of the race because of multiple business-related commitments that he must meet. He has not yet endorsed any candidate in the race.

“Ross will have as good of a shot as you’re going to have for entering the race two days before the convention,” Pavia said of Garber. “That’ll make a big statement and position him for the primary.”

One of the biggest questions in Connecticut politics is what is next step that Bysiewicz will take. Bysiewicz was stunned by the State Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling against her, and she is still trying to decide which office to run for.

While no final decisions have been announced, some insiders suspect that Bysiewicz will be running for state comptroller. The comptroller’s seat is open because Comptroller Nancy Wyman decided to run for lieutenant governor on a ticket with former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy.

When asked Wednesday by Fox 61 reporter Laurie Perez if she will run for comptroller, Bysiewicz responded, “I’m keeping open all the possibilities.” When asked if she might run for re-election for her own office as Secretary of the State, Bysiewicz answered the same way.

Bysiewicz told Perez that, based on the State Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law, Solicitor General Elena Kagan would not be “qualified to be attorney general in the state of Connecticut.”

Kagan is the former Harvard Law School dean and friend of President Barack Obama who has been nominated by Obama to fill the seat of John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan has been criticized by some Republicans for having a thin resume.

Longtime Democratic activist Tom Swan, who ran Democrat Ned Lamont’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2006, said that Bysiewicz is “calling around asking for support for comptroller or Secretary of the State.”

Former state Democratic chairman John Droney says the State Supreme Court’s unanimous decision preventing Susan Bysiewicz from running for attorney general is a huge blow to her political career.

“Life, as she knows it, is over,” Droney told Capitol Watch. “It’s an amazing story of self-inflicted wounds.”

Droney predicted that Bysiewicz would have trouble running again for her current job as Secretary of the State – even though some believe that will happen.

“I don’t think Denise Merrill and Jonathan Harris would like that,” Droney said, referring to the two leading Democratic legislators who are seeking to fill Bysiewicz’s seat.

After the ruling, Bysiewicz said, “I am tremendously disappointed with the court’s decision overturning Judge Sheldon’s ruling, and I strongly disagree with the decision both on the eligibility and the constitutionality issue. However, I do respect the rule of law and will abide by it.”

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s troubles – and how he handled them – evoked memories Tuesday of another high-profile controversy in his long career.

During his 1990 race for attorney general – his first race for statewide office – Blumenthal faced a story that a restrictive covenant on his home mortgage in Stamford prevented the sale of the property to African Americans. The covenant, which was present on other properties throughout the country, would have allowed discrimination of buyers of the property on Dolphin Cove Quay – an upscale area near Stamford’s waterfront. The home was a condominium, where the surrounding land was held in common ownership.

The story spread quickly, and Blumenthal handled it by holding a press conference in much the same way as he did Tuesday. Instead of the army of veterans who gathered around him Tuesday, Blumenthal appeared in April 1990 with state Sen. Margaret Morton, an African American from Bridgeport who supported him.

Morton spoke on behalf of Blumenthal at the time – in which he was facing a bitterly fought contest against Jay B. Levin, a New London attorney who was also seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

Farmington attorney John Droney, who was a Democratic powerhouse at the time as the state party chairman, said that Blumenthal had handled the issues in the same way. Droney, who served in Vietnam, attended Tuesday’s news conference in West Hartford with the veterans.

“It’s repeating itself – both in 1990 and now,” Droney said.

Droney, though, says that the current stories about Blumenthal are far more severe than the 1990 ones about the real estate covenant.

“It didn’t have the sizzle that this thing has,” Droney said. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”

In both instances, various supporters rallied around Blumenthal.

“That’s a tribute to him – in both instances,” Droney said. “You’re going to get attacked and when you’re attacked, you stand up.”

Reached Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., Levin said that he battled Blumenthal for the nomination for 1 1/2 years, four nights a week at Democratic town committees and events around the state. He said that people brought Blumenthal’s Vietnam record to him as a source of controversy.

In addition, Levin said both in 1990 and Tuesday night that he had nothing to do with the stories about the real estate covenant. Stating that both he and Blumenthal are Jewish, Levin said that he cannot imagine anyone of Jewish ancestry being involved in the restrictive covenant.

“I accept his explanation on that as I did back then,” Levin said of the covenant.

Despite their clashes, Levin says now that he considers Blumenthal to be a friend. As such, he strongly defended Blumenthal – saying they were together numerous times in front of crowds where Blumenthal could have embellished his record.

“It was crystal clear to me that he never, ever said he served in Vietnam,” Levin said. “We were much closer to that era when we ran.”

The Cook Political Report – one of the most highly respected, non-partisan national analyses – is now saying that the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut is a toss-up.

The change for the report comes on the day that The New York Times published a front-page story and released a video that shows that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that he served in Vietnam when he did not. The change in the rating for the race is a major turnaround from the conventional wisdom, which placed Blumenthal far ahead of all challengers.

Blumenthal is seeking the Democratic nomination on Friday night at the state party convention in Hartford, and challenger Merrick Alpert would need 15 percent of the delegates to force a primary in August.

Politico is reporting at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37440.html that Alpert now has a new lease on life.