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.
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