Mentioned in Passing: Lamont Seeking Names for Legal Counsel.

Governor Ned Lamont has been asking around. The Greenwich Democrat is seeking names for a new legal counsel. The inquiries by Lamont suggest the second legal counsel of his first term, Nora Dannehy, may soon leave the administration after little more than a year.

Dannehy is the career federal prosecutor who became a historic corruption buster in 2003 and 2004 as she brought down then-Governor John G. Rowland and members of his administration. Dannehy’s reputation for rectitude may not be the best fit for Lamont as his administration is under a federal criminal corruption investigation involving contract steering. Lamont said he learned of the probe when Dannehy may have mentioned it “in passing.”

Lamont lost his budget director in February. The governor said at the time that Melissa McCaw, whose agency is at the center of the investigation, was seeking a fresh start in East Hartford—a town not often identified with personal renewal—and would serve as its finance director. Lamont favorite Josh Geballe also left the administration early this year. DAS commissioner and COO Geballe had overseen the state’s school construction grants program and made the fatal 2019 decision to transfer it to McCaw’s budget agency in violation of state law. Geballe’s decision meant the head of the program, Konstantinos Diamantis, would receive no meaningful oversight from his friend McCaw.

Suggestions for the legal counsel job may be submitted directly to the governor. Applicants should note that few alumni of Lamont’s office ever mention their experience fondly. We mention that just in passing.

Published May 4, 2022.