He’s In. Lauretti Will Collect Signatures for August Primary.
Mark Lauretti kept in reserve for a signature drive a significant chunk of the $250,000 he raised to qualify for public financing of his campaign for governor. It ought to be enough to get the Shelton mayor on the August primary ballot. Here’s the message he sent to supporters and others Monday morning:
Dear Delegate,
I wanted to thank you for your participation at the Republican convention this weekend. While the results are not what we had hoped for, I could not have made it this far without you. When I first announced and launched the Lauretti campaign for governor in April 2017, I knew I could never do this without the help from family and friends. The past year has also allowed me to make so many new friends from around the state, and that is the best takeaway from this process so far! While we came up short at the convention, I am determined to fight on.
It has been the honor of my life to serve as Mayor of the City of Shelton and I have always said if the people don’t want me, they won’t re-elect me. After 27 years and 14 consecutive re-elections it’s safe to say that the people in Shelton are pretty happy with my job performance.
While Republican delegates took over 6 hours to endorse a candidate at the convention, ultimately registered Republican voters will decide our nominee for governor at the August 14th Primary. I can assure you that my name will be on the primary ballot.
With your support on August 14th, we can make Connecticut affordable and prosperous.
I want to thank you again from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Mark Lauretti
Lauretti on the primary ballot could be a lethal threat to Trumbull Republican Tim Herbst, who ran second at last weekend’s Republican nominating convention. The Shelton mayor has many friends in Trumbull and there appears to be a segment of Trumbull Republicans who have been waiting for a secret ballot opportunity to strike at their local Republican Malloy.
Deborah Herbst, mother and active presence in the political life of her son, appears not to understand the primary process. She weighed in with a signature Herbst family taunt (see above) directed at Lauretti.
Lauretti is expected to be joined in the difficult petitioning process by two other Republican gubernatorial hopefuls, Bob Stefanowski and David Stemerman.