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Mark Boughton’s exploratory Connecticut Comeback Committee for an undetermined office raised just $26,360.00 in seven weeks, according to a report filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Boughton is expected to launch a third bid for governor in 2018.

Boughton did not accept contributions over $100, so he is just over 10% of the way to the $250,000 in small donations to qualify for public financing. Boughton was stymied by that $250,000 requirement in his 2010 and 2014 bids for governor.

Boughton’s fundraising could pick up if he unveils a credible plan to solve Connecticut’s punishing budget deficits for the next two fiscal years. The Danbury Republican was a leading participant in the school funding lawsuit that could result in hundreds of millions in state funds moving from suburbs to cities.

Fairfield Republican Peter Lamaj raised $105,795 in the 4th quarter is 2016 for his exploratory committee for statewide office, according to his report. That’s a haul for the 2014 nominee for secretary of the state.

The maximum contribution for a candidate exploratory committee is $375. Under the state’s public financing only $100 of a contribution counts toward the qualifying grant requirements.

State Republican legislative leaders’ inauguration day choice of former state Senator Rob Kane to serve as their party’s designee for state auditor begins to look even worse than it did last Wednesday. The Republican leaders rejected a hero of our times, corruption buster and retired FBI agent Charlie Urso, for the job. Sometimes you get the feeling they do not want to let talented investigators inside the halls of government.

Here’s Urso’s letter to,Themis Klarides and Len Fasano. Read it and mourn for what might have been and what the office would become under Kane, who is some sort of carphone salesman.

“Representative Klarides and Senator Fasano-

Aspiring slot shack developer Tony Ravosa may not be feeling so jolly after Friday’s announcement eliminating East Hartford (Hartford and South Windsor, too) from consideration for a new gaming facility.

Nevertheless, Ravosa’s Christmas party invitation is worth a look, suggesting this misbegotten venture is slightly less terrible than it was.

Our long national nightmare has finally come to an end.

The holidays are almost upon us and it’s time to party!

On Election Night, President-Elect Donald Trump was quoted as saying,

“You don’t want to miss TR’s annual Christmas soiréeat Capital Grille – it’s always yuge! 

An amazing group of guys. . . absolutely amazing.  And the steaks are fantastic – always a ‘10’!”

 

August 1988

 

From the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said,

“Trust me, comrades, no one attending TR’s party has small hands!  I was hoping to make it this year with Julian Assange, but the SOB can’t get a visa – he’ll have to Skype in.  It’s been a long year – I could use a few Moscow Mules!  By the way, do you think the runway at Brainard is long enough to land the Tupelov?”

 

 

Vanquished Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton likened the testosterone-fueled affair to “being at The Last Supper with a major league group of deplorables.”

 

 

And, speaking of The Last Supper. . .

you never know who’s going to show up!

 

In other words, you don’t want to miss it!

 

Tony Ravosa’s 14^th Annual

“Countdown to Christmas”

Lunch and Extended Happy Hour

at

 

 

Downtown Hartford

 

Thursday, December 15^th, 2016

Bar Opens at 11:45 AM

 

You are among the select and privileged few invited to participate in this year’s luncheon extravaganza scheduled for Thursday, December 15th, beginning at 11:45 AM in the bar of the Capital Grille in downtown Hartford.  I have once again reserved a large portion of the restaurant for this annual hedonistic holiday ritual – so reserve your seat early.  I hope you can join us for this full-metal jacket, “guys only” affair where debauchery and gluttony rule!    

For those of you still paying the price on the home front for your “post-lunch,” late night escapades of years past, you should (a) once again seek absolution, (b) give her something glittery from Lux Bond and Green a day or two before the event – which should buy you 3-4 days of peace and solitude when you can do no wrong – or (c) simply lie through your teeth and tell her that you need to travel “out of town” that day on a business trip.  You don’t want to miss this colossal, testosterone-laden, “boys will be boys” marathon day on the town!  Steaks, great wine, an open bar, good friends, laughing your ass off all afternoon. . .it simply doesn’t get any better than this!

It’s Dan Esty, not U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty, who may be the Cheshire millionaire most interested in seeking the 2018 Democratic nomination for governor. I mentioned Elizabeth Esty as a possible candidate for governor among a list of Democrats. Sources tell me I mentioned the wrong Esty,

Dan Esty, who is married to Elizabeth, has been making the rounds of party activists and talking about Connecticut’s need for strong leadership and government. This may come as a surprise to Governor Dannel P. Malloy, who raised Esty’s profile by appointing him to serve as his environmental and energy overlord at the start of Malloy’s first term. Esty’s initial soundings appear to be taking place in the state’s 5th Congressional District, which his wife represents. She began her third term this week.

State Senators Eric Coleman (D-Bloomfield) and Rob Kane (R-Watertown) must have been eyeing other jobs while seeking re-election last fall. They did not mention to voters that they might not serve only two months after winning new terms in November. A deal among Senate leaders nullified November’s election results Wednesday morning as Coleman and Kane seek more lucrative state jobs. Neither took their oath of office on the first day of the new legislative session. Coleman is expected to seek a seat on the Superior Court bench, though leaders in the judicial branch believe there’s no need for additional judicial appointments in theses austere times. Kane will be nominated by Republican legislative leaders for the state auditor’s position reserved for a Republican.

Coleman will first need to make his way through the Judicial Selection Commission. Approval there would be followed by a gubernatorial nomination and then legislative approval.

Kane’s vetting will be more public and eventful. Putting Kane in an office that is the first stop on many whistleblower complaints will cause consternation among serious-minded legislators, state employees, and traditional government watchdogs.

Henry Becker, Bob Jaekle, Bob Ward, and Rob Kane. Who doesn’t belong and why? The who is obvious. They why is a longer saga.

In every other branch of state government, this would be against the rules. Some state employees have been disciplined for schemes to provide jobs to relatives, as explained in this critical Courant editorial from August, 2016. The University of Connecticut, operates under its own rules. Former football coach Randy Edsall has been rehired by UConn, several years after betraying his young team members, and his contract includes a provision that UConn will hire his son, Corey.

That Edsall will not act as his supervisor seems scant protection for the public trust. The damage to public integrity is done with the contract requirement.

Fill marks to the  The UConn Blog for shining a light on the breach of fundamental public policy.

State Senator Rob Kane (R-Watertown) raised zero dollars in his first two months as a candidate for an undetermined higher office for 2018, according to a State Elections Enforcement Commission report. The unhappy legislator has been in a frantic search for a taxpayer-financed new job that will provide him with a sustainable future since he was elected to a fifth full term in November–and probably before.

Kane announced in the fall that he was exploring an undetermined higher office as a Republican for the 2018 cycle. Some have suggested that he would make a bid for governor, though that seems like a stretch. Kane is said to be intensely interested in the vacancy for a Republican state auditor. That would require Kane, however, to refuse to take his seat in the legislature Wednesday, a stunning betrayal of his constituents and a blow to the Republicans who have drawn even with the Democrats in the upper chamber. A Kane declination would force a special election more unnecessary publicly financed campaign spending, not the sort of behavior one would expect in a watchdog of public spending.

The campaign finance reformers are letting the mask slip again.

Why do they run when they do not want to serve? Veteran Democratic state Representative Stephen Dargan told his West Haven constituents last year that he very much wanted a 14th term in the House of Representatives, Daily Ructions has learned. It appears that was not true. Dargan is expected to decline to take his oath of office on Wednesday in order to snag  a position on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles with an appointment from Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Several years of service will give Dargan an enormous bump in his pension–the sort of expense that is helping to fuel Connecticut’s continuing financial crisis.

Dargan sought and received $28,150.00 in public funds for his 2016 campaign for a job he won but will not take. A special election will likely cost taxpayers tens of thousands in additional campaign expenses.