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Republican Leora Levy’s bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination continues to rely on her biography. The Greenwich Republican highlights her career as a commodities trader—and she has trouble with math.

The Levy campaign made a glaring error in a statement commenting on a WTNH/The Hill/Emerson College poll released Thursday. Levy’s release attributes to her campaign manager a claim she is within the margin of error in a matchup with Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal. She’s not. The poll has her trailing Blumenthal by 16 points. The survey of 1,000 Connecticut voters has a margin of error of 3%.

Levy, who had a stronger than expected showing at the Republican state convention two weeks ago, may be eager to raise enough money continue repaying herself the $750,000 loan she made to her campaign, but dodgy math is no way to do it.

Levy faces party-endorsed candidate Themis Klarides and Fairfield lawyer Peter Lumaj in an August 9th primary.

Published May 20, 2022.

The Quinnipiac University Poll called Thursday night. It was the rare landline call, and I answered.

The survey took about 10 minutes and began with the usual demographic questions. The focus of the early political questions was the gubernatorial campaign and Governor Ned Lamont’s job performance. The caller asked which candidate I supported for governor in 2018 and president in 2020.

Quinnipiac wanted to know if I think crime is getting worse. As the victim of a crime last fall, it does feel more serious than what Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich Democrat, dismisses as an “uptick.” There were standard questions on the economy. I was asked to pick the most important issue from a list. There were three questions on abortion, including one on amending the constitution.

Vexing surges in energy costs received pessimistic recognition. Which rise in costs—gas at the pump and home heating were among the choices—were most worrying provided a reminder that energy costs will be a central issue this year. Candidates struggle to convey credible solutions.

There was also the horse race choice for governor: Lamont, Republican Bob Stefanowski or undecided. How likely was I to vote? How much attention do I pay to the campaign? Questions included Lamont’s handling of the pandemic and the state budget. Better off/worse off questions were included, too.

Do I approve or disapprove of President Biden, Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Senator Christopher Murphy. There were no questions about Blumenthal’s re-election bid. This was my first poll call since a brief 2017 Rasmussen call on Donald Trump (strongly disapprove) and my first as an unaffiliated voter. If there were questions about the August Republican primary to face Blumenthal in November, I would not have been asked.

The poll results will be released soon, according to the end-of-survey script.

Published May 20, 2022. Updated May 21, 2022.

Connecticut’s economy continues to struggle to recover from the global pandemic. In April, employment grew by 1,500 jobs, down from the 3,700 added in March.

The state’s employment reached 1,647,100 jobs in April, 53,000 below the January 2020 pre-pandemic number and 73,000 below the 2009 record of 1,720,900.

The state’s unemployment rate is 4.4%.

Published May 20, 2022.

When this:

Becomes this:

Republicans are accusing state Democrats of comparing Fifth Congressional District nominee George Logan to a monkey. Logan, a two-term former state senator, to Curious George. the famous monkey of children’s books series. Democrats have made frequent references to where Logan lives. When the congressional reapportionment maps were adopted, Logan moved to Meriden from his home in the Third Congressional District.

The Wednesday tweet from the Connecticut Democrats’s Twitter account adopts the cadence of a Curious George story. Comparing Blacks to monkeys has long been a staple of racist dogma. It is “one of the oldest and most profoundly racist slanders in American history,” New York Times editorial board member Brett Staples wrote in a 2018 opinion piece.

Some children’s books have perpetuated the trope, according to Maya Terhune, who wrote of Curious George in a Boston College publication, “[T]he series’ celebration of the oppression of an abducted monkey parallels the oppression of black Americans.”

Democrats accused Republicans of trafficking in anti-semitism with a 2018 mailer aimed at state Senator Matt Lesser in his first campaign for the Senate. After a lethal hesitation, Lesser’s Republican opponent, Ed Charamut, apologized for the mailer postcard that, the New York Times reported, “featured a cartoonish illustration of…Matt Lesser, wide-eyed and clutching $100 bills in front of an exaggerated grin.” The mailer was widely condemned.

Now it is George Logan’s turn to feel the lash of racism in a campaign. Readers should ask themselves: What if Republicans had deployed this pernicious device to mock and wound Logan’s opponent, incumbent Jahana Hayes, who is also Black? What if they had taunted the 2016 national teacher of the year under the cover of Curious George, “You do not belong here. Go back to where you belong.” It would likely not have been the first time Logan and Hayes had had that racist command spewed at them. This should be the last.

Published May 19, 2022.

Popular Simsbury Democrat Eric Wellman cruised to victory over Melissa Osborne for the Democratic nomination in the 16th House District. The former first selectman defeated Osborne 21-13 in the single town seat. Democrat John Hampton declined to seek a sixth two-year term.

Wellman has an unbroken record of three victories in local elections. Osborne is 0-3 against state Senator Kevin Witkos. The Canton Republican is not seeking re-election. Osborne declined to take another run at that seat.

Osborne was nominated Wednesday evening by Hampton, who caused considerable dismay among local Democratic activists as one of 14 House Democrats to oppose the abortion rights bill adopted by the legislature in the recently concluded regular session. Osborne is expected to primary Wellman.

The winner of the primary will face Republican Mike Paine. Wellman defeated Paine in their 2017 contest for first selectman, Wellman’s first outing on the ballot.

Wednesday night’s special meeting of the town committee did include a rare sighting. Former first selectman Mary Glassman was in attendance at the Zoom gathering. Glassman, who has run unsuccessfully twice for lieutenant governor and once each for governor and Congress, worked briefly in Governor Ned Lamont’s office—he also didn’t see her often—and is now enjoying a grace and favor sinecure in the state bureaucracy as a $145,000 a year durational project manager in the Bureau of Educator Effectiveness. Of course.

Published May 18, 2022.

This morning’s WTNH/The Hill/Emerson College survey of 1,000 Connecticut registered voters brings hard news to Republican Bob Stefanowski less than two weeks after he breezed to his party’s endorsement. Democratic incumbent Governor Ned Lamont leads Stefanowski by 13%.

Lamont’s 51-39 lead reflects the Greenwich Democrat’s continuing popularity for his handling of the global pandemic that bore down on Connecticut in early 2020. Lamont holds a 20-point led among women and has a three-point edge with men.

There’s plenty in the poll to encourage Lamont and worry Stefanowski. In an age of rigid partisan divides, Lamont attracts the support of 22% of Republicans. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 400,000 voters in Connecticut. A Republican requires near-unanimous support from party voters to have a chance of winning a general election. With 69% of Republicans supporting him, Stefanowski has so far failed to achieve that predicate to a competitive contest.

Lamont defeated Stefanowski in 2018 by 44,000 votes, a 3% margin. An incumbent Connecticut governor has not been defeated for re-election since 1954.

WTNH will release a poll on the state’s U.S. Senate race Thursday morning.

Published May 18, 2022.

Republican Bob Stefanowski is learning the challenge he faces in convincing Connecticut voters he supports a woman’s right to an abortion. Stefanowski announced on May 11th that anti-abortion Governor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska will appear at a fundraising event in Canton on June 14th.

Ricketts told CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday morning that he does not support providing rape victims with an exception in the abortion ban Nebraska’s unicameral legislature recently considered. If the Supreme Court issues a decision overruling the 49 year old Roe v. Wade, Ricketts will call a special session of the legislature. His determination to ban abortions in Nebraska without exception was clear in the interview posted above. Stefanowski has said in a written statement he supports Connecticut’s more than 30 year old law protecting a woman’s right to reproductive choice.

Ricketts, who barred from seeking re-election by term limits, heads the Republican Governors Association. He will raise some money for Stefanowski in Canton but the political price may be substantial. Stefanowski has pledged to spend $10 million of his own fortune in his rematch with Governor Ned Lamont.

Ducats to the Ricketts event range from $250 to $3,500. The top price buys entrance to a VIP reception.

Published April 17, 2022.

Ned Lamont is delighted. A supporter became the big closer in a campaign ad by declaring, “Lamont gets shit done.” The vulgarity is bleeped in the 30 second ad, but there’s nothing mysterious about it.

In case anyone is confused by the ad’s final compliment, Lamont’s campaign is highlighting the testimonial in the ad “Main Street.” A release from the campaign Tuesday features the headline “Lamont Gets Sh*t Done.”

Lamont spent nearly $50 million of his fourth generation banking fortune in his three statewide campaigns. He has announced he will do the same with this year’s re-election bid. Lamont’s Sh*t ad, according the Courant’s Chris Keating, will be broadcast in Connecticut and New York media markets.

The ad presents a distinct contrast to Lamont’s consternation last October when protesters shouted obscenities at President Joe Biden while he visited a Hartford daycare center. The Courant’s Keating reported Lamont’s dismay at the time:

“It was something these kids will never forget for the rest of their lives,” Lamont told reporters Tuesday outside the state Capitol. “And right across the fence were angry protesters — yelling, cursing, dropping the F-bomb, and it was embarrassing.”

Lamont continued, “I contrast that moment with watching some of the eulogies for General Colin Powell. I heard him say this morning, as I was on the Stairmaster, that democracy and American democracy are the last great hope on Earth. We have many, many faults, but go out and fix those faults. Don’t curse the faults. Fix the faults. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Language is vital and the language of politics continues to coarsen. Republicans have created a collection of ugly chants as they have embraced loathsome demagogue Donald Trump. Lamont and his campaign team may have been inspired by an ad New Jersey Democrats created during Governor Phil Murphy’s unexpectedly close re-election campaign. The digital ad used Republican Jack Ciatarelli’s 1994 vote for a local ordinance banning profanity. The short ad featured voter reactions to the ordinance. Their f-bombs were the focus of the ad, which has had 1.3 million views.

Democrats were alarmed by Murphy’s close call in Democratic New Jersey, which public polls had not detected.

Published May 17, 2022.

Shelton Democrat Jimmy Tickey is the new vice chair of the Democratic State Central Committee. Tickey, who succeeds treasurer endorsed candidate Erick Russell, is a veteran of Rosa DeLauro’s and Susan Bysiewicz’s offices and works for Jim Himes.

Tickey has proved himself a notable vote-getter in the Republican bastion of Shelton in his campaigns for the local zoning board. He’ll bring practical local experience to party central, which can sometimes become distracted by needy statewide candidates.

Students of politics will find two practical lessons from Tickey’s easy Monday night win. He began calling state central committee members as soon as Russell indicated he’d leave his party position to run for the opening created by incumbent Shawn Woden’s announcement he would not seek re-election in order to spend time with his children. Party committee members prefer being asked to being told. Tickey applied the enduring formula of an ounce of wisdom and a pound of gall to outflank at least one candidate who mistook entitlement for votes. The irrepressible Karen Murrow explains above.

The other lesson is universal. Never under estimate the power of a successful party. Tickey, Kristin Campanelli and Sam Carmody organized the hit party of the May 6th and 7th state party convention. The joint was jumping’ at the Old State House when the trio’s LGBT caucus got underway, eventually attracting Senator Chris Murphy to follow the exodus from his own party to the “Conventions are a Drag” wing-ding. The trio knows how to make it gel.

Democrats created a new position on Tuesday. The party’s first officer for voter protection is Adrienne Billings-Smith, a member of West Hartford’s town council. Billings-Smith will make her biggest impact if she addresses the state’s obstacles to ballot access.

Published May 16, 2022.

Bloomfield’s fractious local politics continues. On Wednesday, Democratic Registrar of Voters Troy Mitchell announced his campaign for a full term with an e-mail and attached “a resume of accomplishments.” The long list was written on Town of Bloomfield stationary. Mitchell’s email was sent from his Bloomfield town government account. A registrar ought to know better.

Registrars are called upon to understand and apply detailed election laws. Mitchell has struggled to grasp those rules. A Superior Court judge overturned Mitchell’s arbitrary decision to reject primary petitions from a Democratic Town Committee challenge slate earlier this year. All the challengers were elected in a court-ordered April primary.

Here is Mitchell’s email:

Sent: Wed, May 11, 2022 2:06 pm
Subject: BDTC endorsement of current Registrar of Voters (ROV) remaining in serving as ROV 

Fellow neighbors and members of the Bloomfield Democratic Town committee (BDTC) as the Registrar of Voters (ROV)/Elections administrator of Bloomfield I am seeking the endorsement of the entire BDTC to continue my productive and impactful service for the neighbors/electors of Bloomfield as the ROV. (see attached resume of accomplishments)

 My financial advisory, fiduciary, trustee, and adult education financial instructor service and expertise has provided me the skillset, integrity, and operational aptitude to continue to propel the Bloomfield ROV office to greater heights of efficiency and effectiveness. I’m thankful and proud of my service thus far.  
to continue serving Bloomfield as the ROV, there’s a lot more to do!  I look forward to a “Better Bloomfield” endorsing me to continue as ROV!  

Peace, Grace & Impactful Service!
Troy Mitchell Democratic Registrar of Voters. Town of Bloomfield. 800 Bloomfield, CT 06002 860-769-3540 

PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information in this electronic mail is intended for the addressed recipient(s) only. This email may contain privileged and confidential material from the Office of the Registrar of Voters Town of Bloomfield, CT. If you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information may be prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this email or by telephone (860)769-3540. Thank you!

Published May 11, 2022.