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Tolls—how many and on whom—have vexed Governor Ned Lamont since he abandoned his campaign pledge to impose them on trucks only Last February. You can see more details here in this article. An email from Ann Huntress Lamont, the governor’s spouse, suggests the Lamonts misread polls or paid for an outlier in the wealthy Democrats’ self-funded 2018 campaign.

Poll numbers shared in a message that Emily Huntress Lamont, one of the wealthy Greenwich Democrats’ daughters, provided at the request of her mother includes odd results. The poll numbers from the campaign, according to the message, show total support for electronic tolls at 68% in the general election, 41% of those surveyed are identified as strong supporters of tolls. That leads to the odd result of 27% as somewhat supportive of tolls. The result suggests a passion for tolls that has not revealed itself any place else. The tolls numbers didn’t make sense to Mrs. Lamont, who loves data.

Mrs. Lamont shared the poll numbers last summer with Lamont chief of staff Ryan Drajewicz and spokesman and former NBC Connecticut reporter Max Reiss. Drajewicz has been eager to elbow his way onto the center stage of the tolls debate as Ned Lamont’s proposals have continued to change.

Senate and House Democrats May want to see some of the data at their Tuesday caucuses.

Governor Ned Lamont will join state Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport) Sunday, January 12th, in Westport at the Bedford Middle School to talk about transportation. Lamont will be explaining his “CT2030 plan and Connecticut’s transportation future,” according to Haskell.

Bedford Middle School was the site of a Lamont town hall meeting that was in the works for Tuesday. Sunday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and end an hour later.

U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes is not having it. The Fifth CD Democratic freshman is not taking any nonsense from Whiskey Patriot and Connecticut GOP party chairman J.R. Romano.

Romano is quoted in a Hearst papers article on the congressional candidacy of Republican Ryan Meehan, a recent entry into the race to challenge Jahana. Romano, who has spent time on the right-wing fringe and seemed to enjoy it, told Hearst “I think there are a lot of Republicans who recognize that Jahana Hayes is part of the most extreme wing of the Democratic party in Congress…I think that there are many people in the district who feel that the direction that this extreme wing wants to go in is not the right direction.”

Hayes responded in a Facebook post, writing, “I will simply say, look at my voting records which is anything but extreme. I know my constituents see through nonsense like this and care more about the work I’ve done. While the GOP is spending all their time focusing on me, I will be spending my time working on behalf [of] my constituents.”

“If they want this seat-they have to take it!!!” Hayes concludes.

Republican candidates hoping to meet Hayes in the general election include Meehan, who recently moved from Greenwich to Litchfield; David X. Sullivan, a retired assistant U.S. attorney from New Fairfield, Ruben Rodriguez, who works for the City of New Britain; and Robert Hyde, a Simsbury Republican with a history of making crude remarks.

Democratic supporters of imposing tolls on Connecticut highways sent a “TOP SECRET & URGENT” email Saturday seeking commitments to attend a January 7th meeting in Westport featuring Governor Ned Lamont. The Greenwich Democrat will explain his CT2030 plan at Bedford Middle School at 7 p.m.

Lamont will be “joined by local Democratic legislators who are putting their careers on the line with this plan.” Lamont, the email implores, “needs supporters of CT2030 to show up in force.”

The email notes there has been no public announcement of the event because Senator Will Haskell and Lamont are assisting tolls supporters in creating an advantage over tolls opponents.

The message implores recipients not to share the news on social media. So whatever you do, don’t tweet or post this ruction on Facebook—because the meeting is still a secret.

UPDATE: Lamont spokesman and former NBC Connecticut reporter Max Reiss (or Reese as Governor Lamont refers to him) has issued a statement on a “miscommunication” regarding Tuesday’s transportation town hall meeting:

There will be no town hall meeting in Westport on Tuesday.

Ned and Ann Huntress Lamont are bundlers for former Vice President Joseph Biden’s presidential campaign. The Lamonts are included on a list of Biden supporters who raised $25,000 or more for the Democratic front runner.

Lamont provided an early endorsement for Biden.

The Connecticut State Police Union (CSPU) and three union members are challenging the state’s method of selection promotions to sergeant. CSPU, Demitrie Bogiatozopoulos, Ryan Cloukey, and Wayne Glaude commenced an action against the Department of Emergency Services And Public Protection, the Department of Administrative Services, and commissioners James Rovella and Josh Gabelle.

CSPU claims that the state has adopted a promotion system that “…is not apparent what criteria were used to determine which candidates advanced for further consideration, and which candidates did not. Moreover, even for those candidates who did advance to the next phase of the process, Defendants do not rank the passing candidates relative to each other based on any merit principles.”

You may read the initial complaint for a temporary injunction, permanent injunction and declaratory judgment here.

CSPU defeated the state’s motion to dismiss the matter on December 27th. The case continues.

State Representative Bob Godfrey (D-Danbury) tells Patch.com in a candid interview that uncertainly continues to keep Governor Ned Lamont from passing a transportation plan. “My colleagues are uncomfortable because every time you turn around it’s a different proposal,” the veteran legislator told the Patch’s Scott Benjamin.

“I think people and legislators don’t trust Gov. Lamont and his proposals,” Godfrey said in an interview with the Patch. “I think that’s a real issue in people’s opposition to his proposal.” Godfrey did suggest a way forward. He told the Patch that former Governor Dannel P. Malloy erred in not embarking on a transportation “listening tour.” Lamont has pledged to undertake a series of town meetings to discuss his transportation plan. A schedule has not been announced.

Godfrey, who has served in the House since 1989, praises the Greenwich Democrat’s sunny disposition but offers a harsh assessment of Lamont’s first year in office:

In September, Godfrey told Patch.com that Lamont has admirable personality characteristics, he also described him as “naïve” . . . “not in touch” . . . “a little cavalier.”

He said recently that nothing has happened since then to make him change that perception.

Godfrey said Lamont’s legislative liaison operation has been the worst of any of the six governors that he has served under.

Yet, he added, “It’s hard to dislike him because he is polite and friendly. He’s a good schmoozer.”

Godfrey said during social events at the executive residence in Hartford, Lamont has played the piano and invited legislators to sing along.

However, he added that Lamont has not matched the work ethic of Malloy.

Read the entire piece here.

We do not see this often enough. An internet sensation has moved from California to Connecticut—and without subsidies from the Department of Economic and Community Development.

John Kanell is a popular food blogger whose Preppy Kitchen YouTube channel enjoys more than 600,000 subscribers—plus one million Instagram followers. Kanell moved himself, his family, and his program to a bucolic region of Connecticut this fall. The cheerful former math and science teacher shows the world how to bake one episode at a time.

Preppy Kitchen videos will soon feature Kanell’s substantial new studio/cooking space, which appears to have given the local construction industry a boost.