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Governor Ned Lamont declined to endorse New Haven Mayor Toni Harp as she struggled in her September 10th Democratic primary contest with challenger Justin Elicker. Tax increases, inadequate schools, a bruising corruption investigation, and Elicker’s energetic campaign combined to inflict a landslide defeat on Harp. It was Harp’s first loss in more than 30 years of running for office.

The stinging defeat has left Harp bitter and searching for a way forward. She’s the Working Families Party candidate for mayor in the November election but her decisive loss has diminished the enthusiasm of her supporters. The Courant’s Daniela Altimari reports today on rumblings that Governor Ned Lamont could offer Harp a face saving way to abandon the race against Elicker. He’ll give her a job in his administration. What’s one more in the hackerama? “No formal offer has been extended,” writes Altimari.

Poor Max Reiss was given the task of uttering a few kind words about Harp. “The governor would welcome someone like Toni with such a distinguished record of public service at both the city and state levels but there has been no job offer,” Reiss told Altimari. “The administration would be lucky to have her.” Not distinguished enough for Lamont to have endorsed Harp in her re-election bid. He sat out the bruising contest.

Lamont knows something of primary losers staying in the contest. The Greenwich millionaire won a 2006 primary victory over then-U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman that made news around the world. Lieberman stayed on the general election ballot as a petitioning candidate and swamped Lamont, who spent more than $12 million of his family fortune on the campaign, by 10% and more than 110,000 votes. That may be one of the topics raised in one of the many conversations between Harp and Lamont that Reiss, who until recently was a political reporter, insists the governor enjoys.

State Senator Marilyn Moore will continue her campaign for mayor of Bridgeport as a write-in candidate in November. Moore surprised incumbent Joseph Ganim by falling only 248 votes shy of tipping over the favorite.

Moore defeated Ganim on the machine count but was walloped in the absentee ballots, a means of voting that is often dominated by the party organization. Moore has raised questions about the absentee ballot procedures since losing to Ganim on September 10th. Local party leaders expected Ganim to win on the machines by 1,000 votes, Daily Ructions has learned, and were astonished at Moore’s strength.

A write-in campaign is a challenge, but it has been done with success before. In 2005, Michael Jarjura lost the Democratic primary for mayor but won re-election by 2,400 hundred votes in a November write-in campaign, defeating Democrat and Republican nominees. Moore is a lot easier to spell than Jarjura.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin joins a gaggle of other former and incumbent mayors announcing their support of Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for the Democratic nomination for president. The collective endorsement appears in USA Today this morning.

Buttigieg, who has been a prodigious fundraiser, continues to be stuck at the bottom of the first tier or top of the second, depending on how one measures these things. He has lately been competing in the “safe pair of hands” lane. Ten of today’s 50 endorsements are from Buttigieg’s fellow Indiana mayors.

Governor Ned Lamont delivered an early endorsement to former Vice President Joe Biden. The state’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, has been waiting and seeing, except for freshman Representative Jahana Hayes. She has endorsed Senator Kamala Harris.

The MGM casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, was not the first-year phenomenon that it had expected to be. First year gaming revenues were $273.8 million, $144 million below projections, according to The Springfield Republican.

According to the newest Rewarded Play app reviews, the MGM numbers provide more evidence that the region may have reached casino saturation. The $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor casino by the Wynn organization opened on June 23rd. Its impact on MGM and Connecticut’s two Indian casinos will be measured in the next several months.

The shortfall in the MGM revenues may give pause to prospective financiers of a proposed slot facility in East Windsor.

State legislators may want to slow-walk this requests for proposals. The Office of Legislative Management this summer began the process of creating a Telephone Town Hall service for legislators to speak to constituents without seeing them in person. The deadline for proposals was September 6th.

With the grocery tax about to be imposed on a bewildered state, this ought to be a ripe time for the new telephone conference service. It appears the new expense is in addition to not in lieu of costly mailings that legislators continue to use in the 21st century.

Legislators may want to practice explaining why lettuce in a sealed bag at a grocery store should be taxed like a salad ordered at a restaurant.

Polluted municipal fields and a growing corruption scandal are combining to make Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreault one toxic Democrat. Forgery, larceny and kickbacks are three of the charges that have ensnared two high ranking municipal employees accused of breaking the law while Tetreau was not paying attention.

The investigation and arrests have alarmed locals in the tony town. No one’s more jittery than Tetreau’s running mate, Nancy Lefkowitz. You know a candidate is suffering a bad case of nerves when the joint Facebook page for the top of the ticket disappears.

TetreauLefkowitz2019 is one more casualty of the toxic scandal. Game On! becomes “Page Not Found” after weeks of astonishing revelations in Fairfield government.

Dear Ructions,

I don’t know how much you socialize with people in politics. You may not know that a simple dinner can be salted with land mines. A high ranking official of a former administration continues to be surprised at how few people keep in touch. I tried to arrange a dinner earlier this year for the former powerful figure and what I thought were some friends. Invitations were met with angry tales of arrogant, dismissive, and even cruel treatment. The calls included a lot of swearing on both ends. An ominous forecast intervened and caused us to cancel so I didn’t have to explain why so few people had agreed to attend.

I’m committed to trying again because the former official’s inbox remains bereft of invitations—even to fundraising events. How do I make this a pleasant occasion with more than just three of us at a forlorn table?

Sign me,

Trying

Dear Trying,

Ructions is not a stranger to the awkward social encounter. I continue to be surprised that people wielding power in the ugliest ways think no one will remember the slights and wounds. I admire your benevolent intent but you need to employ some stage management. No one will consider a tableful of muttering diners a success. Also, you don’t want every guest thinking they made a big deposit in your favor bank by showing up.

Pick a popular restaurant where you know the manager. Make your reservation in person. Slip the manager a generous wad of cash for reserving the table next to yours in the name of the person who now holds the job your mean guest of honor held. Tell your reluctant friends you saw who also has a reservation that night. They will be happy for a chance to ingratiate themselves with the new regime. Have the manager mention after the evening has begun that the official cancelled at the last minute.

You’re not done. On the afternoon of the dinner, give one discontented guest permission to work into the conversation an incident with the former official in a vivid but humorous recounting. If it is not met with an expression of regret, you have arranged your last dinner for the forlorn bully. Some regretful acknowledgement of past abuses may inspire someone else to take up your burdens. 

If you are impaled on the horns of a dilemma and want to risk receiving advice, send a message to kfr@dailyructions.com. Identities will be protected. Messages may be edited.

The 4-way Middletown contest for the Democratic mayoral nomination has challenger Ben Florsheim leading Bill Russo, also a challenger. Endorsed candidate Mary Bartolotta is third.

Campaign operative and party activist Bill Evans will be joining the staff of the House Republican caucus, Daily Ructions has learned. The Wolcott Republican has worked on the campaigns of Mark Greenberg, Mark Lauretti, Matt Corey, and David Stemerman. Evans has enjoyed more luck with local Republican campaigns than statewide and congressional efforts.

The Evans hire may cause House Republican members to add some energy to their efforts as they enter a critical election year after suffering significant losses in 2018.

Dear Ructions,

I’m excited to be running for office for the first time. The people who lead our local party were looking for candidates and someone suggested me. I don’t know the people I’m running with very well—and they know me almost not at all. Nobody asked me about my political views. They just wanted to make sure I would do some campaigning and had nothing embarrassing in my background. 

Now that I’m in this I want to show voters we can make a difference. My first idea is to ban drive-thru windows at local businesses. If we are serious about climate change we should not allow cars and SUVs to sit in a line spewing fumes and burning fossil fuels for a cup of coffee or a Happy Meal. We need to get serious. (I’m appalled that some of my neighbors don’t take recycling as seriously as they should.) My ticket team members, who have all been candidates before, seem timid and reluctant to do something meaningful, even if some selfish locals might grumble.

How can I persuade them to embrace my ideas? Should I go it alone in the name of the future?

In the name of the planet,

Acting Locally

Dear Acting,

These team campaigns can be tricky. You don’t want your fellow candidates to decide they would rather win a smaller majority without you than a bigger one with you. 

Unveil your ban on drive-thru windows at a closed campaign meeting. Do it with optimism. That you may know your neighbors’ recycling habits suggests a certain vigor that others may see as stark rigidity. Your home district may not be your strongest when the votes are counted. Others on your team may be able to help figure out how to rebut the opposition of local businesses and their customers. There are a lot of drive-thru windows in most towns. 

Some flexibility can be helpful. More cars are starting to have the feature that shuts them off while idling. Drive-thru windows can make the lives of the disabled easier. The ones at local pharmacies help keep ailing germ carriers away from the rest of the customers and that seems like a public benefit. Many banks have closed their drive-thru windows as they nudge their customers online. Talk to them about their experience and you may get some helpful ideas to polish your proposal. 

Here’s a thought. The drive-thru windows at food and beverage establishments often have trash receptacles (don’t tell Fotis Dulos) at the beginning and end of the lane. They don’t  have a way to separate recyclables from other trash. Find an establishment that will begin a voluntary program with split bins–recyclables and trash. Shine a bright light on it. It will be the beginning of a reputation for you. 

If you are impaled on the horns of a dilemma and want to risk receiving advice, send a message to kfr@dailyructions.com. Identities will be protected. Messages may be edited.