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State Representative Brandon McGee will begin his campaign for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Hartford on Monday afternoon. McGee, serving his fourth term in the House, will return to the apartment house he grew up in to make his announcement. The setting will add to McGee’s emphasis on his local roots, a contrast with incumbent Luke Bronin’s ties to tony Greenwich.

Crowd size at the announcement will provide an early indicator of activist support for McGee. Bronin began his campaign last week with an announcement in front of City Hall before a small gathering of supporters.

State Senator Alexandra Bergstein does not want a freewheeling exchange of opinions at her community forums. The wealthy Greenwich Democrat has rules of deportment. At least seven of them, including banning signs. Signs? They are just not done in her tony precincts.

Bergstein, who invested hundreds of thousands of her own dollars to defeat Republican incumbent Scott Frantz last fall, may be wary of spontaneity. My source: Bergstein’s rattled response to a question at the end of a radio debate late in the campaign that pierced the polite atmosphere.

Mayor Luke Bronin will kickoff his campaign for a second term this week. An announcement is expected Tuesday in front of City Hall. Bronin has been making calls to invite town committee members and other Democratic leaders to the event—with mixed results. More than one tranche of local activist has felt neglected by the ambitious mayor’s persistent interest in higher office.

Bronin’s distractions from Hartford’s pressing business opens a wide lane for resilient young state Representative Brandon McGee. McGee won an upset primary victory for his Hartford-Windsor seat in 2012, tying on two recounts and winning a court-ordered second primary. McGee made short work of a 2018 challenger in a primary contest. Expect McGee to benefit from some savvy professional advice as he charts the way forward against Bronin and his base of affluent Greenwich donors.

State Senator Marilyn Moore will announce her run for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Bridgeport today at Mount Aery Baptist Church. Mount Aery is the church Moore attends and is located in a neighborhood in which she has deep roots.

Moore is in her third term representing the 22nd Senate District. Her announcement will follow a celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Mount Aery.

Moore will face incumbent Joe Ganim. The Moore challenge will test Ganim’s grip on the Bridgeport Democratic organization, which Ganim stunned in 2015 when he tipped over incumbent Bill Finch in a summer primary. Ganim’s 2018 bid for governor may have encouraged Moore. He won only Bridgeport in the Democratic primary against Ned Lamont—and that by just 1,300 votes.

The Hartford YWCA is marking Martin Luther King Jr, Day with an appeal for emergency shelter essentials. The YWCA runs operates Soromundi Commons, a regional housing initiative assisting the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. Winter in Connecticut can be an especially demanding time for shelters.

The program is looking for toiletries including toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, lotion, makeup and feminine products. They also need. twin bedding, towels, pillows. kitchenware and socks.

You can drop off donations at the YWCA lobby at 135 Broad Street in Hartford between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Parking is free and adjacent to the building.

Hartford Democrats can expect a ferocious primary for mayor this summer. In addition to former mayor and gang member Eddie Perez, state Representative Brandon McGee is edging close an announcement of his candidacy, Daily Ructions can report. Popular state Senator Douglas McCrory has also been mentioned as a potent challenger to incumbent Luke Bronin.

City Council President Glendowlyn Thames may also give the race a look at the urging of supporters. She would be Hartford’s third female mayor, following in the footsteps of Ann Uccello and Carrie Saxon Parry. Craig Stallings, leader of Hartford’s school board, is also mounting a challenge, according to his Facebook posts.

It’s not unusual for a local official who has failed in a bid for higher office to attract challengers in his run for re-election at home. Bronin was a nonstarter when he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor last year. His fundraising stalled and he never attracted much support from delegates. Hartford Democrats possess a sensitive nose for other people’s weakness and Bronin has been emitting a lot of vulnerable pheromones since he exited the race for governor.

George Jepsen drove a Ford Escape. His successor as attorney general, William Tong, requested the taxpayers furnish him with a Chevrolet Tahoe. That’s the supersized SUV that burns prodigious amounts of fossil fuel. Not very green of the privileged prep school graduate. The Stamford Democrat’s first press release after assuming the job Wednesday was on emissions. Climate change for thee, but not for me.

State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, who also was sworn into office on Wednesday, has been seen driving a more appropriate Ford Explorer as he undertakes his duties.

The vehicles, it should be recalled, are for official activities, not personal use. Also, constitutional officers do not need a state employee to ferry them from home to the office and back.

The larger and ominous reveal from Tong’s astonishing choice is not the Tahoe, which is bad enough. It’s that he is not sensible enough to have someone close to him that can speak with candor and warn him of a bad choice. Time to worry.

State Senator Timothy Larson (D-East Hartford) did not want that new term in the legislature he sought and won in November. Governor-elect Ned Lamont will create a new post for economic development in the Department of Higher Education for Larson, whose brother, popular U.S. Representative John Larson, was a prominent Lamont supporter last year. The appointment will mean Timothy Larson will not take the oath of office on Wednesday.

Timothy Larson, who made a secret bid to head the state’s lottery while serving as co-chair of the committee that oversees it, had hoped to win a top spot in the state’s insurance department. Industry leaders nixed that ill-conceived ambition.

Education, economic development, and the life of the mind are not pursuits associated with the vengeful Larson.

Tired of the commute between home in East Hartford and his office at Tweed New Haven airport, Democratic state Senator Timothy Larson is on the hunt for a spot in the incoming Lamont administration. Daily Ructions understands the vengeful legislator is under consideration for a spot in the insurance department. There is some opposition to the move.

Larson’s bullying during the legislature’s consideration of an East Windsor slot shack caused considerable comment in the Capitol Village. That escalated to alarm a secret Larson bid to become head of the state lottery while co-chairing the committee that oversees it was made public by The Courant’s Jon Lender.

Insurance industry officials, which the Lamont administration will have to work to keep in Connecticut, may be looking for more sophisticated leadership for the top jobs in the department.

Larson was re-elected to the Senate in November but would prefer a pension boosting political appointment over honoring his pledge to serve constituents.

Members of the nation’s highest court will meet in conference Friday, January 4th, to decide whether they will hear an appeal filed by the State of Connecticut in the Michael Skakel murder case. The appeal arises out of the issue of an act of ineffective representation of a defendant by his lawyer.

There are inconsistent standards in the nation’s appellate jurisdictions on whether a court should judge ineffectiveness of representation by a single act or overall representation. Eleven states joined Connecticut in its appeal of a Connecticut Supreme Court decision overturning Michael Skakel’s conviction for murdering Martha Moxley in Greenwich in 1975 based on a single act of ineffective counsel.