Dannel Malloy may regret attending July DGA event in Portland.

Leaders of public universities usually know to stay out of partisan politics. University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel P. Malloy is no ordinary public higher education executive. The former two-term Democratic governor of Connecticut attended a Democratic Governors Association event for donors in Portland, Maine in July.

The DGA event was held not long after the Essex Democrat nearly lost his job in June over making an embarrassing bollocks of an unsuccessful attempt to hire a University of Maine at Augusta president—a “mistakes-were-made” mess that may cost Maine taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in the next several years.

As governor, Malloy used public higher education as a safe harbor for members of his administration on the hunt for pension boosts. Attending an exclusively partisan event that aided Governor Janet Mills’s re-election may be seen as compromising a public education institution that most expect to stay well-clear of party politics. The DGA has been running ads boosting Mills in her race with Republican Paul LaPage, who served two terms before losing to Mills in 2018. LaPage has promised to oust Malloy if he defeats Mills in November. LaPage won two three-way contests for governor, winning in 2010 and 2018. Maine’s unusual term-limits provisions prevented LaPage from seeking a third consecutive term but is eligible to run again after four years out of office.

Trustees of the University of Maine System in July gave Malloy a one-year extension on the three-year contact that expired in June. They also froze his salary for 2023 and denied him a 2022 bonus.

The July 13th DGA event took place while the National Governors Association held its summer meeting in Portland. Nineteen governors attended the conference, which began on the 13th and concluded two days later.

The DGA event included a brief reunion between Malloy and Governor Ned Lamont, who did not hesitate during his 2018 campaign for governor to rate Malloy’s eight years in office a failure. Both Cathy Malloy and Ann Huntress Lamont attended the DGA event in Portland. Mrs. Lamont was heard expressing her regrets that she’d not had time to catchup with Mrs. Malloy.

Published October 9, 2022.