Oz Griebel’s First Campaign.

Oz Griebel, who died Wednesday after he was struck by a car while running last week, has been the subject of many warm tributes. A decade ago, the banking executive surprised Republicans when he announced he would seek the party’s 2010 nomination for governor.

The Simsbury Republican achieved what has defeated so many others. He won enough delegate support at the party’s nominating convention to qualify for that year’s August primary. Plenty of veteran politicians seeking higher office have been pipped at the post by fellow party loyalists gathered at a convention. Not Oz Griebel–in his first foray into politics.

Connecticut party primary voters rarely upend convention choices and 2010 was no different. Nevertheless, Oz was a natural on the campaign trail–gregarious and interested in what voters had to say. In the age of the self-funder, the middle-class newcomer will struggle. Oz’s energy could not overcome rival Tom Foley’s millions or the quirk of then-Lieutenant Governor Mike Fedele’s one-time public funding bonus.

Oz had made an impression in that 2010 campaign. Under more congenial circumstances during the past decade, he would have had a choice of meaningful ways to serve. Oz’s candor regarding the way forward on transportation, one his passions, was not seen as a virtue. It did not discourage him from continuing to find a role in the arena.