The Courant’s Daniela Altimari has what should be the final chapter of the curious odyssey of Democratic lieutenant governor hopeful Eva Bermudez Zimmerman’s delinquent car tax bill. A call to her campaign on Tuesday and the blogpost below that followed prompted Zimmerman to pay the bill. You’re welcome, Newtown.

Hand Eva Bermudez Zimmerman the Christopher Murphy award for ignoring local car taxes. Like Murphy when he served in the legislature, Zimmerman has let her car tax payment slip.

Zimmerman enjoyed a strong showing at last month’s Democratic state convention, snagging 40% of delegate votes against party warhorse Susan Bysiewicz. The two face off in an August 14th primary.

The Newtown Democrat and union organizer is portraying herself as a 21st century progressive. That’s code for boosting government spending and making people pay more of their fair share. Zimmerman’s fair share in Newtown for her maroon Ford C-max is $450.24–due in January. Failure to pay has allowed the local tax collector to add $40.52 to the tariff.

Zimmerman has not responded to a request for comment made earlier today.

Newtown Democrat Eva Bermudez Zimmerman is busy raising money to qualify for public financing in her nomination contest with endorsed candidate Susan Bysiewicz. Zimmerman has events next week in New Britain and West Hartford. This week, she enjoyed a well-attended and, Daily Ructions understands, enthusiastic reception in Middletown, home to Bysiewicz. That event found the town’s Democratic mayor, Dan Drew, in attendance, as well as many local party activists. The Middletown party committee has seen some ructions of its own this year, but many members seem united in their support for Zimmerman.

The race between Bysiewicz and Zimmerman is becoming the most-watched competition for an under-ticket ballot spot in either party’s August 14th matchups. It may also be the one with the best chance for a rare endorsed candidate upset in a statewide Connecticut primary.

Dame Edna with her Picasso portrait from the Cote d’Azur

Don’t miss a remarkable letter to the editor in The Courant. It’s a haughty response to Jon Lender’s column on UConn’s expenditure of $480,000 on a curious piece of art. The letter from a Mr. Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey, writes “Dear Rosanne Roseannadanna Carlos Hernandez Chavez lets my award-winning colleague know he’s as ignorant as the rest of us when it comes to Connecticut’s dire finances and the state’s commitment to spending large sums of money on blocks of acrylic to enrich the minds of students.

According to Mr. Chavez, “For starters, art is solely the reason for the chronicling of human history since its inception.” Memo to Herodotus: You really should have been painting pictures instead of writing one of the great works of history.

It just goes to show you, if it’s not one thing it’s another.

Madison Republican Bob Stefanowski says he’s collected 12,000 signatures from registered Republicans–a number that ought to be enough to get him on the August primary for governor. A Republican needs 9,080 valid signatures (2% of registered Republicans) to qualify for the primary ballot. Collecting 12,000 signatures provides a 3,000 signature buffer, which ought to be enough. A fail rate of 25% would be alarming.

Stefanowski will begin submitting petitions, which are segregated by town, to local registrars of voters for certification. The registrars forward the certified signatures to the Office of the Secretary of State who totals them and determines if there are enough.

Republicans Mark Lauretti and David Stemerman are also collecting signatures, as are Democrats Joseph Ganim and Guy Smith.

The signature collection process has provided immersion in Connecticut’s complicated political system for Stefanowski, who was recently a Democrat and did not vote from 2001 until 2017.

This has to sting. Popular Republican state Senator George Logan announced Friday that he is supporting Thaddeus Gray, the party-endorsed candidate for state treasurer. The coveted Logan endorsement includes a call for challenger state Senator Art Linares to drop his challenge to Gray in the August 12th primary in the interest of party unity.

Here’s the Logan endorsement announcement from the Gray campaign:

State Senator George Logan, R-Ansonia, has endorsed Thad Gray, the Republican endorsed candidate for State Treasurer, saying the former investment executive is “the most qualified candidate to help lead our state out of debt and into prosperity.”
 
“Thad Gray knows what needs to be done in Hartford and he will bring more expertise and success to that office than any candidate who has recently run for State Treasurer,” said Logan. “Thad will help Republicans in the executive and legislative branches bring order and avoid many of the mistakes that have led our state to unconscionable debt, higher taxes and credit downgrades. Thad is ready and poised to help take Connecticut in a new direction,” stated Logan.
 
He said both Gray and State Senator Art Linares, R-Westbrook, conducted extensive statewide campaigns heading into the nominating convention, where the party came together to choose its candidate.  Logan said Sen. Linares has every right to pursue a primary, but hoped he would reconsider for the sake of Party unity.
 
“Senator Logan is a rising star who has quickly earned the respect of his peers on both sides of the aisle, as well as Democrats from his district, for his thoughtfulness and integrity. Senator Logan understands the reforms we need, and that having the best people working on behalf of the people of Connecticut should be our top priority. I look forward to winning this fall and working with him and other members of the State Senate to return prosperity to our state,” said Gray.

The Democrats also face a primary for treasurer. Hartford Democrat Shawn Wooden won a second ballot endorsement at the party’s May 19th convention. Greenwich Democrat Dita Bhargava has signaled her intention to pursue a primary. Arunan Arampalam, also a Hartford Democrat, withdrew from the field of battle Tuesday.

State Treasurer Denise Nappier’s office sustains it’s reputation as one of the most difficult places to work in state government. After a prolonged search, New Yorker Sean Crawford was hired to begin as the office’s chief investment officer in mid-May. By the time the moth ended this week, Crawford was gone.

Nappier told Daily Ructions in a written statement,  “This is an unfortunate situation.  Going forward, I wish Sean the very best in his future plans.” She declined to comment on the circumstances Crawford’s departure.

Laurie Martin, who served as interim investment chief during the search, has been appointed to follow Crawford.

Expect tales of life in Nappier’s office to flow more freely as her 20-year tenure draws to a close in January.

The endorsed Democrats for statewide office (except Kevin Lembo) appeared in front of Bear’s in Hartford Wednesday afternoon. Their leader, Democratic self-funder Ned Lamont declared the team “battle-tested.” He is right, but they are not winners. Four of the five lost their last bid for public office at the hands of fellow Democrats. Lamont, the endorsed candidate for governor, took a drubbing from Dannel P. Malloy in the 2010 Democratic primary for governor. Lieutenant governor candidate Susan Bysiewicz lost in a 2012 primary landslide to Christopher Murphy in their whisper-filled race for the U.S. Senate. Bysiewicz has abandoned three campaigns for governor in the last 12 years.

Wait, there’s more. Attorney general hopeful William Tong, managed to lose what was considered an easy bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Stamford in 2015. Three years before that Tong abandoned his bid against Murphy in the Senate race before the Democratic convention convened. Shawn Wooden, the endorsed candidate for state treasurer, won the 2014 party endorsement for the state senate in the Hartford-Bloomfield district held by Eric Coleman, who went on to administer a decisive defeat on Wooden in the primary that followed.

CTNewJunkie.com has the sidewalk press conference on its Facebook page.

Controversial Democratic former campaign consultant Geoff Luxenberg won the Democratic nomination in the 12th House District contest to succeed his former wife, who succeeded him in 2014. Luxenberg served briefly as chief of staff to Middletown Mayor Dan Drew during his adumbrated bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.

The path was cleared for Luxenberg when rival Nicole Lake dropped her bid for the House nomination Tuesday.

Washington political veteran Shannon Kula will seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in the Connecticut’s 5th CD. Kula polled this spring to assess her chances against popular 1st CD incumbent John Larson. The emphasis in that survey, first reported by Daily Ructions, was on gender and freshness.

Kula, recently moved to Connecticut,  announced her candidacy today and has two weeks to collect signatures from 2% of the district’s registered Democrats to secure a spot on the August 14th primary ballot. If successful, Kula will face disputed convention endorsed candidate Mary Glassman, who has held a long series of not-too-demanding government sinecures and the nation’s 2016 teacher of the year, Jahana Hayes.

Daily Ructions has learned that Kula may have sufficient resources to fund the launch of her campaign.

Here, in part, is her announcement:

(Farmington, CT) —  Dr. Shannon Kula, a proven leader and dedicated public servant with a record of fighting for everyday families today announced her run to represent Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.  Shannon is a former Chief of Staff in the United States Senate, a cancer survivor and a retired military spouse.

“I believe I have the experience and perspective to make a difference for everyday families and that’s why I’m running for Congress,” said Shannon Kula.  “My own life experience – growing up in Connecticut and being the first in my family to attend college, as a military spouse, and then fighting my own battle with breast cancer – has really given me a deep understanding of the struggles so many families face in our community.  And my years in the U.S. Congress have given me the experience to go there and actually get something done for the people of the 5th District to bring about the change that families so badly need.”

Shannon brings a unique set of perspectives and experience, and has launched an aggressive campaign to collect signatures to be placed on the Democratic primary ballot.

Petitions from the sprawling district are due in local town halls on June 12th.