It’s official. Mark Boughton, nine-term mayor of Danbury and former state representative, is seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Boughton’s announcement suggests he will run on his record as mayor.

Boughton enters a crowded a field as he launches his third bid for governor. He sought the Republican nomination in 2010 and 2014. He was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in the kind-edge 2010 race between Tom Foley and Dan Malloy. Boughton narrowly defeated Lisa Wilson Foley in their 2010 primary contest for the second spot on the ticket.

Fundraising has been a challenge for Boughton in his races outside Danbury. This time he seems to be on course to qualify for public funds long before the May state nominating convention. He is in the front rank of candidates in a crowded field of Republicans. The former high school teacher begins the competition for delegates with a loyal base of supporters in the Danbury area.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill may want to take note that deference in politics has taken a long holiday. The two term Democratic incumbent’s fundraising results suggest she is not putting much effort into the task. In a year when the statewide primary ballot will be crowded with challenges, challenging Merrill will seem like just one more contest. The former state representative has raised a paltry $30,000 since the formal beginning of her re-election campaign last summer. That suggests loyal donors from her previous campaigns have not been contacted or are ready for a change.

Plenty of Democrats would not mind taking a crack at an easy job if it looks like they may face a weary incumbent.

Connecticut electric ratepayers can look forward to a rate reduction. Eversource tells Daily Ructions the utility will seek to pass savings it will realize from the recent federal tax cut to its Connecticut customers. The New England distribution giant is doing the same in Massachusetts.

Here’s a statement from Eversource spokesperson Tricia Modifica:

State Representative Mike D’Agostino (D-Hamden) has formed a committee to explore statewide office. He is expected to concentration on a run for attorney general.

D’Agostino has been a leading advocate in the House for the ruinous labor agreements that will hinder the next governor in shaping a plan for the state’s economic recovery. D’Agostino’s work in corporate litigation may be grist for his left wing opponents if he joins the contest for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

MEDIA ALERT

Treasurer Nappier To Hold Press Conference

 WHO:             State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier

WHAT:           Treasurer Nappier will hold a press conference on her 2018 election plans.

WHEN:           Wednesday, January 3, 2018 at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:         Conference Room, 7^th Floor, State Treasurer’s Office, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT

State Treasurer Denise Nappier will confirm expectations today and announce her tenure will not seek a sixth term. The Hartford Democrat has been gracious in receiving news from various aspiring successors that they wanted to explore a candidacy for the office Nappier has held since the end of the last century.

Nappier did it the hard way in 1998. She scored an upset win at the Democratic state convention over a Newington Democrat, beat him in a primary, and then defeated corrupt incumbent Republican Paul Silvester that November. Silvester and others around him later went to jail for their misuse of their public trust.

Expect Republican Erin Stewart, the third-term mayor of New Britain, to form an exploratory committee for statewide office, including the big prize, treasurer. Stewart has been making the rounds of party leaders and veterans to seek advice on what to do.

This will be a busy week of candidates making some or all of their intentions known.

Former state Senator Jay Jackson, who served as legal counsel to Governor Ella Grasso and Governor Bill O’Neill, died this weekend. After leaving government, Jackson practiced law and lobbied. He was a gentleman in all he did.

Jackson was a strong contender in one of the most memorable political conventions in modern Connecticut state political history. The West Hartford Democrat came close to winning the crowded contest for U.S. Representative from the First District. He won the 1970 party endorsement at the two-day long convention as it struggled to nominate a successor to outgoing Representative Emilio Q. Daddario. Jackson was defeated in the primary that followed by Bill Cotter, a party official and controversial insurance commissioner.

Jackson lived in Madison at the time of his death.

The troubles keep coming from Connecticut’s lottery administrators. The annual New Year’s Super Draw is the latest cause of embarrassment for the agency which is seeking a new leader.

The lottery appears to have excluded tens of thousands of tickets from the drawing.

Hold on to your tickets. There will be another drawing–and many questions.

UPDATE: corrected drawing will be later this week.

Greenwich Republican Harry Arora is seeking the Republican nomination the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 4th CD. Arora will face five-term incumbent Jim Himes, who has become a staple on CNN discussing what he’s been up to as a member of the House’s intelligence committee.

Arora was born in India and graduated from Delhi University in 1991 with a degree in engineering. He received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin four years later. Arora expects to receive an MPA (not a certificate program like one Republican is always banging on about) at Harvard’s Kennedy School next year. Arora is a co-founder and partner in Northlander Advisors, an infirm specializing in European energy. Perhaps he has some ideas on how to reduce Connecticut’s debilitating energy costs, among the highest in the nation.

Arora’s campaign provided two stirring quotes from his announcement. Arora sounds like he is willing to oppose the ugliest instincts of the loathsome demagogue who serves in the White House.

“I am running for the United States Congress to protect our freedoms, to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our society and ensure that we remain a land of equal opportunity for every American.”

While you have been celebrating the birth of Jesus and preparing to welcome a new year, some politicos have been plotting their way forward. At least two took flight to a warm climate to decide if either will seek the state’s highest office. Others are preparing polls to help them assess their chances. They need not bother testing the traditional right track/wrong track question. A private poll, Daily Ructions can report, found that the wrong track response was higher than observers have ever seen.

Watch for an announcement early in the year from longtime State Treasurer Denise Nappier. Should she decide not to seek a sixth term, take a moment to recall what her 1998 victory saved us from when she defeated felonious Republican incumbent Paul Silvester. It ended the festival of corruption that Silvester–who had served in the office under egregious Republican Christopher Burnham–immersed himself in.

Expect an announcement from Democrat Susan Bysiewicz that she will run for governor. It will be the third time the Middletown Democrat has sought that office. The former secretary of the state has been making calls seeking campaign staffers.

If you are a Democrat holding an event, send an invitation to Ned Lamont, the other wealthy scion who is expected to get into the race for governor. After a long absence, Lamont has been showing up at all sorts of Democratic gatherings.