State Representative Mike France announced Tuesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for Congress in the Connecticut’s Second District. If nominated, France is expected to face popular eight-term incumbent Democrat Joe Courtney.

France, whose 42nd district includes Ledyard, Montville, and Preston, was elected to the legislature in 2014. He is a Navy veteran and serves as the head of the House Republicans’ conservative caucus.

France’s statement:

“Watching Congress fail the American people is difficult for anyone to sit back and watch. Given my background in public service and service to my country, I felt compelled to run for many reasons, but it was the withholding of COVID assistance last Fall that got me into this race. While families suffered, with businesses shuttered, and our country holding on by a thread, Pelosi and her party withheld crucial, life-saving aid for what they now admit were entirely political purposes. We can disagree on the issues, even passionately at times, but that brazen and disgraceful act made clear to me that our representatives in Congress have forgotten that they are accountable to the people.”

“Bipartisanship and putting people first used to be hallmarks of good government. Today those traits seem too inconvenient for our members of Congress to even use as a sound bite. I am running for Congress to give the people of Connecticut’s second congressional district a voice in Washington that cannot be silenced by special interest or party pressure. I am proud to run on my track record of doing exactly that in the State Legislature and look forward to a competitive fight to win back the second congressional district for the people.” 

Second District Republicans have struggled to find a serious challenger to Courtney. France, 58, would be the first legislator to make the race in the district that includes all of the eastern region of Connecticut.

The Republican State Central Committee chose Susan Hatfield to serve as its chair until a new leader is elected to a full term in June. Hatfield was elected vice chair in 2019, after losing a 2018 bid for attorney general.

J.R. Romano abruptly resigned the chairmanship of the party organization in January after announcing in October he would not seek re-election. Hatfield became the favorite to fill the vacancy after Republican National Committee members Leora Levy and John Frey’s bid to take control of the state party came to grief by violating rules to prohibit the accumulation of power in too few hands.

Governor Ned Lamont has expressed surprise at how many lawyers want an appointment to the Superior Court. “But everybody wants to be a judge. It’s incredible,’ Lamont said, laughing,” according to the CtMirror.org. “But I’ll do it based on need, not based on favor,” he continued. Lamont found a spot for an old friend among his 15 nominees announced Wednesday. Edward O’Hanlan, a partner at the Robinson & Cole law firm, is the husband of Chase Rogers, the former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court and the father of Lamont’s godson.

Rogers and Ann Huntress Lamont, who is married to the governor, enjoy a long friendship from their days as students at Stanford University. Rogers has been an influential adviser to the governor since his 2018 election. Rogers and O’Hanlan’s son is named after Ned Lamont.

O’Hanlan, 65, will be eligible for a reduced state pension when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in five years. Still, it will be more than most Connecticut working people receive in retirement each year after decades of labor. But the appointment must be based on need, not favor, of course.

Choose your children’s godparents wisely, readers.

Governor Ned Lamont is expected to nominate more than a dozen new judges this week. Most of the nominations will be to the Superior Court, the state’s trial level court.

The biggest prize in the anticipated round of nominations will go to Robert Clark, who resigned from the Superior Court after serving on it for eight months to become Lamont’s legal counsel in 2019. Clark will get a boost to the nine-member Appellate Court. He will fill the vacancy created by Judge Douglas Lavine, who in December reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. Lavine was elevated to the appeals court from the Superior Court by former Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2006.

Clark’s nomination, long expected, has caused considerable speculation on who the Greenwich Democrat will select to fill the crucial job as he prepares to tussle with the legislature and seek a second term.

Step off. Just step off. We don’t need no stinkin’ bills.

What a day Wednesday was for money in Connecticut. Governor Ned Lamont released a proposed $46 billion balanced biennial budget. His recorded speech explaining parts of the document was broadcast at noon. Always a big day for a governor, especially when it’s likely the last major address before a re-election campaign begins.

Venture capital phenomenon Ann Huntress Lamont, the governor’s spouse and most powerful adviser, was enjoying a stunning win in her investment business. Mrs. Lamont is co-founder and managing partner of Oak HC/FT, which invests in healthcare and financial technology companies.

Oak HC/FT’s stake in Sema4 received some attention when the state entered into a contract for coronavirus testing services early in the pandemic. The Lamonts, as part of their ongoing management of the state’s ethics laws and their far-flung investments, pledged to donate to charity any benefit they might derive from the deal. Sema4 is merging with CM Life Sciences in a $2 billion deal that will see Sema4 snag $793 million when it closes in the second quarter of 2021.

Read the details of the complex deal here. There’s more here.

Former Republican state Representative Chris Davis has landed a pension boosting job at the troubled Connecticut Lottery Corporation. He’s a government relations manager, commonly called a lobbyist.

Davis, who was the ranking Republican on the legislature’s finance committee, abandoned his re-election race in July, two months after winning renomination for a sixth term. East Windsor and Ellington Republicans scrambled to find a replacement for Davis. The five-term veteran announced he had discovered during the pandemic that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Democrat Jaime Foster won the seat in November against David Stavens.

Foster was also a late entry into the race. She replaced Taylor Biniarz, who decided after Davis quit the race she would rather spend time on activism than in the legislature, according to the Journal Inquirer.

Pay no attention to the message on the vaccine appointment telephone line. Connecticut residents 65 and older may make their first appointment for a vaccination now. Call 877-918-2224. The message still says it is for 75+, but that is not correct. Stay on the call. You can make an appointment for as soon as Tuesday.

Governor Ned Lamont is expected to make an announcement Monday afternoon but Daily Ructions readers need not wait. Call now.

State Auditor Rob Kane has died. The Watertown Republican was found unresponsive at his home Friday afternoon after failing to answer attempts to reach him.

Kane served in the state Senate before becoming auditor in 2017, after declining to take the oath of office for another term in the Senate.

Muad Hrezi is running for Congress in Connecticut’s First Congressional District. Hrezi, a Democrat, is making the 2022 race “because we deserve a Representative in Washington who serves us. So as this journey unfolds, I look forward to hearing your concerns, earning your trust, and, ultimately, serving you in the halls of Congress.”

Hrezi offers the aggrieved view of life in 21st century United States from the left, but latches on to the same theme as those perpetually angry Trumpist. “[W]hile working in Congress, I witnessed firsthand how greedy special interests and politicians have rigged the system at our expense, furthering divisions and risking our democracy. It’s why I grew disillusioned and left.”

Hrezi describes himself on his Twitter profile as an educator, running coach, and proud Nutmegger. He is 26 years old, was born in Tripoli, and grew up in Naugatuck. Hrezi worked as a legislative correspondent in Senator Chris Murphy’s office from 2018 until September of last year. He is a substitute teacher at Southington High School and a patient companion for Independent Living Solutions Ltd.

Democratic incumbent John Larson won a 12th term in November.