Moore is a surprise. Stewart is not.

State Representative Themis Klarides (R-Florida) often complains about state spending. Anyone who has listened to her rhetoric through the years knows she hits the same notes in a narrow range. Klarides’s vote last week opposing Governor Ned Lamont‘s bloated bond package. Lamont abandoned his pledge to put the state on a “debt diet” that Klarides would support.

On the first—and normally the only—roll call vote on the proposal, Klarides was one of 21 votes against the bill. An hour later, the House voted again. One vote changed: Klarides’s. The 11 term incumbent Derby and Madison switched her vote from “no” to “yes” with no explanation. Klarides, at this hour of maximum danger for Connecticut is reported to have retreated to a warm climate for reflection or other pursuits.

The expanding threat of the coronavirus has caused the governors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island to close their state licensed casinos in the interest of the public safety. Connecticut’s two tribal casinos remain open and, it appears, defiant of state action.

Chuck Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegans, told the CTMirror.org that the tribe, which with the Mashantucket Pequots, enjoys a monopoly on casino gaming in Connecticut, is not “obligated” by Governor Ned Lamont’s emergency declaration banning events that cause more than 250 people to gather. “We’d certainly take that under consideration, but we’re not obligated by it,” Bunnell said, according to the Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas. “The state does not have jurisdiction here, but we work very closely together and have an agreement on communication.”

Bunnell’s you-have-no-power-here pronouncement to Lamont in this hour of collective risk does not apply, however, to the public roads into the casinos.

A short video criticizing Connecticut State Police has caused dismay in all ranks. The misogynist video screed bemoans allegedly declining standards which the filmmaker suggests includes the rise of women within the agency.

An internal investigation into the origins of the video has begun, Daily Ructions understands.

UPDATE: Brian Foley, executive assistant to James Rovella, Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), tells Daily Ructions that troopers began receiving the video on Saturday. They reported it to commanders and others in the chain of command. Swift action followed. An internal affairs investigation confirmed that the video was sent by state trooper William Veras, a member from the force’s tactical team. Veras has been suspended for five days, removed from the tactical team, and transferred to Troop B in Canaan.

The less said about this the better is the attitude among denizens of the Capitol village. Nevertheless, we persist in telling this new and rocky tale.

A young Democratic staffer supports one candidate for president, his bullying overlord supported another. The incensed legislator, known for his ugly habit of hollering, would brook no dissent. The public is not funding legislative staffers to work on presidential campaigns during work hours, so the employee’s presidential preference should have been of no consequence. Instead, the subordinate has been moved to a safer place in the LOB, sadder but wiser in the ways of a narcissist.

The legislator may want to review the recent roll call vote on the reappointment of auditor Rob Kane, a former senator, to see a reminder that the mistreatment of staff can enjoy a long half-life. In politics, one never knows what familiar faces he’ll pass on his way down.

Coda: At the end of this historic week in politics, neither candidate the two supported will be the Democratic nominee for president.

U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT) is looking for a field director for her race for a second term from Connecticut 5th CD. Hayes’s congressional office has been notable for its staff turnover. Prudence suggests potential applicants for the campaign job contact former Hayes staffers before daring to enter the lair.

Hartford Courant readers have asked about an email referred to in this week’s column about State Senator Mae Flexer (D-Killingly) soliciting registered lobbyists to donate to her employer, Emerge America. Flexer, who is the co-chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, is executive director of the Connecticut affiliate of the organization. The January 16, 2019, message is posted above.

Flexer, in a statement included in my column, claimed she has always stood up to special interests. One of the top lobbyist contributors to the organization is Anita Shepker, longtime lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. Schepker also serves as treasurer and a member of Emerge Connecticut’s board. Lobbyist and Flexer friend Karen Jarmoc is also a member of the board and serves as its treasurer.

Ryan Drajewicz, Governor Ned Lamont’s chief of staff, will resign in the next several days, Daily Ructions has learned.

Drajewicz came to Lamont from an administrative job at hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates. Drajewicz previously worked for former U.S. Senator-turned-lobbyist Christopher Dodd during Dodd’s final term in office.

Drajewicz came to grief in the perplexing odyssey that was Lamont’s transportation plan. Drajewicz attempted to mount a successful final heave in November with a comprehensive plan, ct2030, that featured 14 electronic gantries for tolls on all motor vehicles. Opposition to the plan caused it to be reduced to tolls on only trucks. Lamont withdrew that revised plan this month.

Orange Democrat Mary Welander will challenge House Minority Leader Themis Klarides (R-Derby) for the 114th House District. The race will be a rematch of their 2018 contest. The district includes Derby, Orange and Woodbridge.

Welander serves as member of the board of education in Orange. Klarides was first elected to the seat in 1998.

Klarides defeated Welander two years ago with 6,249 votes to Welander’s 5,246. Klarides carried Derby and Orange. Welander won Woodbridge.