Reynolds will run for comptroller if Wyman joins the Malloy ticket

Democratic State Rep. Tom Reynolds of Ledyard announced late today that he would seek his party’s nomination for state comptroller if incumbent Nancy Wyman opts to become the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial contender Dan Malloy.

Reynolds, 43, said he would confirm his plans after Malloy’s 11 a.m. press conference Tuesday at the Capitol, at which the former Stamford mayor is expected to announce Wyman as his choice for the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

“This is not about office-hopping for me,” said Reynolds, who formed an exploratory committee in April 2009 and has expressed interest in the comptroller’s office for more than a year – provided Wyman opted not to run. “There is no other position I’m interested in. The structural budget issues facing the state are the top priority for me.”

The Ledyard legislator, who formed his committee when Wyman was rumored to be considering a gubernatorial bid of her own, added that he believes he would be best positioned as comptroller to help the next legislature and governor grapple with a projected $3.37 billion budget deficit in 2011-12.

Reynolds proposed several fiscal reform bills during the just-completed legislative session including measures that would have: increased the budget reserve; forced state government to use generally accepted accounting principles; and mandated studies of the spending cap and government’s heavy level of bonded debt.

Reynolds, whose district includes Ledyard, Preston and Montville, is a fund-raising consultant for private, nonprofit agencies. He and his wife, Trina, have two children.

Wyman, a Democrat from Tolland, has served as Connecticut’s chief fiscal guardian since January 1995.