Former Secretary of the State Pauline R. Kezer joined Avon Republican Martha Dean’s effort to become attorney general today, assuming the post of campaign director.

Kezer, an Old Saybrook Republican who served as Connecticut’s chief elections official from 1991 through 1994, also waged an unsuccessful primary in the latter year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, losing to John G. Rowland.

“I’m delighted and honored that Pauline is joining my campaign,” Dean said. “Pauline knows what it takes to win a state-wide election and what it takes to run an important state office successfully. She is a skilled and experienced holder of high elected office in Connecticut. She is also a strong woman of supreme integrity who is well-respected all across Connecticut.”

Kezer, who served as vice chairwoman of the state party from 1987 to 1989, said she is “energized and excited” to join Dean’s campaign. “Martha’s combination of incredible intelligence, excellent legal skills, and over two decades of active legal experience will make her an outstanding Attorney General.”

With her 1990 victory, Kezer became the first Republican to win a constitutional office since Thomas Meskill was elected governor in 1970. She also served in the General Assembly from 1979 through 1986

Kezer currently teaches a course on Women, Advocacy, and Political Change at Central Connecticut State University and is a trustee and vice president of The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook.

Keith has spent most of his 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. He has been the state finances reporter at CT Mirror since it launched in 2010. Prior to joining CT Mirror Keith was State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, a reporter for the Day of New London, and a former contributing writer to The New York Times. Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

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