Oxford – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy dismissed Republican Tom Foley’s ethical accusations as “factually incorrect” Monday, departing only slightly from a game plan that calls for him to resolutely ignore his GOP rivals in these early days of the 2014 campaign for governor.
“I got a job to do. I’m the governor of the state of Connecticut… I’m working on adding private sector jobs in unprecedented numbers to our state,” Malloy said, speaking after an economic development event. “I suppose he’s got his job to do. He wants to be governor. I got that job right now.”
And so it went a day after Foley, who was the 2010 Republican nominee, accused the Malloy administration of an ethical laxness, with claims of favors accepted and given based on things Foley says he has heard from unnamed persons. The administration walked a fine line, wanting to rebut Foley’s story without fueling it.
Malloy repeatedly circled back to his major talking point when it comes to all things political: He is the governor, and he’s got a job to do.
“Yes, they are factually incorrect,” Malloy said of Foley’s statements. “You guys can follow up with my staff and go through all of that stuff. I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about it. I’m the governor of the state of Connecticut. I’ve got a job.”
Malloy, who has stepped up his workout regimen this year, smiled when an WFSB reporter told him she heard he went for a longer-than-normal run to blow off steam after Foley’s interview aired Sunday on WFSB’s “Face the State.”
“I run every day. I run every day,” he said.
He conceded a bit of annoyance, then was back to his talking points.
“It’s annoying, but you know, I’ve got a job to do,” Malloy said. “To be the governor of the state of Connecticut, you have to have the ability to focus and focus on what’s important to people’s lives. What’s important to people’s lives is that we get this economy going after it was driven into the ditch.”
It is the subject that Malloy’s other GOP challengers prefer to discuss, as well, pointing to the state’s dismal ratings in state and national business surveys and an economic recovery that is significantly lagging the nation’s.
Malloy left emphasizing non-farms employment numbers that show more than 40,000 jobs added to the state economy since he became governor, one of many indicators offering a mixed picture, at best, of the economy.
“I think good things are happening,” he said.
He distanced himself from a far different talking point followed by the Connecticut Democratic Party, whose messaging is being coordinated with his political advisers – and presumably could be altered by Malloy.
The party called on Foley to release records of two arrests in 1981 and 1983, one involving a dispute with a motorist, another with his former wife.
“I’m not running for governor right now, thank you very much,” Malloy said. “Let other people decide what they want to say. I’ve got a job to do. I’m the governor of the state of Connecticut.”