Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Lamont wins, while Ganim fails to qualify for primary

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas and Keith M. Phaneuf
  • May 19, 2018
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

mark pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

Ned Lamont briefly seemed overcome accepting the nomination.

Democrats endorsed Ned Lamont for governor Saturday, putting their stock in a wealthy Greenwich businessman who became a national figure in 2006 with his antiwar challenge of U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman. They rejected an 11th-hour plea by Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim to overlook his criminal record and place him on the primary ballot.

But delegates dealt Lamont a rebuke over his choice of Susan Bysiewicz as running mate. Bysiewicz was assured of the endorsement, but nearly 40 percent of delegates swarmed to Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, whose protest candidacy took flight in just three days, guaranteeing her a place in the primary.

Overall, it could be a busy August for Democrats, with three-way primaries guaranteed for state treasurer and attorney general, plus a two-way contest for lieutenant governor.

Related links

Two-way primary for lieutenant governor: Bysiewicz vs. Zimmerman

The Democratic under ticket, a work in progress

Three-way primary for AG: Tong, Mattei & DoyleThree-way primary for treasurer: Wooden, Arulampalam & BhargavaNo primaries for Lembo, Merrill

Lamont, 64, who is largely self-funding his campaign, as he did in his Senate race and again in 2010 in an unsuccessful challenge of Dannel P. Malloy for the gubernatorial nomination, is promising a left-leaning approach to the state’s fiscal issues that he insists can coincide with economic growth and a welcoming business climate.

“We’re going to save Connecticut. I’m going to remember each and every one of you,” Lamont said. “And Bridgeport, I’m going to be on your side each and every day, don’t worry about that. All of our cities, you’ve got my word on it.”

He was briefly overcome by emotion as he accepted the nomination, his wife, Annie Lamont, a managing partner in a venture-capital firm, and their three children behind him. With a smile, Lamont noted it was the first time he could enjoy the view from a convention stage, accepting the endorsement of the Democratic Party.

“I’ve been here on the floor not winning it, you know,” Lamont said later. “It just meant a lot, standing there.”

The tally was 87.03 percent for Lamont to 12.97 percent for Ganim.

Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats steadily winnowed their field in the days leading up to their statewide nominating convention as Jonathan Harris, Sean Connolly and Bysiewicz dropped out and endorsed Lamont, with Bysiewicz signing on as his running mate Tuesday. Ganim and Guy L. Smith, another contender who skipped the convention, still can qualify for a primary by petitioning.

Ganim seconded his own nomination, a ploy that gave him access to the convention stage so he could plead with delegates to give him the 15-percent share of the vote that would qualify him for a primary in August. He asked them to look past the exortion-and-kickback scheme he devised in his first stint as mayor, which cost him the office and seven years in prison.

“I made my mistakes. I broke the law,” Ganim said. “I left office and came back. I ask for a second-chance opportunity.”

mark pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

Joseph P. Ganim’s plea from the stage fell short.

Bridgeport voters gave him that second chance in 2015, returning him to city hall as mayor of Connecticut’s largest city. He quickly grew restless in his old job, opening an exploratory campaign for statewide office on April 27, 2017, less than 18 months after his mayoral inaugural.

Ganim said he would continue his petition drive to qualify for a primary. He needs signatures from 2 percent of registered Democrats.

But the party’s bigger challenge to unity is a lingering debate over whether Lamont stumbled with his pick of Bysiewicz, rather than a black or Hispanic candidate. It caused dissension in his own campaign, as well as among delegates. New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, whom he tried to recruit as his choice for lieutenant governor, gave a seconding speech for Lamont, as did Connolly, the former veterans affairs commissioner.

“I’m fortunate to know Ned Lamont. I know his work. I know his values and, most important, I know his heart,” Harp said. “We all know Ned was among the first to speak out against the bogus war in 2006.”

Zimmerman, 30, a Puerto Rican labor activist who grew up in Hartford and lives in Newtown, challenged Bysiewicz for the nomination for lieutenant governor, quickly assembling a floor operation staffed by experienced labor organizers. They delivered her 39.83 percent to 59.01 percent for Bysiewicz.

Rep. Charlie Stallworth, an African-American minister from Bridgeport, also was nominated, but registered negligible support.

Lamont and Bysiewicz jointly led a procession of supporters into the convention hall. Bysiewciz bore the burden of trying to tamp down support for Zimmerman, but Lamont reiterated that he and Bysiewicz are a team.

“Susan and I are going to fight every day to keep Connecticut blue, side by side as full partners,” Lamont told the delegates.

As winners of the convention endorsement, each would appear on the top line of the primary ballot, assuming one of Lamont’s remaining challengers gathers the necessary signatures.

Lamont made a strong outreach to labor in his acceptance.

mark pazniokas :: ctmjirror.org

Ned Lamont and his family.

Pledging to back a $15 hour minimum wage and paid family and medical leave, Lamont said he would not forget labor when it comes to close huge projected deficits in the first new state budget after the election.

“I’m not going to balance the budget on the backs of our teachers, not the backs of state employees, and not on the backs of the most vulnerable,” Lamont said, his voice rising. “That’s not going to happen — not on my watch.”

“Each and every one of you are going to be at the table,” he said. “We’re all going to be part of the solution. We’re going to be doing this together.”

Lamont also pledged to craft a “jobs budget” that invests in education — community colleges in particular — and a transportation infrastructure that supports business.

“Connecticut people for Connecticut jobs,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re training our people,” he said. “Those moving vans that are thinking about heading up for Massachusetts, turn around.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 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. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Plan to expand child tax credit offers hope along with direct payments
by Lisa Backus | C-HIT.ORG

When her car started making a noise more than a year ago, Chinara Johnson parked the vehicle and hasn’t used it since. As a New Haven mother of 5-year-old twin boys, one of whom is on the autism spectrum, and an 8-year-old daughter, Johnson doesn’t have the money to get the car running properly again. […]

Republicans on key committee oppose no-excuse absentee ballot voting
by Mark Pazniokas

Republicans signaled Friday they will try to block fast-track action on a constitutional amendment allowing no-excuse voting by absentee ballot.

Ned Lamont’s year in the shadow of COVID
by Mark Pazniokas

Ned Lamont has been the face, voice, and interpreter of the COVID crisis, mourning deaths, explaining setbacks and cautiously celebrating.

With billions in federal relief on the way to CT, legislators assert their role in deciding how to spend it
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

With an unusual bill, state legislators are reminding Gov. Ned Lamont they have significant role in disbursing federal coronavirus relief.

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller wins vacant Senate seat
by Mark Pazniokas

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, won a special election to the state Senate.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The public health bill no one is talking about, but should be
by Brian Festa

On February 16,  the legislature's Public Health Committee conducted a public hearing on two bills, S.B. 568 and H.B. 6423, both of which would eliminate the religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations for Connecticut schoolchildren.  The hearing was capped at 24 hours, depriving nearly 1,500 members of the public who had registered for the hearing their opportunity to be heard.  The vast majority of those who did testify, and who submitted written testimony, opposed the bill.  The committee is expected to vote on the bill as early as  today. 

Opinion Students need more resources, fewer officers
by Tenille Bonilla

"School resource officer" is just a nice way to say cop. But what students really need is more resource and less officer.

Opinion The Board of Regents’ changes must not shortchange its students or faculty
by Carrie Andreoletti, PhD

As a university professor and a lifespan developmental psychologist, I tend to approach my work from a developmental perspective. This means I aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and to help others find a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as confidence in their ability to reach their goals. My approach to higher education is shaped by my desire to provide the best possible education for my students. This is why the recent Board of Regents’ proposed changes at the four state universities have me worried.

Opinion How to close schooling opportunity gaps created by the pandemic
by Carol Gale

We ask school district leaders to trust your public servants whose daily work life involves assessing student needs and planning or modifying instruction to meet those needs. Listen to their voices, as we have, and allocate precious resources on interventions that will offer increased opportunities for Hartford students to succeed.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO