Gov. Ned Lamont, fresh off a landslide reelection victory Tuesday, asked for the resignations of his cabinet Friday, the first step to assessing what changes he intends to make in the weeks before beginning his third term as governor on Jan. 6.
In a brief interview, the governor said the new term offers “a chance to make some changes and inject more energy in some of our departments.” He declined to say which agencies were getting a hard look.
His chief of staff, Matt Brokman, who took a leave from the Capitol to work on Lamont’s reelection campaign, has returned to the Capitol and will remain his top aide, Lamont said. Brokman has been chief since July 2004.
Cathryn Vaulman, the governor’s communications director, noted that Lamont made the same request for resignations after winning his second term in 2022.
“As was the case in 2022, Gov. Lamont is taking this opportunity to evaluate agency leadership and ensure the administration is aligned on goals for the upcoming term,” she said. “All commissioners must go through the nomination and approval process at the start of the next session.”
Lamont has signaled education reform will be a priority in his third term, inviting speculation as to whether he will seek a new education commissioner, an appointment that technically belongs to a state Board of Education, albeit with the governor’s input.
Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, the current commissioner, made a strong pitch to remain four years ago when he was considering a change then.
Last April, he signed an executive order creating a Blue Ribbon Commission on K-12 Education Funding and Accountability. As chair, Lamont chose his deputy chief of staff, Natalie Wagner, with Russell-Tucker as vice chair. The commission’s recommendations are due in January.
After his reelection in 2022, Lamont made his first changes 13 days after the election, announcing the long-planned departures of his chief of staff, Paul Mounds, and general counsel, Nora R. Dannehy.
His well-regarded economic development commissioner, David Lehman, left then to rejoin the private sector. A month later, he appointed a new commissioner of social services, Andrea Barton Reeves.
Lamont has at least one commissioner whom he inherited from his predecessor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Jorge Perez has been the banking commissioner since February 2015.
