Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz intends to ask a court to clarify if she meets the minimum qualifications to run for attorney general, answering a question that threatens to derail her candidacy. Bysiewicz will explain her plans at a press conference Thursday with Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo and Wesley Horton, a lawyer who […]

Mark Pazniokas
Mark 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.
Healy: It’s not about the old college try
Even relaxed, Chris Healy is never at rest. The Republican state chairman fidgets at his desk as he talks about the importance of intensity and intangibles in 2010. He polishes his glasses, neatens his desk, dusts a lampshade and peels a label off a knick-knack. Only as he glances at a bulletin on his BlackBerry […]
Lamont announces for governor, pitching himself as an outsider
With a nod to his insurgent 2006 U.S. Senate campaign, Ned Lamont kicked off his race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination today by pitching himself as an outsider, but one focused on creating jobs in Connecticut and not ending a war in Iraq. “We stood up to the political establishment,” Lamont said of his challenge […]
Figueroa plotting an uncharted course
As a civil rights lawyer, he sued the U.S. Navy over a bombing range in Puerto Rico. As a foundation president, he influenced the passage of a health-care reform law last year. Juan A. Figueroa is a singular candidate for governor in several respects, including being the only Latino in a crowded field. Juan Figueroa […]
Figueroa plotting an uncharted course
As a civil rights lawyer, he sued the U.S. Navy over a bombing range in Puerto Rico. As a foundation president, he influenced the passage of a health-care reform law last year. Juan A. Figueroa is a singular candidate for governor in several respects, including being the only Latino in a crowded field. But the […]
Supreme Court case takes a political turn
The Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a protracted and politically charged labor case that pits Gov. M. Jodi Rell against high-ranking state police officers. At issue is whether the Rell administration must recognize a union formed by state police captains and lieutenants in 2006, as ordered by the State Board of Labor Relations […]
A tense cup of ‘Morning Joe’ for Linda McMahon
U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon kept smiling, but her appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” turned tense this morning as analyst Lawrence O’Donnell accused her wrestling company, the WWE, of exploiting its performers. “You make money off the blood of people who destroyed themselves for a living for you, and you did nothing as far as […]
Scarborough cross-examines Blumenthal on Dodd’s ethics
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was grilled on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today about whether he has higher standards of integrity than the man he hopes to replace in the U.S. Senate, fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd. The cross-examination by the show’s host, former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough, may have been an attempt to be even-handed, following Democratic […]
Fedele, the loyal No. 2, has to run with restraint
Other candidates get to run for governor. Lt. Gov. Michael C. Fedele must walk a tightrope. Like the rest of the pack, he distances himself from the $18.9 billion budget that Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed last week, but he does so politely, almost apologetically. “In the new budget, I probably would have gone more […]
Fedele has to run with restraint
Other candidates get to run for governor. Lt. Gov. Michael C. Fedele must walk a tightrope. Like the rest of the pack, he distances himself from the $18.9 billion budget that Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed last week, but he does so politely, almost apologetically. “In the new budget, I probably would have gone more […]
Amann makes it official, ends race for governor
James A. Amann came to the State Capitol today to formally end his campaign for governor and make some goodbyes. Amann, the former speaker of the House, stood with supporters in the Hall of the Flags as he ended a campaign that never gained traction. “It’s been a great 28 years,” Amann said of his […]
Healy criticizes Rell, Democrats on campaign finance reform
Republican State Chairman Chris Healy undercut Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Thursday over the Republican governor’s efforts to preserve one of her legacies: the Citizens’ Election Program. Healy issued a statement criticizing efforts by Rell and legislative Democrats to salvage a program that created a voluntary system of publicly financing campaigns. The state is under […]
Legislators lack data when requiring coverage
On the same day last year, the state House of Representatives took up two bills that mandated increased health insurance coverage for various medical conditions. One passed nearly unanimously and was celebrated by Gov. M. Jodi Rell at a bill-signing ceremony. The other divided the House along party lines and provoked a veto. The successful […]
Health care mandates: more emotion than information
On the same day last year, the state House of Representatives took up two bills that mandated increased health insurance coverage for various medical conditions. One passed overwhelmingly and was celebrated by Gov. M. Jodi Rell at a bill-signing ceremony. The other divided the House on party lines and provoked a veto. The successful measure […]
Lamont: A political ‘rock star’ tries to expand his base
With a campaign manager and media strategist in place, Ned Lamont is preparing to launch a run for governor by promising Democrats he has the drive, message and resources to compete with a wealthy Republican frontrunner, Tom Foley. “We’re not going to be outhustled. We’re not going to be outsmarted,” said Lamont, who is expected […]