Deadlock

I've been on the floor, and there seems to be very, very little movement in either direction. There are labor supporters of DeStefano demonstrating in favor of their candidate. Right now candidate whips are circulating, keeping tabs on the count.

I talked to a couple of delegates who said they'd be happy if there was a combined ticket (either Malloy/DeStefano or the other way around). Not going to happen.

The press conference announcing DeStefano's running mate is soon. I'll let you know as soon as I hear who that's going to be.

There's been some dealing going on, but very little. I'm going to head back to the floor and see if anything is changing.

Convention Saturday

Well, I'm writing from the convention, again, but this time with a somewhat better view. The people running the convention were gracious enough to issue me a media pass, which means I'm now in the media corral. There's an entrance to it, after all.

Right now, Norma Rodriguez-Reyes is challenging Susan Bysiewicz for the Secretary of the State endorsement. Rodriguez is currently seconding her own nomination--

Chris MC just stopped by to say hi, which was great. I'm happy to meet everyone, finally. I also saw CT Blogger and CT Bob up on the camera stand. Blogs today should be providing excellent coverage. I will do my best to bring you whatever I can.

On the Republican side, disgruntled_republican is at the GOP convention, and will hopefully post later. The Rell campaign is live blogging from that convention.

Rodriguez just brought up the most important point of the day: it's been 20 years since the Democrats won the governorship. The race for the gubernatorial endorsement is "very, very close" according to one delegate.

Lieberman Nominated: Lamont Gets Over 30%

Joe Lieberman was nominated at the Democratic convention on Friday night, but by a smaller margin than many were expecting. An unofficial count of the votes showed Lieberman winning 67%-33%.

The big story may be that Ned Lamont gathered more than twice the number of delegates he needed to force a primary in August. Lamont showed strength especially in small towns, where Lieberman was strongest in the large cities. There were exceptions. Lieberman won many small towns, while Lamont was the clear winner in New Britain and Norwalk.

Now the challenge for Lamont is whether he can close the gap with Lieberman over the next few months.

We're waiting for official word here at the convention, but unoffically, Lieberman is the nominee with 67% of the vote.

Update

Official word just received. Lieberman 1004, Lamont 505. Lamont got 33.4% of the vote.

Messy breakdown by town here (excel file).

Convention Senate Vote

There will now be a roll call vote. I'm going to try to keep up with it. Keep reloading.

Lamont's at about 27%... a long time to go.

Lamont at 28%. 260-103. Granby and Windsor went heavily for Lamont. Now on to the second congressional district.

Lamont at 30%...

Lamont is really doing well in the small towns.

Lamont at 33%. Wow.

This has the makings of an earthquake. Still at 34%. 3rd CD coming up.

The 3rd CD is dragging Lamont's numbers down a little... larger towns are going to Lieberman.

Lamont down to 30%.

4th CD up. The cities are killing Lamont. Bridgeport 55-6 Lieberman.

Down to 30%, but Fairfield went for Lamont. Greenwich 30-19 Lieberman.

Norwalk 148 nfor Lamont. 32%.

Stamford 37-13 Lieberman. 31.7%.

4th District done. Lamont now has 31% of delegates who have voted, according to my count. 875-396 Lieberman right now.

New Britain for Lamont 24-7. 32%.


Update

All right. That's it. Lamont got over 30%. Unofficial count has Lamont at a little over 33%, although that is probably incorrect by a digit or two. This is just the running count I've been keeping.

If it holds up, it's what Lamont needed for a primary and more. Double, in fact.

Impressive showing by Lamont. Much better than I thought he'd do.

2006 Democratic Convention: Friday

Nancy DiNardo is welcoming the delegates to the convention... Man, I'm far away.

DiNardo is giving quite the speech... but there's too much noise and commotion for me to really hear very well. The focus of the speech seems to be that "It's our turn" now, meaning the Democrats' time.

To Rell: "Isn't it about time you took responsibility for something--anything?"

Update 6:30

Eddie Perez is giving the the opening address. I still am having trouble hearing him. I am next to a large pillar with signs on it...

Update 6:35

Town delegations that have not done so are electing chairs and recording secretaries. It could take a while.

Oh, and the Hartford delegation was seated. We'll see if that matters tomorrow.

Update 6:41

I just looked around and realized that I was surrounded by a forest of Lieberman signs. They're planning a big show of support for him.

An odd rule about "demonstrations" on behalf of a candidate says: "The participants in a demonstration shall be limited to the delegates and a uniformed band." Like a marching band? I really hope someone has one of those.

I'm sitting so far away because I have a "Guest" pass and not a "Media" pass. I can't get on the floor, but have to stay in the very back of the hall. I can see, sort of.

Senate nomination's getting started.

Update 6:45

Max Medina and the Rev. Allie Perry are placing Lamont's name in nomination. The nomination of Ned Lamont is bringing some cheers...

The speech is an introduction to Lamont and what Lamont believes... some very clear things like a woman's right to choose and universal health care. Iraq came up early.

And there goes his mike.

Update 6:48

The speaker's mike is back on.

No real attacks on Lieberman in this speech.

Nominating Lamont is a "message to America" and the Bush administration in particular. Change.

Update 6:51

Lamont is being compared by the speaker to Abe Ribicoff in Chicago 1968, "Because Ned Lamont knows America is on the wrong path."

Update 6:52

"COnnecticut needs not just one but two senators who will stand up and say 'This war must end."

He's asking delegates to vote their consciences, and "not to be bullied".

The end of the speech brought a lot of cheers and chants of "Ned, Ned, Ned."

15% is looking more likely.

Here comes Annie Lamont.

Update 6:54

People are talking over Annie Lamont's introduction to Ned (this is the seconding speech)which is too bad.

Update 6:58

The nomination of Lamont is complete. There seems to be a quick break...

Update 7:01

Here comes Chris Dodd to place Joe Lieberman's name in nomination.

Update 7:04

Nice of Dodd to give a nod to Lamont.

Scattered boos but lots of applause for Lieberman's nomination. Nothing really more than lukewarm.

Update 7:08

Dodd sounds hoarse. But he's just as strong and fiery as ever. I'm seeing a guy with a sign saying that labor "calls Joe a friend."

Update 7:11

Dodd is encouraging delegates to "Stand up for Lieberman." A lot did, but not all.

Also, there are dueling chants of "We Want Joe" and "Joe Must Go!"

Update 7:17

John Fabrizi is speaking now. Lieberman supporters all seem pretty confident. Someone near me said that "Lamont has 15 votes."

There are Lieberman volunteers near me with thunder-stix.

We may disagree on the war, but we have to support the troops? Wait, what?

Update 7:20

Fabrizi said that this election is "about Connecticut, and Joe Lieberman has consistently delivered for Connecticut."

Update 7:23

Fabrizi is done. Voting soon.

New Thread for Vote: See there!

Convention Updates

Okay. I'm here, and I'm posting.

Parking was no good, but the credential-getting process went just fine. There is a huge barbecue outside--apparently put on by the Lieberman campaign. Also, it seems like each campaign invested in a big RV.

Need to conserve my laptop's batteries... I'll keep checking in with more as it happens.

Update 6:05pm

Okay, it took me a while to find a place to plug my laptop in, but I managed it (dead battery). I stopped at the Lieberman table to chat before heading in. They were young and enthusiastic, although they didn't want to comment on the Lamont campaign at all.

I'm seeing a lot of Lieberman supporters. A LOT of Lieberman supporters.

Hey, I saw Wolf Blitzer! Neat. The national press is here for tonight, I assume, and will be long gone tomorrow. Maybe I can steal one of their spaces in the media corral.

The corral, by the way, really is just that. There are no visible entrances or exits, except maybe one near the fire door. They, at least, have power.

Someone is practicing banging those thunder-stix together. Lieberman supporters. Interesting.

I'll keep updating. Watch this space. Hey, wasn't it supposed to start at 6:00? Huh.

Update 6:08pm

Okay, people are being told to take their seats. The floor is starting to fill up.

I'm going to start a new thread.

Convention Today

So the Democratic State Convention starts tonight. I'll be doing my best to cover the event. What will probably happen is that I'll post quick updates and happenings tonight and tomorrow, and then work on longer stories to be posted Sunday and Monday.

As for what I think will happen tonight: Lamont should get his 15%. Whether he'll get much more than that is debatable. If he gets over 25%, it'll be pretty shocking. Expect the Lieberman campaign to trumpet the margin of victory, no matter what it is.

Tomorrow: I'd say John DeStefano has the edge. His announcement of a running mate tomorrow will help him keep that edge, and he should win the convention by a respectable, if not overwhelming, margin. DeStefano has been regaining some of the momentum that he had lost over the past six months, in part due to a staff transfusion, a new website and a much more aggressive approach.

For both the Senate and Gubernatorial contests, this is only round one. But it should be fun to watch.

If you're going to be at the convention, stop by and say hello.

Malloy Selects Mary Glassman as Running Mate

Dan Malloy will officially announce the selection of Mary Glassman, former Simsbury First Selectwoman and chief of staff to Lt. Gov Kevin Sullivan, as his running mate in a press conference this afternoon.

"Mary Glassman has dedicated her life to public service, working hard to make our state a better place," said Malloy. "She has experience in state government and as a local elected official. She will be a tremendous partner to me, both in this campaign and governing this state, and I am proud that she will join my ticket as our candidate for Lt. Governor."

"Mary began her political career by pulling off a stunning political upset by beating an incumbent Republican to win an office that no Democrat had won for decades -- and I know that together she and I are going to do it again!" said Malloy. (Malloy)

There is a lengthy biography and resume of Glassman included in the press release. For your reference, I'll post it in the comment section.

Glassman seems to be someone that a lot of party insiders know. She's also from suburban Hartford County and the very edge of the 5th Congressional District), although it's worth noting that the Farmington Valley is deep in the heart of Rell Country. So, a solid choice, although not a mind-blowing one.

We'll see what DeStefano does tomorrow.

Source

"Dan Malloy chooses Mary Glassman to be running mate; Former First Selectman of Simsbury and long-time progressive activist." Press Release. Dan Malloy for Governor. 19 May, 2006.

"Pony Up, Czarina"

Former Ethics Czar: Moody Contined to Pass Out Invitations Despite Warning

The hearings into the events surrounding the fundraiser at the Marco Polo in December are continuing, although it's sometimes hard to tell. They've been lost in the manic pre-convention shuffle.

This is too bad. Some remarkable things have been said. For example, the chief of staff, Lisa Moody, said the following yesterday:

Moody further testified that ... she was not aware of a state law banning those officials from soliciting political contributions. That ban was referenced in an Oct. 19 memo that Rachel Rubin, then Rell's special ethics counsel, explained during a meeting Moody attended.

"I was not hanging on her every word," Moody said. "I was not paying attention."
...
Even though Moody's name was on the May 2 memo, she said Rubin was the principal author. She also signed an official acknowledgment, as other staff employees were required to do, saying she'd received and would obey the memo.

But, Moody testified, "I did not fully read, and comprehend and absorb this memo. ... I didn't take the time to read it - despite the fact it had my name on it. ... I made a mistake in having signed it, saying I had. ... I did not read it and memorize it. I admit that. And I was wrong not to." (Lender)

Then today Rachael Rubin, former "ethics czar", said this:

"I told her I didn't think it appropriate to hand out invitations in the office. I told her about the appearance of someone observing that might not approve, or say she was conducting campaign activities in the office ... She said that she would not do it again."
...
Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, vice chairman of the legislature's Government Administration and Elections Committee, then asked Rubin, "She did do it again, didn't she?"

"I did not observe her doing it," Rubin said, "but apparently she did." (AP)

Moody must not have been paying attention then, either. She even sent an invitation to a Rell campaign event to Rubin, with the words "Pony up, Czarina" (a reference to Rubin's unofficial title) written on it.

Don Williams asked the crucial question:

The question Gov. Rell must now answer is, 'Is it really believable that Lisa Moody didn't know what she was doing?' And if Moody is not believable under oath, can she continue to serve as chief of staff?"(AP)

Gov. Rell has restated her trust in Moody's credibility, saying that her own trust in Moody is what "counts the most."

Nonsense.

Being moral and ethical is about making hard choices. It's about putting what's right, proper and ethical above friends, family or even your own best interests. The need for members of the governor's staff to act in a forthright, ethical and upstanding manner, especially following the Rowland scandal, should come before the governor's friendship with Lisa Moody.

It's time to be stern, Governor, and make the hard choice. Moody isn't credible at all anymore, and she has either just lied or displayed an astonishing disinterest in campaign ethics to a legislative committee.

It's time for her to go. At this point, it's the right thing to do.

Sources

Lender, Jon. "Moody: `I Was Not Aware'." Hartford Courant 18 May, 2006.

"Rell's former ethics czar says she warned Moody about invitations." Associated Press 18 May, 2006.

FEC could fine Lamont Campaign $16k

If you can't get your campaign to meet FEC filing deadlines, you shouldn't be running for office. The FEC makes it easy to file online, and it's not like fundraising went all that well for Lamont.

The Federal Elections Commission said yesterday that the United States Senate campaign of Ned Lamont had failed to meet the deadline for filing a fund-raising report before the state Democratic nominating convention, which opens on Friday. The commission said it notified the campaign in April and again this month that the deadline for reporting April fund-raising was May 8.

NYT, By WILLIAM YARDLEY, May 18, 2006

Open Forum

Democratic convention starts tomorrow. I'll be there, covering the event. Whether I'll be able to live blog it, I have no idea. From what I've been able to find out, the CT Expo Center doesn't appear to have wireless. This is bad news for me and my aged laptop. If I can't blog live, I'll publish a report later Friday night.

Linda Roberts of East Windsor is running for treasurer. No mention of Frank Lecce in the article.

Democrats in the 2nd House District (Bethel, Redding, Danbury) are looking for a candidate. This race was decided by less than 50 votes last time around.

Rell should be announcing Michael Fedele's selection as her running mate sometime today.

What else is happening?

Lamont is on the Air...

Now it's a race!

Today, the Lamont campaign announced that they would have two ads on the air starting this afternoon. The ads can be found here. They are both created by Bill Hillsman and are pretty cool.

Kos of dailykos.com is featured in "Right Now", but he is in it more as a wink to bloggers than as an endorsemont of the Lamont campaign. If you don't already know who Kos is, you won't know after watching this ad.

The other ad, "Underdog", is a cute commercial that follws the theme of Ned as an underdog.

Check out the ads and if you like what you see, contribute; if you don't, don't.

Hat tips: Atrios, My Left Nutmeg, and ConnecticutBLOG.

Check out ConnecticutBLOG for links to a behind the scenes look at the shoot and a view of the new Lamont Campaign Blog.

Finally, to round out the Lamont recap - the not so unexpected Weicker endorsement.

State Arbitration Panel thinks Wells dropped the ball as Norwalk Democratic Party town chair

Last night was the culmination of a strange series of moves by the Norwalk Democratic party town chair, Galen Wells. After leading last year’s disastrous municipal election campaign where the incumbent democratic mayor was ousted by less than 200 votes, Wells proceeded to start 2006 off on the wrong foot by clumsily fostering dissension amongst Norwalk democrats.

First up, unable to generate new members to the party, Wells moved to stack leadership positions with octogenerian pals who are more noted for their ability to fall asleep in committee meetings than anything else.

Wells then spent the last several weeks publicly fawning over a handful of pre-selected candidates instead of encouraging the best and brightest to run for office.

To sum up, Wells party building skills are terrible. But it’s not just most Norwalk Democrats who think so. Today’s Norwalk Advocate contains the details of Wells end run to Democratic State Central Committee, in her attempt to exclude a sitting councilman, Calvin Hilliard from running in the caucus for the open state rep seat in the 140th.

"I thought he was interested in running but that doesn't have anything to do with him getting the appropriate letter in, does it?" Wells responded. "These e-mails aren't relevant."

But arbitration panel member Dorothy Mrowka appeared to think Wells did not do enough to assist Hilliard.

"As a town chair, that's your responsibility," Mrowka said. "I think that's terrible."

Norwalk Adovcate, Ruling: Hilliard can face Morris in bid for House By Brian Lockhart and Suzanne Sorrentino, May 17, 2006

Rumors...

Yes, there will be a press conference with Senate President Don Williams and John DeStefano this afternoon at 3:30 in the LOB.

I have no idea what it's about--the advisory just says "Two days before Democratic convention, DeStefano and Williams to make campaign announcement," (the DeStefano campaign likes to mess with us). My gut tells me it's just an endorsement, but we'll see.

DeStefano/Williams, if true, might be enough to swing the convention DeStefano's way. An endorsement probably won't.

Fedele Emerging

The Stamford Advocate is running a story today about Michael Fedele, who is presumably Rell's pick for LG (she's being coy about it).

Republican sources said if nothing happens to change her mind, Rell will anoint Fedele at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the Republican House caucus room where he served for four years as assistant Republican leader under Minority Leader Robert Ward, R-North Branford.

"He had a way of understanding issues, bringing common sense to the issues," said Ward, who chose Fedele to serve as assistant leader, a post one notch below the two deputy leaders.

"When we talked about things in the caucus, he was someone who could unite other people. He was one of those quiet leaders. He didn't need to hear himself speak on the floor of the House," Ward said.

Ward said he had only heard rumors that Fedele would be Rell's choice, "but if it's true, I think he would be a great choice. He's the classic American success story. He came here as a small boy with his family and started up his own, very successful business."

Fedele was born in Italy and traveled as a child with his family from their homeland on a seven-day boat trip in 1958, moving to West Main Street. (Coleman)

That sounds a lot like Rell herself when she was in the House. So far, so good. The only thing that raises a red flag is this push poll done in 2002, when he was running against Andrew McDonald for Jepsen's Senate seat:

According to several people contacted, the poll conducted by Zogby International asked voters, among other questions, whether they preferred to vote for a married candidate with children or one who is gay. Fedele is married with three children. McDonald is gay.

Democrats expressed outrage and called on Republicans to apologize. Stamford Republicans and those representing the state party and then Gov. John Rowland said they had nothing to do with the poll. Fedele also said he had nothing to do with it, would not have sanctioned it and didn't think the issue was one of concern to voters. (Coleman)

It's impossible to know, at this point, how much Fedele was involved in this wretched bit of negative campaigning. I'd like to know more.

The Malloy campaign reacted to the selection of Fedele as another indication of their candidate's strength, while the DeStefano campaign labelled Fedele a "Fairfield County millionaire." It does seem like Malloy is being targeted, here--will that help or hurt him in the convention?

Fedele's still not a particularly compelling choice, but he is a safe one. That may help Rell most of all.

Source

Coleman, Tobin A. "Republicans: Fedele would help Rell." Stamford Advocate 17 May, 2006.

CPR for a Lifeless Tax Cut

Watch for Gov. Rell to use her failed plan to repeal property taxes on cars as a major campaign issue this fall.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell vowed to resurrect her proposal to eliminate the car tax, making it clear her top priority, which failed in the legislature, would be a key issue in this year's gubernatorial campaign.

"Don't you just swear a little under your breath every time you have to pay this tax?" Rell said, adding just 11 states tax automobiles. "If you get rid of the tax, you will have real property tax relief you can see." (Lucas)

The car tax was torpedoed in part because municipalities felt it would cost them money, and that the administration's numbers didn't add up. Democrats instead focused on income tax credits for homeowners.

This might be a useful issue for Rell. A little over half of respondants approved of the idea of repealing the car tax in a February Quinnipiac Poll. Then again, it seems that the more people hear about the car tax repeal, the less they like it. So we'll see.

Source

Lucas, Fred. "Rell to revive ban on car tax." Danbury News-Times 17 May, 2006.

Full Day Open Forum

Lots going on.

Lisa Moody testified at the hearings concerning the Marco Polo fundraiser, and apologized profusely for her actions. I have a feeling that everyone has lost interest in this story due to the pre-convention madness. So back under the rug it goes! All is forgotten forgiven.

Colin McEnroe isn't impressed with the monochromatic GOP ticket.

What else is happening?

Town Chairs Call for Lt. Governor from Eastern Connecticut

Fifteen DTC chairs have signed a letter to Mayors DeStefano and Malloy asking them to consider a Lt. Gov. choice from eastern Connecticut.

We, the undersigned, are very concerned about the economic prospects for our state and in particular our towns and cities in eastern Connecticut. While prosperity has reached many parts of our state, for too long when it comes to sustainable economic development and modern transportation networks, eastern Connecticut has been left behind.

To ensure that the people and long-term interests of eastern Connecticut are remembered at the highest levels of state government, we encourage you to consider a person from eastern Connecticut for Lt. Governor. We also urge you to appoint a Cabinet level officer to be charged with developing and implementing economic growth and diversification plans for eastern Connecticut.

The letter is signed by the DTC chairs of fifteen eastern CT towns, stretching from Somers to Stonington.

The last Lt. Gov. candidate from this region was Joe Courtney in 1998. None few of the major possibilities mentioned for Democratic Lt. Gov. candidates this year are from east of the river (Patrick Tallarita is from Enfield--which just barely counts). If it is true that Gov. Rell has selected former Rep. Michael Fedele of Stamford as her running mate, both spaces at the top of the Republican ticket will once again be from the southwestern portion of the state.

Farr Running For Attorney General

The Republican underticket continues to solidify with the announcement that Rep. Robert Farr (R-West Hartford) is running against Richard Blumenthal.

State Rep. Robert Farr, R-West Hartford, will announce Tuesday that he plans to run for attorney general against Democrat Richard Blumenthal, a Republican spokesman said.

Farr is scheduled to make a formal announcement at noon at the state Capitol. (AP)

Realistically, Farr has little chance against someone as popular as Blumenthal. In fact, none of the members of the Republican underticket so far are particularly well-known outside GOP circles (with the possible exception of Farr and maybe Cook).

Still, it's a stronger ticket than 2002.

Source

"Farr Announces Bid For Attorney General." Associated Press 16 May, 2006.

Fedele may be Rell's Choice

Yup. Someone we've never heard of.

Republican Gov. Rell's camp appears to be settling on former state legislator Michael Fedele. Fedele has three advantages. One: He's from Stamford, just like Democratic candidate Dan Malloy, so if Malloy ends up being the nominee, Fedele "can drive him nuts," as one knowledgeable Republican put it. Two: Fedele is Italian-American, just like the other possible Democratic nominee, John DeStefano. Third: He's rich. (Bass)

All good qualities.

What I know about Fedele could fill a thimble. I know he was a state representative from Stamford, and I know he lost to Andrew McDonald in a bid to replace outgoing Sen. George Jepsen, who was foolishly running for Lt. Governor at the time. Fedele was first elected in 1992, and had served as the CEO of a computer sales company in Stamford before then.

Either Stewart or Kalinowski would have brought more to the ticket, I feel, but then again I know very little about Fedele. Is he someone who can pick up the GOP banner in four years? Can he help bring money and possibly votes to the ticket?

One nice thing about him is that he appears to have no baggage. His record in the General Assembly seems uneventful, from a quick scan of newspaper articles, but there's nothing bad lurking in there.

We'll see if Fedele is her choice or not by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'd like to know more about the guy.

Source

Bass, Paul. "Ward, Fasano Out; Fedele Tops List." New Haven Independent 15 May, 2006.

Update 10:02

Confirmed, or close to it, in the Danbury News-Times:

Former State Rep. Michael Fedele of Stamford will be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, The News-Times has learned.

The matter is not official yet, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell is expected to make the formal announcement at a press conference Thursday.
...
Being from Stamford is also helpful, said Rep. John Frey, R-Ridgefield, who said Fedele’s name has been the buzz in the capitol on Monday.

"It’s great to have someone from lower Fairfield County who will understand the transportation needs," Frey said. "Maybe the governor would use him as the transportation czar." (Lucas)

That is apparently that.

More to come, I'm sure.

Source

Lucas, Fred. "Rell to choose Stamford businessman as running mate." Danbury News-Times 15 May, 2006.