Political Capitol

The state’s major potential gubernatorial candidates in 2010 have been touting the results of their most recent fundraising efforts and nothing has changed from the last deadline of a few months ago:

1.Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy is just a bit ahead of fellow Democrat Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and both are happy about their campaigns … um … sorry … EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES.

2. Both have raised more than popular incumbent Republican M. Jodi Rell, who has yet to announce her intentions.

3. No one seems to know what if anything retired House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, brought in.

The one difference is that House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero (R-Norwalk) now has a horse in the race since forming the what-still-makes-me-snicker Explore Cafero committee.

Cafero’s raised $3,850 in his quest for, as he has said, either re-election to the House or for any statewide office other than treasurer.

I believe Cafero, who has publicly stated he expects and hopes Rell will run (he donated to her) is leaving the option of a gubernatorial bid open should she decide to retire.

And why not? Yes, Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele of Stamford is one obvious choice for a potential successor. But it seems likely to me the Republicans would want a couple possibilities going into 2010 and Cafero has certainly had as much if not more policy experience and public exposure.

And while neither dares to upstage Rell, Cafero has a bit more freedom to do his own thing, propose budget alternatives, even take some shots at his party’s Governor.

So even though the undeclared Cafero’s haul is understandably paltry compared to the rest (well, we can’t say anything about Amann yet) his is the committee that interests me the most at this point.

Met this morning with state Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie on a variety of topics, including his first year on the job.

Marie was appointed to the position by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in April, 2008 and officially started that summer.

One of the most commonly asked questions of Marie was whether he planned on staying for a while. Lawmakers concerned about the agency’s direction had been frustrated by a revolving door at the top, which they believed resulted in a lack of a consistent direction and a consistent vision for the DOT.

Marie today told me “I’m hopeful the Governor keeps me around for as long as she is here … I am fundamentally enjoying the job and I like it a lot.”

Rell has not said whether she intends to run for re-election in 2010.

Marie, who previously worked in Arizona, also added that he moved his family to Connecticut for the DOT job and does not have a desire to relocate again any time soon.

“My family had grown tired of moving. We moved back here to New England and I don’t have any moves left,” Marie said.

I had an interesting exchange this week with an unnamed member of Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration about the Property Rights Ombudsman.

The job was established in 2007 in response to the controversial 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision about New London’s use of eminent domain for economic redevelopment.

Rell proposed eliminating the position in the two-year budget she put on the table in early February.

It was one of the few cuts endorsed by the legislature’s Democratic majority in their alternative budget proposal.

The new fiscal year began July 1 without a budget deal which meant Rell had to issue an executive order allowing government to continue to function for the month as negotiations continue.

That got me wondering about the fate of the Property Rights Ombudsman. Could Rell have gone ahead and eliminated the position as of July 1, figuring the Democrats would not put up a fight?

I called someone within the administration and they  were convinced the office had already been shuttered as part of one of the handful of “deficit mitigation plans” lawmakers passed in recent months to stem the rising tide of red ink.

But a few minutes later a call to the Ombudsman’s office proved it was still open for business.

The individual within the administration then looked into the matter and confirmed that indeed the Ombudsman for now still has a job and is not a squatter at the capitol.

Derek Slap, spokesman for the Senate Democrats just confirmed that members of his caucus have scheduled a veto session of the General Assembly for July 20 to try and revive some of the many bills Republican Gov. M. Jodi M. Rell has attempted to kill.

“We don’t have a final list yet,” Slap said.

He said Democrats are likely to try and save the Sustinet and Healthcare Partnership bills they expect Rell to veto today and may also revive others that had greater bi-partisan support, such as an omnibus transportation bill and one allowing a variety of parcels of state land to be conveyed to various cities and towns.

The latter proposal included controversial language submitted at the last minute by Stamford legislators to save J.M. Wright Technical School from closure.

“There’s a lot of kind of bizarre vetoes of bills that had a lot of strong bi-partisan support,” Slap said.

The internal memo announcing the July 20 session also asks Senate Democrats to make themselves available Monday evening, July 13 for a “telecaucus” to discuss the session.

UPDATE: The healthcare bills are toast, at least until the veto session.

Doug Whiting, a spokesman for House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield confirmed that Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and leaders of the legislature’s Democratic Majority and Republican Minority are resuming budget negotiations today at the Governor’s mansion in Hartford.

It will be the first meeting since last Wednesday, which marked four consecutive days of talks over passing a 2009-10 and 2010-11 fiscal plan.

Rell last Wednesday, the start of the 2009-10 fiscal year, also vetoed the budget passed the week prior by a majority of Democrats.

McKinney said today’s get together is “a good sign.”

“Our last meeting was a difficult meeting … but we still agreed to try to work forward,” McKinney, who was en route to Hartford, said. “We hadn’t set a schedule for one because of the Fourth of July holiday. I thought it was going to be later in the week.”

New Haven-area media last week broke an interesting story about controversial “stealth” pay raises Democratic Mayor John DeStefano paid members of his executive staff despite his city’s budget problems.

This is the same John DeStefano who on several occasions this year has appeared at the capitol on behalf of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities urging state lawmakers (through the media) to help cities and towns weather the economic crisis.

Something tells me DeStefano’s lost a bit of credibility.

Tomorrow is the deadline for Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to sign or veto two pieces of high profile healthcare legislation – SustiNet and the Healthcare Partnership.

Proponents, who have scheduled a rally for late this afternoon at the capitol, argue the bills are bold proposals which will put Connecticut at the forefront of national healthcare reform.

Critics, including Rell’s budget office, argue the proposals are too costly and too risky when lawmakers are wrestling with two-year deficits in the billions-of-dollars.

Doug Whiting, spokesman for House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, an architect of the Healthcare Partnership, just told me “I think everyone’s expecting a veto on both but we hold out hope until.”

Whiting said Donovan and his staff are preparing responses “given any one of three scenarios – she vetos them both, passes them both, or takes one and rejects the other.”

Stamford Democratic Mayor Dannel Malloy, who is pursuing his party’s nomination to oppose Rell or whomever the Republicans nominate for Governor in 2010, issued a statement today in anticipation she will kill both SustiNet and the Healthcare Partnership.

“It’s time for the Governor to come clean and tell the people of Connecticut who’s advising her on health care – and if it’s her staff, then who’s advising them? God knows it’s not Connecticut’s working families,” Malloy said.

Fairfield University announced today the sad news that John Orman, chairman of the Department of Politics, died suddenly over the weekend at the age of 60.

Full disclosure: I graduated from Fairfield University but never knew Professor Orman. But I interviewed him several times over the past few years while covering politics for The Advocate.

And Orman occasionally made headlines as a thorn in the side of U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the self-described “independent Democrat” from Stamford.

Orman hijacked the Connecticut for Lieberman Party the Senator used to turn his loss of the 2006 Democratic Primary to Ned Lamont into a general election victory and then abandoned.

As a reporter I’ll miss Orman. He was always a good source of information and his stunts raised valid questions about the election process.

As a former Fairfield student, I wish I’d taken one of his courses. They must have been memorable. As his obituary reads: “He urged his students to participate in politics and not simply be observers. He led by example.”

So Rest In Peace John Orman. Connecticut politics just got less interesting.