Stamford Democratic Mayor Dannel Malloy has yet to officially declare his candidacy for governor in 2010. He is still exploring whether to seek the party’s nomination now that he is leaving local elected office after 14 years.
Malloy has been acting more and more like a gubernatorial candidate, weighing in on statewide issues and rarely missing an opportunity to criticize Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who has yet to make her re-election intentions known.
But some expect tonight’s victory of Mike Pavia, the Republican candidate for mayor, over Democrat David Martin will take a bit of the wind out of Malloy’s sails.
I’m told by Advocate colleagues far more familiar with the Stamford mayoral race that Martin was not the favorite of some local Democratic leaders and was not considered Malloy’s hand-picked successor.
At one point this summer Malloy in an interview distanced himself from the nomination process, saying: “In the old days you’d have a knock-down, drag-out Democratic brawl, and if I’ve done anything politically here, it’s to move beyond those days.”
Even so, Martin has spent the past eight of his 26 years on the city’s Board of Representatives as chairman. In less political-insiderish terms, that means for over half of Malloy’s term as mayor Martin has essentially been head of the city council, sharing successes and failures.
So when I outlined all the above earlier today to Professor Gary Rose, head of Sacred Heart University’s politics department, and asked if a Martin loss might impact Malloy’s gubernatorial prospects, Rose said yes.
“There seems to be a certain association here with Malloy that I think probably does make this election somewhat – somewhat – of a referendum on Malloy’s leadership,” Rose said. “There is something here that binds these two to a certain extent … It’s not velcro but the two of them are linked … If he (Martin) is rejected and the Republican wins that can be exploited as perhaps a development that is not in Malloy’s interest. It could have consequences for the (gubernatorial) nomination.”
Rose said he would not be surprised if some of Malloy’s potential opponents for the Democratic nod for governor use the loss against him and say “look what happened to Dan. The voters turned against his candidate.”
Former House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, the only declared Democratic candidate for governor, said by phone this afternoon a Martin loss would certainly be a blow to Malloy.
“If he doesn’t think it’s any sort of reflection on him, it’s dead wrong,” Amann said
Chris Healy, chairman of the state Republican Party, also appeared eager to use a Republican victory in Stamford against Malloy.
“It undercuts Malloy and his claims of a great legacy,” Healy said.
Mayor Malloy did a heck of a job for Stamford for 14 years. He leaves the City in good hands by passing the baton to Mr. Pavia.
This race was about the charisma and character of Mr. Michael Pavia who would have won this election 4 years ago if he decided to run. Malloy is no dummy he knows this.
As for the future, Mr. Malloy has his hands full in convincing CT that he can do a better job that Jodi Rell.
As for Mayor Elect Pavia, he would be very wise to make David Martin some type of Advisor and get some of the others (Dems) involved on his team.
This was more of a local deal than a referendum on Malloy’s chances for Governor. He was the longest serving Mayor of Stamford, the city is in good shape but Pavia will make sure taxes don’t skyrocket. Mr. Pavia will be a breath of fresh air to the political scene in Stamford.
Comment by Full Disclosure — November 4th, 2009 @ 9:47 am
I have to agree with the comment above, I voted for Pavia – but would’ve voted for Dan if he were running again, and plan on supporting him for Governor. The thing to remember is that by Dan Malloy holding that position in Stamford as a democrat attests to how strong he is with independent voters like myself – and he left behind amazing results, in a town we would expect to be run by the GOP nonetheless.
It’s amusing that Amann (who seems so threatened by Dan) needed to say something here despite what happened in his own backyard – one Milford blogger put it that the Milford Democrats were slaughtered in a bloodbath.
Comment by Stamford Life — November 4th, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Great, thoughtful comments. Thank you!
Comment by Brian Lockhart — November 4th, 2009 @ 11:36 am
It might be over for Dan, it’s definitely over for D-Mart (since Tim is back on BofFin), and it’s just starting for Mike – his 1st order of biz is to do a audit to make clear what he’s inheriting (Kathleen will help him figure out by how much Dan has underfunded pension plans, for example).
Stamford Life: D’s outnumber R’s 2-to-1 in Stamford so why would you say “in a town we would expect to be run by the GOP nonetheless
Comment by Paco — November 4th, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
Simple: spending and ruling class. Pavia also outspent Martin 2 to 1 (not saying that is why he won). The GOP does well with money and messaging here. My point is that while Pavia was a better candidate than Martin, I cannot see how that diminishes what was accomplished under Malloy, the residents of Stamford are thankful for him and anticipate Pavia will keep up the good work. Read: it’s not always about party politics, folks.
Comment by Stamford Life — November 4th, 2009 @ 2:51 pm
Ned Lamont just thrusted himself into the Governor’s race: This is a George Steinbrenner type move to take the press away from the Republicans strong wins yesterday up and down the state. The guy is shrewd, has lots of money, but at the end of the day will not beat Jodi Rell.
I am sure Mayor Malloy is not too thrilled with this latest development. Prediction: Rell beats Lamont in 2010 54 – 46 percent.
Prediction: Blumenthal runs and wins in 2014.
Comment by Full Disclosure — November 4th, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
1) Stamford features small-town politics in a large city; half bedroom community, half rabid natives. The Italian natives chose one of their own over a candidate that tried to do what Obama did (talk policy and substance like an adult) but without the charisma. Fail. Professor Rose, while I hate all those people who claim that Stamford is different, this is not a repudiation of Malloy the Democrat but a rejection of Martin the candidate.
2) Blumenthal will never run; he doesn’t have the guts to make a decision in the first place, much less risk a loss.
Comment by e w — November 4th, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Blumenthal announced earlier this year he would not run for Governor in 2010.
Comment by Brian Lockhart — November 5th, 2009 @ 9:50 am
EW – Your point in comparing David Martin to Barack Obama is absolutely hilarious. Your own Chairwomen knew that Pavia would win (see column in paper today ) as did every other native Stamfordite who knows Mr. Pavia’s character and leadership ability. Aren’t you happy that you have a breath of fresh air in Stamford vs the career politicians that it seems to breed ? ?
Comment by Full Disclosure — November 6th, 2009 @ 9:20 am
I continue to disagree with the seemingly ubiquitous “kudos” to Malloy for 14 years of “greatness” in Stamford. Really? In that time, I’ve seen my property taxes increase 70% while city services to my home were reduced. I’ve seen spending continue to increase in a recessionary economy, which mirrors the frivolity ongoing in Washington, D.C. This is a lesson in financial management that a 3rd grader could have understood — if you don’t have it, don’t spend it. And finally, when more than 50% of my taxes are confiscated for education, in one of the wealthiest cities in the nation — why is it that Stamford schools rank in the bottom half of the entire state, and only 1 of 11 elementary schools even come close to meeting the No Child Left Behind guidelines? Waste upon waste, possible corruption, and lousy results. Um – great job? I don’t think so.
Comment by Carl — December 3rd, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
Brian,
I really have to disagree with prof. Rose’s assessment. Pavia won because of Stamford’s huge Italian population and the vowel at the end of his name (not to mention the massive amount of out of state money). Dan Malloy didn’t campaign for Martin and wasn’t closely tied to him. Love or hate him, there is no credible support for an argument that the election was a referendum on the Malloy administration.
Comment by Bob — December 8th, 2009 @ 11:33 pm