Political Capitol

Rob Simmons, his wife, Heidi and Jessica, a University of Connecticut senior who is Simmons’ scheduler, just sat down at a Friendly’s restaurant in Bristol.

“Tell him Rob Simmons always picks Friendly’s,” the Republican U.S. Senate candidate joked with the waitress when she mentioned she wanted to bring the manager over to say “hi.”

Simmons, Heidi and Jessica have been on the road in the family’s blue Trailblazer – license number GUNGHO (Simmons is a Vietnam veteran) – all morning, trying their best to remind voters that the former U.S. Congressman is on the ballot in today’s Republican primary.

Simmons won 46 percent of the vote at the GOP convention in late May, qualifying for a primary against wealthy, self-funded nominee Linda McMahon of Greenwich.

He suspended his campaign for the past few months, arguing he could not afford to compete against McMahon’s money. But a few weeks ago, responding to some positive poll numbers and encouragement from supporters, Simmons got more serious and began granting interviews with the media, participating in public events and debates and launching some modest commercials.

“I needed to wait to the last minute to avoid re-activating the McMahon ‘negativity campaign’,” Simmons said.

Harmon Poole didn’t need the reminder to vote for Simmons today. Simmons greeted Poole on his way out of a polling place in Simsbury. Learning he had Poole’s vote, he handed him a pot holder that reads “Rob Simmons: No Job Too Hot To Handle.”

“I go for experience and I think he’s a good guy. He’s done a good job,” Poole told me as he prepared to pull his car out of the parking lot.

What about McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who is touting herself as a Washington outsider?

“Let her be around for a little while,” Poole said i.e. pay her dues the way Simmons has.

Talking at one point with a handful of reporters about the close Democratic primary for governor between Greenwich businessman/millionaire Ned Lamont and former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, Simmons said: “Lamont’s got the money, Malloy has the experience. Sounds familiar.”

Simmons also spent some time at the polling spot with Republican Justin Bernier, a former Congressional staffer for Simmons who is a candidate in today’s primary for U.S. Representative in the 5th Congressional District.

“I was proud to vote for you today,” Bernier told Simmons as he prepared to leave.

But another primary voter – Ed Bell – had to break the news to Simmons that he voted for Peter Schiff, the Weston economist.

“I’ve been reading his work on the Internet for years. He’s a ‘hard money man’ like I am,” Bell said. “I don’t expect he’ll win, but it’s a statement.”

After lunch Simmons heads to Watertown, Shelton, Niantic and finally his home in Stonington, where he will await the results.

“To me the most important feeling is that we have done the best we could under the circumstances to be successful,” Simmons told me after devouring his Friendly’s chicken strips. “I did not want a divisive and expensive primary and I did not engage in one … I can’t pull it off. But my party can, if they want to.”

With that, he handed a pot holder to an appreciative waitress (for her mother-in-law), paid his lunch bill, and hit the road.

Union leader Brian Petronella of Norwalk, who died suddenly Friday night, was remembered over the weekend mainly for his labor work.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to touch on another of the hats Petronella wore – that of frequent Working Families Party candidate for the General Assembly.

In 2002 Petronella, a registered Democrat, was the Working Families Party candidate for state Senate, running unsuccessfully against then-Republican incumbent Robert Genuario of Norwalk. A Democrat – Bill Wrenn – was also in the race.

In 2004 Petronella was the Working Families Party’s choice to challenge state Rep. Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, who is currently the state House Minority Leader. There was no Democratic candidate.

Petronella had a rematch with Cafero in 2008, another year in which Norwalk’s Democrats were unable to field an opponent.

I covered a few of Petronella’s races. His motivation for running was mainly to secure and maintain the Working Families Party a slot on the ballot and, from what I observed, he never campaigned like he really wanted to hold public office.

He did not accept campaign contributions for his 2008 bid against Cafero, turned down a cross endorsement from the Norwalk Democrats and missed a candidates’ forum because of union business.

“It’s sort of what I expected from Brian,” Galen Wells, head of the Democratic ward in Cafero’s district, told me at the time. “Brian really is very happy doing what Brian is doing, and he’s doing a good job. He really, I don’t think, wants to be in the legislature.”

“If I really wanted to win, I’d … go to the Democratic Party and ask for their endorsement, go to the Working Families and ask for their cross-endorsement, go out and get public financing to the max,” Petronella said.

When I asked him why people should bother voting for him, he responded: “The Democrats could not put anybody up to run … People have an option. They can vote for me, for Larry, or not at all. (But if elected) I will serve and I will vote on bills and proposal bills and caucus with the Democrats and do those things I believe in doing.”

I’m sure voters during one election or another have looked at campaign literature or watched commercials featuring supposedly real people who claim to be their Connecticut neighbors and wondered “who are they and how did they get involved in this propaganda?”

Keith Phaneuf at CTMirror.org has a fantastic report today about those small town folks from Georgia who have been appearing in two television ads (watch them here and here) critical of Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley of Greenwich.

The ads, paid for by Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele of Stamford, one of Foley’s two opponents in Tuesday’s GOP primary, hammer the Greenwich millionaire/businessman over the failure of a Georgia textile plant he once owned.

And while some of those people featured in the ad stand by their comments, others claim their stories were twisted for Fedele’s political gain.

It really is a great inside look at how the commercials were produced.

You know some pretty serious mud is being slung when representatives from a minority group who are backing one candidate schedule a press conference to refute claims being made by a rival.

African American supporters of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont, who during his 2006 bid for U.S. Senate faced accusations he spent too much time with other rich white folks at exclusive Greenwich country clubs (yes, I wrote about it at the time), have announced a press conference for tomorrow to take on some race-related claims being posed by Dannel Malloy.

Malloy, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Lamont is hoping to beat in Tuesday’s party primary, has been touting a racial discrimination lawsuit against his opponent’s business and the related sealed settlement.

Here’s a Malloy press release from yesterday responding to criticism on a completely unrelated issue from Lamont by bringing up the lawsuit:

“Ned’s also forgotten that in public life, you can’t just seal away your mistakes the way he sealed away his settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit. This is the same candidate who said at yesterday’s debate that he wants to ‘raise the discourse.’   It’s another example of Ned’s CEO values at their finest; supporting the rules until they apply to him.”

Clearly the Malloy campaign is planting a seed in primary voters’ minds that Lamont might be a racist – something that WFSB Channel 3 anchor Dennis House picked up on while moderating the Democratic debate Tuesday. Malloy denied the charge, but he sure likes to keep bringing Lamont’s case up – about as much as Lamont keeps reminding Democrats of the state’s probe of contract-steering by Malloy that wrapped up five years ago when he was still mayor of Stamford.

Here’s the news release from Lamont’s friends announcing tomorrow’s event, which also promises to delve into Malloy’s “record on race” while mayor. The Lamont camp told me they got ”a heads up” but their man will not be in attendance.

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Connecticut African American Leaders to Denounce Malloy’s Attacks on Ned Lamont  

Hartford, CT – Tomorrow, a group of African American leaders in Connecticut will hold a news conference at 10AM to denounce gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy for his recent campaign tactics and his record on race as Mayor of Stamford.   Where: State Capitol, 210 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT (North side/ facing Bushnell Park)   When: 10 AM, Friday, August 6 Who: African American Elected Officials, Community Leaders and Faith Community Participants: Former State Treasurer Joe Suggs, State Senator Toni Harp, State Senator Ed Gomes, State Representative Toni Walker, State Representative Doug McCrory, State Representative Minnie Gonzalez, Alderman Marcus Paca, Gwen Newton, Carol Brown, Maurice Smith (Chair, CT Black Expo), Dr. Marichal Monts and Rev. Dr. Tommie Jackson

Last week it was Dan Malloy’s fundraising activities and a prior, closed investigation about contract steering while mayor of Stamford.

This week Democrat Ned Lamont’s campaign is tossing out another issue it hopes will steer primary voters away from backing Malloy for the gubernatorial nomination at the polls Tuesday – Malloy’s alleged abuse in 2009 of his city vehicle during his final year as mayor to campaign for governor.

Here’s the web video the Lamont team crafted on the charge.

Lamont claims Malloy “who in two debates has made limiting the use of government cars a central aspect of his plan to cut the budget, drove more than 45,000 miles between April and November of 2009. Using the widely-accepted federal reimbursement rate for 2009, his use of the car would have cost Stamford taxpayers $26,330.70, yet his campaign paid only $3,430.32 in reimbursements.”

Malloy’s staff countered “Ned Lamont isn’t a very good storyteller – he always forgets the end. He says Dan drove his city-provided car, but uses unsubstantiated numbers to make the claim, and he forgets to mention that the Malloy Campaign spoke with city officials about using the car outside of Stamford, and then reimbursed the city for the gas in full accordance with that determination.”

We’re taking a look at the paperwork Lamont is using to make his case. We’ve also asked the Malloy campaign to produce any documentation it has about this agreement it says the campaign made with city officials and the identities of those officials.

In the meantime, here’s a pair of stories former Stamford Advocate reporter Donna Porstner wrote back in 2005 and 2006 when Malloy last campaigned for governor and the use of his mayoral wheels was questioned. Malloy eventually decided it was easier for his campaign to lease a separate vehicle rather than deal with reimbursing Stamford, something he did not do in 2009:

2/17/05
STAMFORD – Mayor Dannel Malloy has reimbursed the city nearly $5,000 for using his city vehicle to campaign for governor.
Records show Malloy has paid the city $4,885.61 for taking his city-owned 2004 Ford Explorer XLT all over the state while he campaigned for governor during the past year.
Malloy said he knows of no limits on his use of the vehicle, but he chose to pay the city for the travel because it is unrelated to his job as mayor.
“I felt that was very clearly outside of an anticipated use, so I decided the campaign should reimburse the city for that use,” he said. “We did it without anyone asking or anyone writing.”
The mayor started reimbursing the city in September, when he made a payment of $1,012.57 for his use of the vehicle from February through August 2004. Since October, Malloy has made monthly payments and detailed his destinations and mileage on the campaign trail.
Last month’s report, for example, shows Malloy traveled 1,196 miles on his campaign, going to Wilton, North Haven, Voluntown, East Lyme, Waterbury, Wallingford, Newington, Windsor Locks and Plainville. Using the 2004 Internal Revenue Service mileage rate of 37.5 cents a mile, Malloy reimbursed the city $448.52.
Taxpayers will have spent $28,917 on the Explorer when the lease expires in March 2006. The city then may purchase it for $1.
Malloy estimates he has put 24,000 to 29,000 miles on the vehicle in its first year. He could not say precisely how much mileage he racked up, campaign or otherwise, since getting the Explorer in March.
When he wasn’t campaigning, Malloy drove an average of about 20,000 miles a year.
The vehicle-use policy requires employees maintain daily mileage reports that separate their commuting mileage from mileage on the job, but Malloy is exempt. The four-page policy lists 36 job classifications that may be assigned a city vehicle. Mayor is not among them.
Malloy said he is not aware of any mileage cap or other limits on his use of the Explorer.
Personnel Specialist Fred Manfredonia agreed the mayor is not subject to the same restrictions as other city employees assigned cars.
“It’s one of the perks that comes with the job,” Manfredonia said.
Records show Malloy is one of about 60 city employees assigned vehicles for their exclusive use.
In 2003, Malloy took away commuting privileges for 19 of the 60 employees whose mileage to and from work accounted for more than 60 percent of their total mileage. Unions representing the employees filed grievances, which are pending. Manfredonia said the city is waiting for the state Board of Labor Relations to rule.
Health Director Dr. Johnnie Lee uses his personal vehicle for work-related travel and gets a $2,500 annual car allowance.
When Lee signed his contract in 2003, he had the option of getting mileage reimbursement or the car allowance. Lee said he chose the latter so he would not have to log mileage. At the time, he didn’t anticipate traveling to Hartford for meetings two or three times a month, regional public health meetings and meetings on emergency preparedness, Lee said.
Next year’s proposed capital budget includes $35,000 to buy Lee a sport utility vehicle.
Lee, who lives in Wilton, said it was suggested that he have a four-wheel-drive vehicle so he could get to Stamford quickly in bad weather.
“It’s really to ensure that I would be able to get back to the Emergency Communications Center in the event of an emergency,” he said.

4/18/06
STAMFORD – After two years and 37,000 miles on the campaign trail, the mayor has put the brakes on using a city-owned vehicle to stump for governor.
Mayor Dannel Malloy stopped using the Ford Explorer with its signature “1 ST” license plates to hobnob with state Democrats on Feb. 16, when his gubernatorial campaign began paying the cost of leasing a GMC Envoy that’s become his primary mode of transportation.
Malloy has been crisscrossing the state meeting as many Democrats as he can in hopes they will nominate him over New Haven Mayor John DeStefano to run against Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in November.
Malloy started submitting mileage reimbursement checks in August 2004 after Water Pollution Control Authority member Louis Casale, a Republican, wrote to the Board of Finance saying taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize a gubernatorial campaign by paying for his vehicle and gasoline.
The Explorer cost Stamford taxpayers $28,917.
Malloy responded by reimbursing the city $14,927 for taking the sport utility vehicle to campaign events from February 2004 to February 2006.
But with the price of gasoline rising and campaign trips taking up more of his time – the mayor is clocking about 1,200 miles a week – Malloy said it became impractical to submit reimbursements every month.
“I have somebody who drives me now for all campaign functions,” Malloy said. “When my travel increased, it just made sense. I can get a lot more done using another car with another driver.”
Asked whether campaign workers drove the city vehicle, Malloy said only occasionally when he was too tired to drive.
If he is between campaign events and needs to attend a function in his role as mayor, campaign workers drive him in the Envoy, Malloy said.
“I’m just spending more time on the campaign, so it’s just better for everyone involved,” he said. “This seems to work for the life I’m living at the moment.”
His competition, DeStefano, has been splitting his time behind the wheel between a Toyota Prius owned by the city of New Haven and his campaign’s Buick LeSabre.
DeStefano spokesman Derek Slap said the New Haven mayor has never used his city vehicle to campaign. DeStefano did not want to send the city a check for mileage because, as mayor, he would be approving his own reimbursement, Slap said.
“He doesn’t think it is appropriate for the campaign and the city to be exchanging money,” Slap said.
If the day’s schedule is a mix of city functions and campaign events, DeStefano takes the LeSabre.
“He may end up taking the campaign car to a city event but not the other way around,” Slap said.
Before DeStefano got the LeSabre a little more than a year ago, campaign workers would drive him to campaign events in their personal vehicles, Slap said.
A spokeswoman for the city of New Haven said the mayor is the only municipal employee who has unrestricted use of a city vehicle.
Malloy has no restrictions on his use of the city-owned Explorer. Other Stamford employees who are assigned cars must maintain daily mileage reports that separate commuting from on-the-job driving, but Human Resources Director Dennis Murphy said Malloy can take his vehicle anywhere, anytime, no questions asked.
“It’s just a tradition that, because it’s a 24-hour job, the mayor just gets a car,” Murphy said.

It was hard not to look at Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Dick Blumenthal watching children at the Yerwood Community Center in Stamford rehearsing this morning for a musical and wonder if the campaign gods were laughing.

Just a few hours earlier the latest Quinnipiac University poll showed self-funded Republican nominee Linda McMahon’s high-priced ad campaign was continuing to pay off and had cut Blumenthal’s once respectable lead down to just 10 points.

And there was Blumenthal, having to listen to a bunch of kids sing and dance to that ode to personal wealth, “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.”

A few minutes earlier I asked Blumenthal to respond to the poll.

“We said from the very first day that the polls would narrow and the race would be very tight and competitive,” he said. “At the end of the day the people of Connecticut know me.”

But did he expect McMahon, who is the anticipated winner of next Tuesday’s Republican primary, to have risen in the polls so quickly?

“Nobody knew that one of the candidates in this race would spend more than $22 million,” Blumenthal said, referring to McMahon’s investment so far. She has pledged to sink as much as $50 million from the fortune her family made running Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment into her first-time bid for public office.

Outgoing state Rep. Jim Shapiro, D-Stamford, who is working for Blumenthal’s campaign, also stopped by the Yerwood Center and argued “there are candidates all over the country who would give their right arm to be 10 points up right now.”

Shapiro said the tide will turn once the campaign launches its own advertising blitz.

“You’ll see a change when we go up on the air in a big way,” Shapiro said.

If Blumenthal, Connecticut’s attorney general for the past two decades, felt any sense of urgency as a result of the Quinnipiac numbers, he did not show it. He spent about an hour walking around the Yerwood Center, talking to non-voting-age students and some staff, then headed over to the city’s Central Fire Station for a relaxing grilled chicken sandwich lunch with Stamford’s bravest.

His staff said he did not have any firm campaign activities scheduled for this afternoon.

All the while he was trailed by a film crew from CBS News. Turns out Blumenthal taped an interview in Stamford with news anchor Katie Couric earlier in the morning.

On his way out of the fire station I asked Blumenthal about another detail in the Quinnipiac poll that showed McMahon had also made major inroads with independent voters. How does he get them back?

“I’m going to leave polls to the political experts and pundits,” Blumenthal said as he got in his car. “I’m going around the state, listening to people of Connecticut about what they think the problems are. They want answers and results.”

Not really.

But I’ve been wondering if any viewers of today’s Democratic gubernatorial debate on WFSB 3, particularly those who aren’t from around these parts, found Malloy’s constant references to his accomplishments as Mayor of Stamford annoying.

Turns out, yes. Here’s what Hartford Courant columist Rick Green had to say.

On the one hand running a city is what Malloy’s been up to for the past 14 years so what’s he supposed to do when he’s trying to convince voters he is the best candidate to run the state?

On the other hand there is a difference between making your case that you know how to govern and seeming smug about it. There were times when I thought Malloy, after highlighting a policy he promoted as mayor, was going to say “and on the 7th Day I rested.”

Malloy needs to work on that.

WFSB Channel 3′s Dennis House opened this afternoon’s highly anticipated televised debate between Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dannel Malloy and primary challenger Ned Lamont with a great question.

Given the negative ads and the accusations the two campaigns have been lobbing at each other, do they each think their opponent is unfit to be governor? House noted Malloy has been using an old racial discrimination case filed against Lamont’s cable company to portray Lamont as “racist” while Lamont has been reminding voters of the one-time state probe into alleged contract-rigging by Malloy when he was Stamford’s mayor.

“No, I do not think Ned is unfit to be Governor,” Malloy said, adding: “Nor have I accused him of being racist.”

Lamont answered the same question with “no, not at all” and indicated he did not wish to delve into all of the televised attacks made by their campaigns.

“To heck with the TV advertising,” Lamont said.

Toward the end of the debate it almost appeared that the two candidates had patched things up. Malloy during his closing statement said “it has been a tremendous privilege to be running with Ned.” And then he reiterated his campaign talking points that Lamont downsized his company and cut jobs.

And less than 15 minutes into the televised debate, which was taped from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and broadcast at 3 p.m., Lamont was out with a press release going after Lamont for closing the debate by reiterating “the same false attacks.”

Sigh.