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When Democrat Dannel Malloy, Stamford’s mayor for 14 years, won November’s gubernatorial race, he tapped several legislators for jobs in his new administration.

That required those seats – along with some other vacancies - be filled through special elections scheduled for this past Tuesday.

Well, it ain’t over yet, as Secretary of the State Denise Merrill noted today when she certified Tuesday’s results.

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“Since Senator (Carlo) Leone (D-Stamford) was already serving in the General Assembly when he was elected to the 27^th State Senate District, Secretary Merrill also announced that she had received a letter of resignation from him as a State Representative before he was sworn into his new position.  This creates a vacancy in the 148^th General Assembly district that must now also be filled by a special election.  Governor Dannel P. Malloy now has 10 days to issue a Writ of Special Election in order to fill that vacancy.  The special election in the 148^th General Assembly district will occur 46 days following the issuance of the writ by Governor Malloy.”

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New Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy today announced he has tapped eight new members of the 13-seat state Board of Education.

A few of the choices are particularly noteworthy. Two – Patricia Keavney-Maruca and Terry Jones - meet new membership requirements enacted last year by the legislature with the goal of making the board more sensitive to the state’s vocational technical school system.

The legislation reforming various aspects of the vo-tech system and school board operations was passed in 2010 in part because of the 2009 decision by then-Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state school officials to shutter J.M. Wright Technical School in Malloy’s hometown of Stamford.

The governor was Stamford’s mayor at the time.

The General Assembly called for at least two school board members to have vocational-technical or manufacturing backgrounds. Keavney-Maruca worked for years at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury.

The legislature also wanted one school board member to have a background in agriculture. Jones, of the four-generation Jones Family Farms in Shelton, which I must say from personal experience sells long-lasting Christmas trees and tasty wines, fits that bill.

Malloy also tapped Ellen Camhi, who, besides having a background in education, heads the Stamford Democratic Party.

Here’s the governor’s press release on his new appointees:

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced he has nominated eight residents to serve as members of the State Board of Education: Joseph J. Vrabely, Jr. of Glastonbury; Patricia Keavney-Maruca of Watertown; Terry H. Jones of Shelton; Ellen Camhi of Stamford; Charles A. Jaskiewicz, III of Norwich; Estela López of East Hartford; Ferdinand L. Risco, Jr. of New Haven; and Stephen P. Wright of Trumbull.

 “It is incumbent upon us to put in place a set of standards that will allow Connecticut students to be the best educated and best prepared in the world—one that provides them with the tools necessary to compete in a global economy,” said Governor Malloy.  “These nominees come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and I’m confident they can help set the standards needed to bring our students to the top.  I look forward to working with the members of the State Board of Education as we strive to ensure that all of Connecticut’s children have access to quality education.”

 The State Board of Education establishes academic standards and sets policy for Connecticut’s 149 local and 17 regional school districts, including preschool, elementary and secondary education, special education, vocational education and adult education.  The Board consists of thirteen members, at least two of whom have experience in manufacturing or a trade offered at the Technical High School System, at least one of whom has experience in agriculture, and two nonvoting Grade 12 student members.  The eleven voting members are appointed to four-year terms.

 Joseph J. Vrabely, Jr. was appointed as an interim member of the State Board of Education by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2010.  He is president and co-owner of Atlantic Steel & Processing LLC, a company he started in 2000.  He currently serves as a board member and trustee of the Precision Metalforming Association’s Educational Foundation, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, and is the past president of the Smaller Manufacturers’ Association.

 Patricia Keavney-Maruca retired after serving 33 years with the Connecticut Technical High School system, having worked at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury, and as vice president of the State Vocational Federation of Teachers.  She is an executive council member of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, president of the Board of Directors of the Waterbury Day Nursery, and is a volunteer pre-school teacher aide at St. Peter and Paul Pre-School in Waterbury.

 Terry H. Jones has extensive experience in agriculture, having been a life-long resident of the Jones Family Farms in Shelton, where four generations of farmers have worked the fields and forests prior to him.  He has run his family farm business since high school in 1960 and, with the help of his wife Jean, has expanded the farm to 400 acres.

 Ellen Camhi is a former elementary public school teacher in New York and Connecticut.  She has been active in Stamford politics for more than 40 years, serving as an elected member of the Stamford Board of Education for four terms, including three years as its president.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, is a former realtor, small business owner and previously worked as an education consultant.

 Charles A. Jaskiewicz, III works for Pfizer, Inc. as a Regulatory Manager focused on early product development. He currently serves as chairman of the Norwich Board of Education, where he has been a member since 2003.  Having received a degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut, Jaskiewicz has worked both as a registered nurse and a paramedic.

 Estela López is a Senior Program Advisor with Excelencia in Education.  She is the former vice chancellor of academic affairs at CSU, serving from 2002 to 2007.  From 1997 to 2002, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern Illinois University.  She earned both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Spanish literature from Columbia University.

 Ferdinand L. Risco, Jr. is an Inclusion and Diversity Manager with Metro North, where he has worked since 2004.  He is a current member of the New Haven Board of Education.  Previously, he worked in supervising positions at both Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group and Airborne Express.  He served in the U.S. Army from 1995 to 2000, and received a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Haven in 2009.

 Stephen P. Wright has served as an attorney at Harlow, Adams & Friedman, P.C. in Milford since 1999.  He currently serves as a member of the Trumbull Board of Education, as chairman of the Trumbull Special Needs Preschool Building Committee, and as co-area director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.

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Fully recognizing the industry that employs me is having a field day over the smack-talking between Dannel Malloy, Connecticut’s Democratic governor, and Chris Christie, New Jersey’s Republican chief executive, I’m finding the whole thing more than a little juvenile.

Malloy went after Christie in a New York Times interview. Christie and Malloy traded barbs Wednesday on MSNBC. Malloy today took the bait and continued the feud by telling those of us in the capitol press corps he’s the “Anti-Christie.”

It’s like suddenly Malloy’s reverted back to his rugby days – he noted today he often competed in the Garden State - and Christie’s ready to throw down faster than Snooki on ”Jersey Shore.”

In fact, the way their relationship is devolving, voters in both states are likely to be living an episode of that MTV reality program if our two leaders ever meet face to face at some gubernatorial event. Talk about a situation. Who do you think will throw the first drink?…

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During a meeting today with the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce over his first state budget, Governor Dannel Malloy was asked, “How can we help you?”

“I can assure you this budget is better than anything else that’s going to pass,” Malloy told the group, which sat around an impressive oval table more appropriate for planning world domination than talking local business.

Malloy, a Democrat elected in November, last week unveiled a budget he said calls for shared sacrifices needed to address the $3.2 billion deficit and poor economy.

The document, which he is spending the next several weeks trying to sell at town hall meetings and other events, is heavy on tax hikes and union concessions. It requires final approval by the Democrat-controlled legislature.

“If you pick at this thing too much and complain about it too much because it affects you in one little area and you want to correct that, and you want to correct that, and you and you and you (the budget) will fall apart and it’s left to backroom dealing, last minute negotiations and 24-hour debates,” Malloy warned. “If on whole you embrace what I’m trying to do, then I think you simply have to get that message out.”

“And if on whole you don’t, then I’d prefer you keep it to yourself,” Malloy joked.

Malloy also indicated he is not eager to embrace additional tax increases beyond those he proposed. Asked by another member for a backup plan should he not achieve the $2 billion worth of union concessions in his budget, Malloy said, “There is no backup plan. We have to be successful, which is to say if we’re not we’re talking about thousands of layoffs and shredding the (social services) safety net.”

On his way to his car, I asked the governor if he is prepared to veto a budget returned to him by the General Assembly if he does not believe that alternative plan shares the sacrifice. There is already some speculation Democratic legislators under pressure from state unions will go lighter on the middle class taxes, concessions and cuts, heavier on tax hikes for the wealthy, and Malloy will claim he tried, then sign it.

“I’m not going down that road,” Malloy said.

A few minutes later I asked Anthony Rescigno, president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, if he believes Malloy will engage in battle with his own party.

“I think he will. I’m a solid Republican. I believe he will. I believe he’s determined, says what he means and means what he says,” Rescigno said. “I think he will dig in his heels. He’ll probably do it (behind-the-scenes) and we won’t see it.”

But Rescigno also acknowledged a bit of skepticism when it comes to Malloy’s ability to successfully obtain $2 billion in union givebacks.

“I don’t know whether that’s planned so he’s got room to wiggle or his intention is to stick with that amount,” Riscigno said.

But, he said, “If he can get it, I think he’ll be a hero.”

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New Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy is as I type this sitting down with members of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce to explain his first two-year budget and answer their questions.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano just asked Malloy to explain the qualities he’s seeking in a new commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development.

DeStefano a while back hinted he’d have liked the DECD head Malloy inherited from Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell – Joan McDonald – to stay. And McDonald initially said she wanted to be a part of the new administration. But she has since taken a job with the state of New York.

Malloy told DeStefano he is very close to announcing her replacement.

“I’m hiring a corporate turnaround expert to take over DECD and all I want it to be … and to build a new institution and be cognisant of our strenghts in industries while we look at casting a wider net,” Malloy said. “We’ll be making that appointment shortly. I’m happy with the direction we’ve decided to go in.”

Malloy, Stamford’s mayor for 14 years, told DeStefano the new DECD head will treat communities and their leaders as partners.

He added this individual will be free to get the job done without meddling from the governor’s office.

“I’m prepared to play a role but have no desire to be DECD head, nor does my chief of staff. We’re going to hire somebody who will be fully empowered to make a new organization with a new approach, calling on the best tools on a national level that can be applied here in Connecticut,” Malloy said.

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New Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy was about to wrap-up his first budget town hall tonight when Maria Vereb, a state worker, asked to squeeze in a final question.

The social worker from Stratford drove to Bridgeport to ask Malloy to reconsider his position that public employees like herself must agree to $2 billion worth of concessions to help erase the $3.2 billion deficit.

Malloy, Stamford’s former mayor, narrowly won his race against Republican Tom Foley last November with substantial support from state unions. And now they’re feeling a little bit betrayed.

Vereb told Malloy she feels that his budget will hit her twice – in cuts to her salary/benefits and by hiking her middle class taxes.

She called it the “double whammy” and noted the unions already agreed to concessions two years ago.

Malloy rose to the occasion, criticizing the $700 million in concessions predecessor Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell got in 2009 and asking Vereb, rhetorically, where else he is supposed to turn to balance Connecticut’s books. He can’t solve the problem with tax hikes alone and refuses to shred the social services “safety net” for Connecticut’s poorest.

I’m not sure whether it’s fair to say Malloy appeared eager to take on a state employee’s criticisms in public, but he certainly did not seem uncomfortable.

These exchanges between the governor and the people who helped put him in office are likely to increase in the coming weeks as Malloy tries to sell his first budget at 16 other town halls across the state.

I asked Vereb afterward if she voted for Malloy in November because she thought he would defend state workers.

“I thought the other person (Foley) would scr** us over ten times. I didn’t expect him (Malloy) to scr** us over two times,” Vereb, who has worked for the state for 30 years, said. “I don’t think what we have now we don’t deserve.”

Vereb did not want to share her salary and what she pays for health benefits with me, but correctly noted that it is public information I can track down from the appropriate agencies.

Here’s a photo of Vereb, answering reporters’ questions.

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A member of the audience at tonight’s state budget hearing in Bridgeport, concerned about the tax hikes proposed by new Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy, asked Malloy if he’ll consider allowing them to sunset.

As our Hearst newspapers reported last week, there has been some talk about attaching expiration dates to Malloy’s taxes.

Malloy’s advisors weren’t all that enthusiastic about the idea. And tonight Malloy, rather than weighing in on the merits of the idea, said it was in the General Assembly’s hands.

“You know, that’s up to the legislature. I make a recommendation, they pass (it),” Malloy said. “I’ve heard that. I’ve read it on the blogs … We’ll see what happens.”

UPDATE: Another attendee who identified himself as a Stratford resident just asked the question a bit differently – Will Malloy commit to returning some taxes to residents in the future should the state’s fiscal fortunes turn?

Malloy: “This is not a one year or one budget commitment to making government substantially more efficient … Being governor was never intended to be a game. It’s a calling. I’m trying to answer that calling.”

Attendee, trying to get a direct answer: “Will you lower the taxes if we do have a substantial amount of revenue coming back in?”

Malloy: “If we can we will. That’s what I would like to do.”

Attendee: “‘Cause it’s the people’s money.”

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He’s a former prosecutor, Stamford’s mayor for 14 years, and has been through two gubernatorial campaigns, winning the second last November.

Still, when Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy arrived at the podium at Bridgeport’s City Hall Annex tonight to kick-off the first of 17 town hall budget meetings, he told the crowd: “I have to admit to you, I’m a little nervous.”

These town halls, intended to help Malloy sell his plan for eliminating the $3.2 billion budget deficit, are pretty unique. Governors, once elected, typically limit their public appearances to press conferences and ribbon cuttings. Sure they interact with the press. But there’s not a whole lot of opportunities for constituents to in a formal setting pose questions with the television cameras rolling.

For more info on these town halls and the full schedule, click here.

UPDATE: Roy Occhiogrosso, one of Malloy’s chief advisors, afterward said they’ll likely tweak the format, such as the nearly 20-minute budget presentation Malloy made in the beginning.

From where I was sitting, that opening was too long and too wonkish. Plus it ate into the purpose of the hour event – allowing the average citizen to ask questions of their new governor.

Occhiogrosso added he believes Malloy is comfortable in the town hall format, noting he was no stranger to interacting with his constituents as mayor of Stamford.

“I think he views himself as the mayor of the whole state,” Occhiogrosso said.