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Days after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took verbal shots at Gov. Dannel Malloy, there’s a good chance the two will meet face to face this weekend at the National Governors’ Association conference. Christie serves on the executive committee of the NGA so maybe he can personally give Malloy that governor’s owners manual.

Malloy is also attending conferences this weekend of the Democratic Governors Association and according to the news release issued by his office Friday, he plans to meet with President Obama three times over the next three days:

GOV. MALLOY IN WASHINGTON FOR GOVERNORS’ CONFERENCES; WILL ATTEND EVENTS/MEETINGS WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA THREE TIMES

(Hartford, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy and First Lady Cathy Malloy traveled to Washington D.C. early Friday morning for the annual National Governors Association (NGA) and Democratic Governors Association (DGA) meetings taking place Friday through Monday. These conferences allow sitting governors and first ladies the opportunity to talk with governors from all parties about best practices for creating new jobs, ideas to help stabilize the economy, and the shared challenges leading their respective states. In addition to his two meetings with President Obama and other governors, Governor and Mrs. Malloy will attend an evening event on Sunday night at the White House with President and Mrs. Obama.

“This is an excellent opportunity to ensure the President, White House officials, cabinet secretaries and other governors from across the country understand the issues Connecticut is facing and how we can partner to improve the state and the country,” said Governor Malloy. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that I plan on being in Washington often, and this weekend is packed with meetings, panels and seminars, and the chance to speak with other governors and officials about the ways in which we can help each other.”

The Governor left early Friday morning and will return on Monday.

Highlights of the conferences include:

Friday:
·         DGA Governors meet with Senior White House Officials and Cabinet Secretaries

·         DGA Governors meet with President Obama

·         Governor Malloy participates in two panels, focused on building a modern and innovative workforce, and making our states more competitive by building on local strengths

Saturday:
·         NGA working lunch with Governors

·         Meeting with DGA Chair Governor Martin O’Malley

Sunday:
·         Governor Malloy appears on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday show with Candy Crowley

·         NGA Economic Development and Commerce Committee meeting

·         NGA Health and Human Services Committee meeting

·         NGA Evening with President and Mrs. Obama

Monday:
·         NGA Governors meet with President Obama

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Here’s a rundown of today’s politics coverage. It’s highly recommended reading given that it touches on everything from Gov. Malloy’s war of words with Chris Christie to Dick Blumenthal’s appearance in Danbury and even an update on a soon-to-be vacant seat in the state House of Representatives.

Leading off, Malloy and Christie exchanged jabs on Morning Joe and led the front page of the Connecticut Post and other Hearst CT papers.

You can watch the video of Christie and Malloy’s appearances right here:

The governor then headed to Hartford, where he attended a pro-union rally and announced the nomination of Lubbie Harper Jr. to the state Supreme Court.

Also in today’s papers, Libor Jany caught up with U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal during his visits to Danbury.

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With Gov. Malloy and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie trading barbs this morning on national TV over taxes and government spending, we want to know what you think:

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Greenwich businessman  Tom Foley’s gubernatorial campaign may have come to an end after losing by a narrow 5,000 votes in November, but that’s not stopping him from continuing to campaign for his Republican brethren. He sent this email out Tuesday afternoon urging supporters to get out and vote in districts where there are special elections:

Dear Friend,
As you may know, today there are special elections for six seats in the general assembly and three in the state senate. If you live in one of the districts listed below it is imperative that you get out and vote. This election marks an important cross road in our state. Do we continue the policies of tax, borrow and spend or do we make our state more economically competitive by reducing the cost and size of state government. This election will also send a message to our leadership that the recent $1.5 billion tax increase is bad policy for the State of Connecticut. Please take a moment and vote for one of the candidates listed below. The polls are open until 8 p.m.
Best Regards,

Tom Foley
State Senate:

6th State Senate District (New Britain, Berlin, Farmington)
Tim Stewart, Mayor of New Britain

13th State Senate District (Meriden, Middlefield, and parts of Cheshire and Middletown)
Len Suzio

27th State Senate District (Stamford, Darien)
Bob Kolenberg
State House:

20th State House District (West Hartford)
Allen Hoffman

36th State House District (Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam)
Janet Peckinpaugh

99th State House District (East Haven)
Linda Monaco

101st State House District (Madison, Guilford)
Noreen Kokoruda

126th State House District (Bridgeport)
James Keyser

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Even governor’s vote in special elections — according to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Twitter feed.

Malloy even uploaded a photo of him marking his ballot. You can’t really see his face in that one, but you can definitely tell this one is of him.

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Voters from Bridgeport’s 126th State House District have been slow to get to the polls this morning and election officials are not expecting things to pick up much.

Six candidates are running to replace Rep. Christopher Caruso, who took a job in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration.

Learn more about the candidates here.

At Thomas Hooker School, election worker Kevin Velez said there had only been two or three voters by 7:15 a.m. But he thought there could be a rush of voters from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then again late afternoon before the polls close.

“You never know, last time we didn’t expect there to be a lot of people and look what happened,” he said.

But, he said, last time was a national and statewide election with important races across the board. Today, there is only one race and only five polling places open.

Velez said he doesn’t think many people know there even is an election. “I didn’t know there was an election until they called me to see if I wanted to work.”

An election worker at Hallen School said there had only be five or six voters there.

One voter at Thomas Hooker School, Jose Dacruz, said he came out to vote because he is worried about the way the state is headed.

Of the nine special elections today, Bridgeport is one with a lot of attention on it following the ballot shortage in November.

New Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has taken steps to ensure that all voters across the state have a chance to vote.

That means in Bridgeport, Registrar of Voters Santi Ayala has ordered 13,000 ballots, one for each person in the district, despite the fact a low turnout is expected.

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Polls are open this morning for special elections throughout Connecticut, including two in Fairfield County.

Voters in parts of Stamford and Darien will elect a new state senator today to replace former Democratic Sen. Andrew McDonald, who left his District 27 seat to serve as general counsel in the Malloy administration.

Democratic state Rep. Carlo Leone (128th district), Republican Bob Kolenberg — Vice President of Stamford’s Board of Finance — and Green Party candidate Rolf Maurer are vying to replace McDonald.

In Bridgeport, voters will chose from a crowded field of candidates vying for the seat vacated by Democratic state Rep. Chris Caruso in the 126th district.

Six Democrats are vying for the seat, along with Republican James Keyser. The Democratic candidates are the Rev. Charles Stallworth of the East Side Tabernacle Baptist Church; police officer Verna Kearney; former state Rep. Robert Keeley; realty agent Mark Trojanowski; Priscilla Street resident Thomas Lombard; and City Councilman Carlos Silva.

Polls in both districts will be open tonight until 8 p.m.

You can find your polling district by clicking on this link.

Polls are also open today in Seymour, where voters will vote on $2.2 million in proposed capital projects.

We’ll have coverage here all day. You can also follow our Twitter accounts at @ConnPost and @StamAdvocate for continued coverage.

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As anticipated new Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy as part of today’s budget address proposed decriminalizing marijuana possession in amounts of an ounce or less.

It will be interesting to see what the two new chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee – Sen. Eric Coleman, D-Bloomfield and Rep. Gerald Fox, D-Stamford – do with Malloy’s proposal.

Fox, formerly a committee vice-chairman, voted against decriminalization in the past. He told me he is open to discussing it but needs a better understanding of how it would be implemented and what it would mean for the state’s overall approach to fighting/treating drug use.

In stark contrast Coleman’s office issued a press release praising Malloy’s proposal.

“It makes far more sense to help nonviolent drug users overcome their addictions through treatment than to imprison them at great cost to the state,” Coleman said. “This is a more just approach to drug treatment, and would save the state millions of dollars every year. Reform of our state’s drug policy is long overdue, and I was very pleased to hear the governor call for it today.”

What might help in this situation is the fact that Malloy and Fox are friends and colleagues because Malloy is the former mayor of Stamford.