Retiring state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, made a second trip to Bridgeport today to campaign for Sen. Ed Gomes.
Gomes lost the party’s endorsement to predecessor Ernie Newton and is now locked in a three-way primary with Newton and state Rep. Andres Ayala. Voters head to the polls Tuesday.
A scheduling conflict kept me from catching up with Prague and Gomes, so I gave her a call at home this evening.
“I would go again and again if he wanted me to,” Prague said. “I want him to be the chair of the Labor (& Public Employees) Committee.”
Gomes, a veteran union leader, is a committee vice-chairman under Prague. When the campaign conversation turns to jobs Gomes has been telling voters he expects to become chairman now that Prague is leaving office.
Prague, 86, is retiring after suffering a minor stroke over the winter. She says she can still do the job, but her doctor advised her to avoid the stress of a campaign.
Gomes, who turns 77 in February and received a triple bypass last year, claims Ayala and Newton are portraying him as too old to return to the General Assembly for another term.
Ayala and Newton have denied the allegation.
“He’s fully recovered,” said Prague, who, following today’s trip to Bridgeport, joined her grandson for a game of golf in Willimantic.
“He’s a real golfer. I haven’t played much in the last couple years,” Prague said. “I had a couple really good shots but my game as a whole is sad.”