Deep in the heart of Connecticut

Rick Perry

So many panhandles, so little time for Rick Perry.

Texas has one.

Ditto for Connecticut, where the governor of the Lone Star State and former Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to visit Monday as part of what some are billing as a job-poaching tour of the Northeast.

Despite the nature of Perry’s upcoming trip, which will include a speech on political civility at Stamford’s Ferguson Library, the governor’s advance team established contact Tuesday with Connecticut State Police on logistics.

And to get the lay of the land — even though there’s a lot less of it.

“Our security detail was contacted,” said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a State Police spokesman. “They don’t appear like they’ll need much assistance in Connecticut, with the exception of maybe some directions, but we’re prepared to provide whatever is required for the security of the visiting governor.”

Recruiting trips by governors from other states are hardly a new phenomenon, said Joseph McGee, vice president of public policy and programs for the Business Council of Fairfield County.

When McGee was commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic Development, he said Arkansas’ Bill Clinton visited here.

“He’ll promise the moon, stars and sun,” McGee said of Perry.

McGee welcomes a dialogue on the advantages and disadvantages to doing business in Connecticut, but called for specifics from those souring on the state.

“If we really are a hostile environment toward business, I want to know from a regulatory standpoint, what are we talking about?” McGee said.

Perry’s visit presents somewhat of a conundrum for GOP office holders in Connecticut, who don’t want to be seen as abetting Texas’ jobs-raid.

“Governor Perry, who is  a terrific governor, I am sure will sure will show discretion when he is actually inside the state of Connecticut when it comes to economic development,” said state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36th District, who has been critical of the state’s economic climate. “The theme behind his trip up here, in the first place, is civility. I am very confident that the governor will show a lot of civility.”

State Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo lampooned Perry over his performance in a November 2011 GOP presidential debate, when he forgot the name of one of three federal agencies he proposed eliminating.

“Maybe he won’t remember what he’s here for,” DiNardo said.

Multiple requests for additional details on Perry’s itinerary were left Tuesday by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers with the governor’s press office.

Perry’s trip New York and Connecticut trip is reportedly being paid for by TexasOne, a public-private partnership that promotes Texas to businesses in other states and foreign countries.

Romina Black, the organization’s executive director, referred all comments about Perry’s travel plans to the governor’s office.