Someone schedules a big news conference Friday for Tom Foley

In a case of expert timing, Tom Foley will make remarks at the announcement of the Connecticut Policy Institute (CPI) urban policy project Friday morning in the Legislative Office Building. “Tom will be available for comment at the conclusion of the announcement,” says his news release.

The Blogster knows that Foley, who is not an elected member of the Legislature, cannot book a room in the LOB without a benefactor. A quick call to the Office of Legislative Management indicates that Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, booked the room. He joined forces with Foley last year on ethics reforms that met some stiff opposition and indeed fell off the flat-earth portion of the General Assembly.

Anyway, after losing the 2010 gubernatorial election to Dan Malloy, Foley, a millionaire businessman from Greenwich, in addition to welcoming twins with his wife Leslie, set up the Connecticut Policy Institute. “The CPI will be releasing a comprehensive set of recommendations to improve the direction of Connecticut’s struggling urban areas and will cover urban jobs, crime, housing, and education policy,” the news release says. The event follows up on the Quinnipiac University Poll that shows Foley and Malloy are again locked in a close contest for governor, assuming Foley wins a primary and Malloy decides to announce his candidacy for re-election.