The few, the proud

Dan Gaita (contributed photo)

Dan Gaita (contributed photo)

Dan Gaita is trading in his “dress blues” for a different kind of dress blue uniform — the suit kind worn by candidates.

The Marine veteran from Bethel has filed paperwork to run for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, eschewing fundraising in lieu of social media to boost his name recognition.

Gaita, 40, identifies himself on his Facebook page as both a Lincoln Republican and Kennedy Democrat who supports term limits for all elected offices.

“In order to begin the long process of reducing the influence of entrenched politicians we must establish term limits on all elected offices at the local, state and federal levels of government,” Gaita wrote on his Facebook page, which had 378 likes as of Monday night. “Failure to implement this sort of mechanism has resulted in an all time disapproval rating of government.”

Unaffiliated voters make up the largest bloc of the electorate in Connecticut, followed by Democrats and Republicans.

A biography on Gaita’s profile page says that he attended both the University of Connecticut and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, as well as Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., for a master’s in organizational leadership.

Gaita opposes abortion, with the exception of saving the life of the mother or in cases of rape, according to his profile. He characterizes himself as a supporter of the Second Amendment who is in favor of background checks on the sale of weapons.

Neil Vigdor