Nappier to fill her coffers in New Canaan

State treasurer Denise Nappier, left, laughs with Stratford Democratic mayoral candidate Joe Paul outside Nichols School in Stratford, Conn., on Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

State treasurer Denise Nappier, left, laughs with Stratford Democratic mayoral candidate Joe Paul outside Nichols School in Stratford, Conn., on Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

In Connecticut politics, the treasury goes by another name: the Gold Coast.

Democrat Denise Nappier, the nation’s first black female state treasurer and Connecticut’s longest-serving statewide office holder, will prime the pump for her re-election campaign at a New Canaan fundraiser Friday night, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

Marilyn Ford, a professor of law at Quinnipiac University who specializes in securities regulation, business organizations, corporate finance and Native American law, will host the $100-per-person reception at her home in what is arguably Connecticut’s wealthiest town.

Nappier, 63, is said to have ambitions for higher office, including governor, according to a person on the guest list for the fundraiser.

First elected in 1998, Nappier will face Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, the GOP’s presumptive nominee for treasurer, in the November general election. Herbst recently qualified for $800,000 in public funding for his campaign under the Citizens’ Election Program.

Neil Vigdor