Rell enlisted by Debicella to raise cash

Then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell waves after speaking during the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast in Cromwell, Conn., Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell waves after speaking during the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast in Cromwell, Conn., Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Out of the public eye since she left office in 2011, former Gov. M. Jodi Rell is gravitating back toward the political arena, this time to stump for two-time GOP congressional candidate Dan Debicella in the 4th District.

Rell will headline a Aug. 7 fundraising reception for Debicella at the patrician Round Hill Club in Greenwich, with tickets starting at $500 per person and going up to $1,000 for individual hosts, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

Debicella served in the state Senate and represented Shelton when Rell was governor.

The GOP nominee in the 4th District, which is comprised of 17 cities and towns in the southwestern part of the state, Debicella is challenging Democrat Jim Himes for the second time in four years. He lost by 6 percentage points in 2010 to Himes, who was a House freshman at the time.

“…we share a main street conservatism that focuses on problem solving and positive ideas for our state and country,” Debicella said of Rell in an invitation to his supporters.

The last Republican to hold statewide office, Rell has been much sought after as a messenger for the GOP, but has opted to pick and choose her spots carefully.

While she has generally shied away from commenting about her successor, Dannel P. Malloy, Rell uncorked her pent-up criticism of the first-term Democrat during a Waterbury Republican Town Committee dinner in June where she was the honoree.

Rell called Malloy’s claims that he inherited a $3.6 billion deficit from her when he took office in 2011 “lies” and blamed the shortfall on the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Rell was also said to have mocked Malloy’s preference to be called Dan as opposed to Dannel, which she characterized as political.

A video of Rell’s commentary, taken by a aide of Rell ally Linda McMahon, was supressed after the dinner.

Neil Vigdor