Malloy: my opponent will roll back minimum wage, paid sick leave reform

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy before speaking at Kaiser Hall Gymnasium on the campus of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn. Wednesday, March 5, 2014.  President Obama discussed his support to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and was joined by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy.

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy before speaking at Kaiser Hall Gymnasium on the campus of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn. Wednesday, March 5, 2014. President Obama discussed his support to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and was joined by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy.

Politics 101: define your opponent before they can define you.

But what if you don’t have an opponent yet?

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy isn’t going to let formalities stand in the way, warning on a White House conference call Tuesday that the winner of today’s GOP primary for governor will roll back minimum wage and paid sick leave reforms that he has championed in his first term.

“To the best of my knowledge, these things would be at risk,” Malloy told reporters on the call, which included Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez and Director of the National Economic Council Jeff Zients.

Administration officials said that 100,000 Connecticut workers will get a raise as a result of Malloy and state lawmakers heeding President Barack Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017, which the Nutmeg State became the first to commit to earlier this year.

Malloy said that increases to the minimum wage have been a shot in the arm to the state’s economy and affect many workers over the age of 50 and women, not just teenagers.

Singled out by the administration of Obama, who visited New Britain in March to promote his national minimum wage agenda, Malloy said he is proud to lead on issues such as paid sick days and an earned income tax credit.

Asked by Hearst Connecticut Media how much it will frame the gubernatorial contest, which is seen as a bellwether race nationally, Malloy said, “It’s gonna play a part that I’m not running away from, I can assure you.”

State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. welcomed Malloy hitching his wagon to Obama.

“Dan Malloy and Barack Obama are two peas in a pod,” Labriola told Hearst. “They can tout all the liberal policies they want. The fact is, Connecticut’s economy continues to lag behind the rest of the nation, which is mainly due to Malloy’s policies of high taxes and government overreach.”

Neil Vigdor