Change of Pace
Now that the committees have all reported out their business and the legislature is taking a slow ramp-up to the last 14 days of the session I thought I’d take a break from what’s going on inside the Capitol and look at what’s going on in the small towns and large cities across Connecticut as the November 2022 statewide elections are starting to churn.
As we’ve reported each week, many sitting legislators are choosing not to seek reelection, and we're hearing that there may be as many as another dozen who announce in the next couple of weeks. Some are seeking higher office/local office, and others are just returning to their full-time work, or their families, or just a quieter and more relaxing life.
For the first time in a long time, there are three openings on the statewide ticket. This week, current treasurer Shawn Wooden shocked all by announcing he was returning to his law practice and not seeking a second term. After a hard fight for the nomination 3.5 years ago he says it’s time to focus on his growing sons as they prepare to head off to college in a couple of years. You may recall that Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced very early that she would not seek another term, and unexpectedly, Comptroller Kevin Lembo announced that for personal health reasons he needed to step down at the end of 2021 to take care of his health and slow down his rapid work life.
Governor Lamont and Lt Governor Bysiewicz are expecting to be re-nominated for their office, as is Attorney General William Tong. But what a shakeup at the statewide level! So far for the three open seats, there are more than 22 persons seeking the nominations, or at least enough delegates to secure a spot in the August primary.
The election calendar is soon to get interesting. Once the session gavels out on May 4th, local town committees will nominate candidates for the local state representative and senate seats. Already, many town committees have re-elected their delegates to the state conventions and have even seated their town committee members in anticipation of the soon-to-be-held nominating committees. We’re hearing about a lot of inter-party hand-to-hand combat going on in some of the more engaged cities and towns to secure hand-selected committee members in place to cast their affirmative votes for that candidate when nomination time comes around.
By the end of May, both the Republican and Democratic parties will nominate their official local and statewide nominees. State party conventions are set within several days of each other and should provide for some interesting backroom finagling before those three open seats get resolved.
In June, we’ll see another round of jostling, as potential candidates who did not secure the minimum number of delegate votes to force a primary will be petitioning their way onto a ballot by securing a certain number of registered voters’ signatures on a petition seeking a primary fight. Each office level has a specific number of signatures that will be required to gain access to the ballot for that race.
Come August, in the dog days of the Summer, primaries will be held for any race where someone who did not get the official nomination secured enough support to participate in a primary. By this time, most candidates would have secured their minimum amount of privately raised funds to qualify for the public financing war chest reserved for any candidate who can meet the minimum standard fundraising goals for that particular seat.
So as CT starts thinking "back-to-school", candidates think of door-knocking and telephone banking of potential voters. CT Public has partnered with The League of Women Voters for a series of eight debates. This new partnership will produce, film, and broadcast eight debates for the public’s viewing across the state on their emerging 47-channel media platform.
By November 8th, there won't be anyone left in CT who wakes up on election day and wonders, "who's running for governor," and, "when do I get to vote?" With a streamlined absentee ballot process, voters who are ill or have to take care of an ill family member can secure an absentee ballot and vote anytime before noon of election day by dropping off a written sealed ballot or dropping it into those ballot boxes spread out in each town and city.
The one thing that we know – without a presidential race to focus on, surprises will be found. Many are suggesting that the governor race will tighten, that the huge majorities in the CT legislature will tighten, if not get closer to even, and that even one of the six statewide officer seats might see a different party taking the gold.
I’m a fan of waiting until October to make any sort of predictions because as Jack Judge, an Irish songwriter back in 1912 declared … it’s a long, long way to Tipperary (Hartford) and I for one believe that’s the truth!
