Ganim Begins Staff Up; Bysiewicz, Lamont Ramp Up For Governor

UPDATE: Ganim finance report here. This capricious gubernatorial cycle may land two high-profile candidates soon in former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and 2010 Democratic candidate for governor Ned Lamont who lost a primary to Dan Malloy. Meanwhile Mayor Joe Ganim’s fundraising report filed with State Elections Enforcement Commission will show that he raised about $200,000 in an exploratory stage with about $100,000 on hand that has been rolled into a candidate committee for governor. Ganim has hired H&P Consulting, an experienced fundraising group, to help load up the campaign treasury.

A poll conducted by Bysiewicz has buoyed her chances to get into the race, something she’s expected to do soon. She was drubbed by Chris Murphy in a 2012 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Lamont hopes a poll does the same for him. Bysiewicz will participate in the state’s public financing program. Lamont, a wealthy businessman, can self fund. Ganim, prohibited from public dollars as a result of his 2003 public corruption conviction, is raising it the old fashioned way through larger-dollar donations. That’s where H&P comes in. H&P is a veteran of New Jersey political campaigns.

Qualifying public financing candidates will spend roughly $1.4 in a primary. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is raising money in an exploratory campaign.

Ganim’s brought on H&P to raise enough for him to compete., and that includes a maximum personal contribution of $3,500.

The Ganim campaign reports that the exploratory committee received contributions from more than 1,000 individuals with the average individual contribution of approximately $150. About 68% of all contributions to the exploratory committee were less than $100. The Ganim for governor campaign has raised roughly $15,000 since the official launch a week ago.

The Republican side for governor has more than a dozen candidates including Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and Bridgeport resident David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general.

CT Mirror reporter Mark Pazniokas provides update on Bysiewicz and Lamont:

Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz showed signs Tuesday night of edging toward a run for the Democratic nomination for governor as Lamont began polling and allies of Byswiecz helped expel Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, an early candidate for governor and a rival for support in their shared political base of the city, from the Democratic Town Committee.

Lamont, an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006 and governor in 2010, confirmed in a telephone interview that he was testing his support among Democrats and the desire of the electorate for a candidate who promises substantive change. The poll measured Lamont against the potential field of Democratic rivals, said one source.

“I think I’m the change agent,” Lamont said. “Steady as it goes, it’s not me.”

Full story here.

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10 comments

  1. Some people think if you choose an out of state fundraiser, you’re outsourcing a major part of your campaign. That’s like taking the “M” out of MOM and that’s taboo for any candidate, right?
    It would be better to hire Connecticut residents to raise funds and pay them the same as the pros. That would, should and could serve as a harbinger of a candidate’s governing style.

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  2. . OFFICE SOUGHT ( Complete only if Candidate Committee)
    Undetermine

    Lennie, do you read anything into this? Some candidates have changed their mind as to which office they sought.

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  3. Joel Gonzalez
    909 Maplewood Ave
    Bridgeport
    CT
    06605-1636
    REF
    Bounced check
    $100.00

    For the record, this was not intentional. Days after the event, I noticed that the check book used was from an account I had closed. I contacted Treasurer Paoletto and asked him to let me know if the bank cleared the check. I know the answer now.

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  4. If there were no systematic formal reporting of financial contributions, would Joel Gonzalez, victim of a self-inflicted error in using an old check book, have bothered to report the circumstances surrounding his name being part of a +130 page report? Probably not.

    Public reporting of revenues and expenses is helpful in providing public background of the story told by said expenditures. In similar fashion, perhaps the City Council will move to make public in a similar format the expenditure of STIPEND amounts. It will make Council members more sensitive to how public money is spent by Council persons and what benefit is derived for taxpayers. It will cause more care in filling out reports than can be observed through recent FOI requests. The paperwork currently accepted by Finance Office would not fly in corporate systems I have seen as to timing, purpose, full explanation in many cases, and combination of expenses for multiple members on one account. What did each conference guest learn and how will it be applied locally? “Travel globally and keep silent locally (on the taxpayer)” is not a memorable slogan. Time will tell.

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  5. JML, if there was systematic formal reporting of stipend expenditures for all city council members, what makes you think they would give any kind of explanation or clarification?

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    1. Joel, Great question…
      Presumably a formal report will be completed with accurate information, backed up by receipts or other evidence; the info reported would follow rules, categories, and allow simple summaries to show the purpose, the dates and locations, and be contemporaneous with the expense, so that all data is not compiled at year end. If the Finance Office has reasonable integrity and supervises the process, the Council member who does not follow the rules puts the stipend at risk, a risk similar to ignoring a parking meter contribution and taking a chance on the meter no being checked; or the risk a long term homeowner runs when they don’t pay a WPCA bill assuming “what’s the worst that can happen, anyway?” Posting what is required, putting the next quarter of stipend at risk, should command the attention of most, don’t you think? Isn’t that an oversight function for a Finance Department?
      Time will tell.

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