A state judge has paved the way for Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz to appear on the ballot as a candidate for attorney general. Does she have 10 years of active practice? Judge Michael Sheldon rules yes:
“On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Court hereby finds, and thus enters judgment in this action to declare, that the plaintiff, as a Connecticut attorney-at-law since 1986 who performed the above-described duties of her office as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State since 1999, has engaged in active practice at the bar of this state, within the meaning of General Statutes § 3-124, for at least 10 years.”
SuBy news release:
VICTORY FOR CONNECTICUT VOTERS: JUDGE AGREES WITH BYSIEWICZ THAT CONNECTICUT VOTERS, NOT PARTISAN OPPONENTS, SHOULD CHOOSE NEXT ATTORNEY GENERAL
(Hartford) – Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today won another huge victory for Connecticut voters by winning a declaratory ruling from Hartford Superior Court Judge Michael Sheldon that the people of Connecticut, not Republican Party insiders, have the right to determine who should be the next Attorney General. Bysiewicz, the clear front-runner in the race for Attorney General, filed suit in February to resolve questions raised about whether or not her background in public service, combined with her years in private law practice, sufficed to give her the right to run for and to serve as Connecticut’s Attorney General.
“This is not just a victory for me. This is a victory for all of the voters of Connecticut who should have the choice to vote for who they want to vote for – whether it is Attorney General or any other office,” Secretary Bysiewicz said.
Bysiewicz said with this matter settled, she looks forward to a spirited campaign for Attorney General based on the issues. “Let me finish by speaking directly to the voters of Connecticut. I want you to know one thing about me: I know how to win and I never give up – I didn’t give up on myself, and if you give me the chance to serve as Attorney General, I will never give up on you. If voters want their next Attorney General to be a fighter, then I’m their candidate,” said Bysiewicz.
“An Attorney General sometimes has to go to court and fight for what they believe is right, and that is exactly what I have done here. As Attorney General I will never stop fighting for the taxpayers, consumers and entrepreneurs of Connecticut. I will not hesitate to go to court to protect Connecticut families and small businesses from fraud and hold big industries accountable if they charge hidden fees or manipulate our markets. I will never stop fighting for consumers and holding accountable unscrupulous predatory lenders or identity thieves who would not think twice about stealing your hard-earned life savings. The Attorney General is the people’s advocate. I will be relentless in the pursuit of justice and undaunted by the noise and obstruction created by the opposition,” Bysiewicz said.
Bysiewicz declared her candidacy for the 2010 Democratic nomination for Attorney General on January 13th and holds a commanding lead of nearly 50 points in the polls over any other Democrat seeking the position. Throughout her career in public service she has been involved in many legal and legislative successes including cracking down on illegal businesses, standing up for victim rights, keeping well-paying jobs in Connecticut, protecting our environment, fighting corruption and preventing identity theft. A graduate of Yale College and Duke University School of Law, Bysiewicz has served as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State for the past eleven years. Previously, she served in the Legislature for six years representing Middletown, Durham and Middlefield and prior to that she practiced corporate law with leading law firms in both New York and Connecticut.
From Ned Lamont:
New Haven Endorses Lamont – Glassman Ticket
DeStefano Praises Lamont’s Ideas and Experience
New Haven, CT – Businessman and candidate for governor Ned Lamont accepted the endorsement of New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and the New Haven Democratic Town Committee (DTC) today at a news conference at the John C. Daniels School. New Haven DTC Chair Susan Voigt joined DeStefano in praising Lamont and Glassman’s leadership and vision for Connecticut.
“Ned and Mary are the right choice to work with Connecticut’s cities and towns to create jobs and improve education,” said DeStefano. “They have the ideas and the experience to bring new energy to cities like New Haven and get our state moving in the right direction.”
“Ned Lamont has the best plan to grow our economy and get Connecticut moving forward again,” said Voigt. “He and Mary are the strong, principled leaders we need to shake up Hartford and get results for the people of Connecticut.”
“For too long, our state government has been kicking the can down the road, and our cities have paid the price,” said Lamont. “New Haven needs an advocate in Hartford, not an adversary. As governor I will work directly with municipal leaders like Mayor DeStefano to make sure Connecticut’s cities and towns have the tools they need to create jobs, give our kids a quality education and make government work better for Connecticut families.”
“As the leader of a small town, I know how difficult it can be for our cities and towns to work with Hartford,” said Glassman. “I look forward to working with Ned and local leaders like Mayor DeStefano to improve public education, create jobs statewide and move Connecticut forward.”
Earlier this week Lamont and Glassman announced that they are running together for governor and lieutenant governor.
Statement from Governor Rell and Dem legislative leaders:
Joint Budget Statement from Governor M. Jodi Rell,
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr. and Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan
“For the last few weeks we have worked together in a respectful and productive manner to address Connecticut’s unprecedented fiscal challenges. We are pleased to announce that we have reached agreement on a revised budget that fully balances the budget without raising taxes, cutting municipal aid or harming needed social services. The budget plan also includes tough spending cuts that will reduce borrowing so as to save money in future fiscal years. We urge legislators to support the budget bill and help Connecticut continue its economic recovery. We look forward to swift passage of this budget and it being signed into law.”
The marriage is finally complete. Being a politician is being a lawyer. One simple question. Is it a requirement to be a lawyer to be Secretary of State? No. Then being Secretary of State doesn’t count as actively practicing law. Simple. Maybe I can be a judge.
I really wanted to vote for Susan B for governor. I probably would have voted for her if she originally wanted to run for AG. I can’t vote for her now for AG because she really wants Lieberman’s seat and did not want to do the hard work as governor.
I know at the time she announced for governor she probably still wanted Lieberman’s seat and I would have understood that because she would have been willing to tackle the tough state problems as governor. Now it looks like she wants to coast for 4 years as AG then run for the senate.She lost my support.
tc, Lieberman’s seat is up in 2012, it’s only two years, makes her argument worser. Is that word? Woman has no soul.
TC: I can only say for the time SuBy has been in her office, that office runs like a well-oiled clock. Having met her several times I can only determine she has the best interests of the public at heart, and she has a keen eye for detail and the needs of the public. She has not lost sight of the people she serves. Has she made mistakes recently? Yes. She is human. But she has not changed her core beliefs. Considering what is out there to choose from … I would still vote for Susan, whatever she chooses to run for. She will be good at whatever she throws her heart into, because that is what she does. Gives it her all, and works hard. Politics should be out of it when it comes to Susan. She has proven herself over and over again. You should reconsider your support of her. She is smart, she is sharp … and you know it! Leave politics out of it and vote for who we need in these trying times.
GOP’s going to be taking one out the Himes playbook and continually play SuBy’s depo like Himes did with Shays on the economy. No one can disagree with that.
No doubt in my mind she will win the primary and she will go on to win the general election easily.
I’m voting for Jepsen, or is it Jetson? Whatever, not for her.
anna, if you ever had to do business with the Secretary of State’s office you would know it is one of the best-run state offices you could find.
Susan could only bring improvement and public representation to whatever office she runs for.
To discard her for the politics she has recently been caught up in is shortsighted. You should really get to know her and find out more about her policies before you disregard her. She has been an advocate for taxpayers for some time now, mostly unnoticed, but she continues anyway.
*** I would have to vote for Jepson because SuBy may be a good Sec. of State but that don’t make her a good SAG! Besides she’s just another career-minded politician & we have too many like that now. *** So far I like as candidates Himes, Jepson, R.B., Malloy, and “maybe” Caruso depending on who else might run for the Mayors seat? ***
Oh, Opinionated one.
Either you are naive or you don’t know Susy B. But she is one of the most aggressive, vicious politicians in the state. You tell TC and Anna to put politics aside, Susy B eats, breathes and lives for politics.
Vote for Susy if you want an office holder who will lead the way the polls tell her to.