Jarjura to Make a Move for LG
Expect an announcement from Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura in the next several days that he will seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. Jarjura, who has been exploring statewide office, has enjoyed a reputation for candor while participating in gubernatorial forums. Jarjura told me last evening that his late start and Ned Lamont’s fundraising advantage make a race for governor difficult.
Jarjura says he has received encouragement from moderate Democrats around the state to make the race for lieutenant governor. He is meeting with local supporters to plan a path to victory at the convention and then in a primary. He sounded confident that he will be able to garner the support he needs to qualify for the August party contest by snagging at least 15% of the delegates to the May convention.
Jarjura has not endorsed a candidate for governor, but it sounded like he’s open to an alliance, especially if one of them announces in the run up to the convention a running mate who is not named Jarjura.
The Waterbury veteran should expect questions from active Democrats on his close relationship with disgraced former Governor John G. Rowland, who enjoys a city economic development job created by Jarjura.
10 comments
While I think it is great that more and more people are proactively seeking the role of Liuetannant Governor, credit has to be given to Kevin Lembo who is really changing the vision for that office and how it can be utilized to be an effective partner to the Governor and the people of Connecticut. He has a great wealth of experience and knowledge that lends itself exceptionally well to the challenging needs of our state. 40% of the State’s budget is health care, and as the current State Heatlhcare Advocate, Lembo has extensive knowledge to handle this ever tricky budget item. Lembo has saved taxpayers millions dollars in health care costs through effective advoacy. His experience as Assistant Comptroller is invaluable to a Governor who will immediately face a $3 billion deficiet when taking office. And he has never lost touch with the people of Connecticut as he has advocated for equality and fairness for all Connecticut residents, regardless of their walk of life. While I respect Mayor Jarjura’s enterance into the race, it is clear that Lembo has the knowledge and compassion needed for this office.
Word has it that Jarjura is trading Waterbury delegates for a spot as Lt Gov… in deep discussions with Ned Lamont. A deal not worth taking.
He would make it an easy win for Lembo. I mean the guy’s got nerd glasses and CCAG — Like to see Jarjura go up against that machine. The rest of the state is quite different from Waterbury.
Jarjura is anti-choice AND he hired our ex-con Governor, John Rowland! I don’t want him anywhere near the LG position. He would be able to break a tie in the Senate. Bad, bad, bad.
A legend in his own mind…what do they put in the water in Waterbury?
So Jarjura is floating this around, 3 weeks out of the convention and thinks he’ll have at least 15% to go into a primary? And will win a primary? Sounds like a deal is being made somewhere. He has John Rowland on his payroll. That alone is toxic to anyone. He can be a real problem to any of the Democratic candidates for Governor. Maybe he’s trying to help the Republicans win?
David F.,
The scope of the office needs to be reduced, not enlarged. Beware of the candidate claiming they will do more; doing more always requires more taxpayer cheddar for very little benefit. The office right now is essentially useless. There is no pressing need to increase its scope.
It is shocking to me that, as our state sinks into a deeper and deeper financial crisis, lt. gov. candidates are running on a platform that essentially seeks to have state taxpayers foot the bill so that they can pursue their pet passions.
Fuzzy Dunlop,
I think the point that Lembo has made is let’s do more with what we got. It’s not about increasing the cheddah, it’s about not limiting the office to a ceremonial one, but making it more active and effective, and involved with reinvigorating government.
Enlarging a role, does not mean enlarging its budget line. And if you’ve heard Lembo speak, you would get what he’s saying. If you think reducing the budget deficit by consolidating health care and pharmaceutical purchasing, making government more consumer friendly, and perhaps streamlining government agencies to make them more effective to be pet passions, well then yeah, i guess that’s Lembo. But as Colin McEnroe said, he has a geek’s deep understanding of government and is a nerd in that way. I like it .. and I’ve got the glasses to prove it.
[…] Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura has entered (or plans to enter) the Lt. Governor’s race. On the Democratic side. […]
Bleh,
Again, why does he need a taxpayer funded platform to do so? What if someone else wanted the position so they could, oh I don’t know, advocate passing a state law making it illegal to be an illegal immigrant in Connecticut?
You like Lembo because you happen to like what he is passionate about. That’s great. I support more health care too. But from a policy perspective, the Lieutenant Governor’s office should not be turned into a political soapbox.
And Jarjura is political poison for anyone who deigns to tangle with him. Maybe he gets you some Waterbury support, but his Rowland affiliation loses you the support of about half the democrats in the state.