Governor Ned Lamont has withdrawn the nomination of Alina Marquez-Reynolds to the Superior Court, Daily Ructions has learned. Monday’s hearing on the Fairfield lawyer revealed she was quickly ushered through the approval process for no clear reason. Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut on Friday, three days before Monday’s hearing.

Governors rarely lose a judicial nomination. It is difficult to recall a governor whose party enjoys overwhelming control of the legislature blundering so seriously that party members in the House and Senate cannot hold their noses, avert their gazes and lift the governor’s choice to the bench. Associate Justice Andrew McDonald’s nomination for Chief Justice was narrowly approved by the House and defeated by the evenly divided Senate when two Democrats joined 18 Republicans to oppose Dannel P. Malloy’s 2018 nomination of his close adviser. A Senate with today’s 23-13 partisan divide would have approved McDonald with no suspense.

Judiciary Committee members appeared ready to advance Marquez-Reynolds’s nomination to the full legislature Monday afternoon. They decided to hold the nomination as questions on when she had obtained in-house counsel status after joining the Grace Farm Foundation in 2019.

Published April 26, 2022.

A remarkable day at the Judiciary Committee. Governor Ned Lamont’s nomination of Alina Marquez-Reynolds, of Fairfield, ran into trouble after the committee learned that Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut on Friday. That’s Friday, April 22nd, three days before the hearing and nine days after Lamont nominated the former assistant United States attorney to the Superior Court.

Marquez-Reynolds has served as general counsel to Grace Farms Foundation, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization, from 2019. She did not, however, become an Authorized House Counsel until 2021. Told of an opportunity to ascend to the Superior Court, Marquez-Reynolds applied to the Judicial Selection Commission and was given unusually quick consideration. The Commission appears not to have inquired if Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut, a prerequisite, one would think, to consideration and approval.

Lamont and his staff appear to have been unusually incurious about the details of Marquez-Reynolds’s status as a lawyer admitted to practice law in Connecticut. The nomination of a lawyer who was not admitted to practice in Connecticut when the governor nominated her to the bench reflects the low regard in which Lamont holds lawyers, judges, and our courts.

The committee adjourned Monday without voting on the nomination. The legislature’s regular session ends at midnight on Wednesday, May 4th.

Published April 25, 2022.

Supporters of exempting Tesla from Connecticut’s automobile franchise act are on the move as the legislature enters its last 10 days of its regular session. The proposal may be considered by the Senate early this week.

Connecticut law has for decades required manufacturers to sell their cars and trucks to the public through dealerships. The dealers have long been seen as a bulwark against the market manipulation powers of manufacturers. The dealers provide service to consumers and provide the market with competition. Tesla’s supporters want to exempt the electric vehicle manufacturer from the law but dare not try to repeal the act. Instead they will extend privilege to privilege and allow Tesla to dispense with dealers required of other manufacturers.

In the pursuit of selling a car, whether it’s a traditional gasoline vehicle or an innovative electric model, having clarity on its value is paramount. With the evolving landscape of regulations and market preferences, leveraging tools like car valuation services becomes essential for sellers. These services provide individuals with comprehensive insights into their vehicle’s worth, taking into account various factors such as make, model, mileage, and condition.

Regardless of the regulatory landscape, understanding how much is my car worth to sell empowers sellers to navigate the sales process confidently, ensuring they receive fair compensation for their vehicle. As debates surrounding dealership requirements and manufacturer privileges unfold, sellers can rely on valuation tools to guide their decisions and secure favorable outcomes in the ever-changing automotive market.

Tesla’s boosters blotted their copy early this year when two state senators, Will Haskell and Bob Duff, were scheduled to appear at a Senate Democratic campaign fundraiser in Westport. The invitation to the event stated revealed donations would “provide leadership with leverage to fence-sitters” on the Tesla bill.

Haskell and Duff may have hit the fundraising target the blunt appeal claimed was essential to purchase votes. Fence-sitters could risk face harsh examination at home if they embrace the legislation. What price Tesla? Which Senate Democrats will have traded equality under the law for campaign contributions? Only a roll-call will tell.

As part of their campaign to give the trillion dollar company special treatment, last week Tesla’s supporters accused auto dealers of racism. Tesla advocates, on the other hand, appear unmoved by or unaware of workers’ complaints of abuse at a notorious company plant. California officials alleged in a February lawsuit that Tesla managers have ignored “years of complaints from Black employees at” its Fremont factory.

This month, a federal judge upheld a California jury verdict finding Tesla liable for ignoring racial abuse heaped on a Black worker at the California plant. The judge reduced the jury’s damages award to the employee to $15 million.

Brutal treatment of employees may matter little to the odd sentimentality that can sometimes poison decisions at the legislature. Sound public policy may have trouble competing with a handful of influential Democrats’ desire to give a parting gift to Haskell. The Westport Democrat is leaving for law school after two terms. Seen by some Democratic colleagues as a tiresome credit hog, Haskell has been a champion of abandoning fairness to satisfy Tesla. Leaders are said to want to hand him a win on his way out the door.

Auto dealers, often active and generous supporters of community organizations and events, will have to rouse themselves into action Monday. They will need to remind legislators they seek only what lawmakers often promise: a level playing field. It’s not a lot to expect in a place that calls itself the Constitution State.

Published April 24, 2022.

Caution: video contains intentionally offensive language.
New Haven attorney Norm Pattis appeared in what was billed as a comedy set in East Haven. Pattis’s routine, which began with him dropping his pants, included frequent references to race and culminated in him saying, in what he appeared to think was his triumphant climax, a racial slur. Pattis appeared to have no concern about his cruelty to a young Black woman in the front row of the tiny room who appeared to become his target.

Links to the story are here and here.

Alfonso Robinson posted the video on his YouTube channel. He performed a painful public service.

Published May 23, 2022.

Challengers to the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee won the court-ordered primary Tuesday. All 17 Democrats on the challenge slate were elected, defeating 17 of the 65 members of the endorsed slate. The helpful town clerk posted results here.

Bloomfield Democrats have engaged in fractious contests in recent years. Last September, a primary for town council resulted in a split decision, three challengers and three endorsed candidates won spots on the six-candidate general election slate. The 2017 Democratic town council primary saw the outs defeat the ins in a sweep. The decisive win did not extinguish intra-party strife.

The town committee contest took an unusual turn when the town’s Democratic registrar of voters, Troy Mitchell, declined to certify the challenge slate’s petitions. Mitchell agreed in February to a settlement of a court action brought by the challengers. He reversed his decision the next day. A trial followed and Judge Matthew J. Budnick found in favor of the challengers, ruling Mitchell had rejected petition signatures “out of pure speculation.,” according to the Hartford Courant.

The 17 winning challengers may shift the balance of power on the local Democratic committee. Ten percent of the town’s more than 9,000 registered Democrats voted in Tuesday’s primary in what may be seen as a rebuke of Mitchell’s heavy-handed wielding of authority.

Published April 20, 2022.

Beleaguered state Senator Dennis Bradley is facing a federal criminal trial in May for campaign finance violations. Bradley’s troubles have not dissuaded the Bridgeport Democrat from seeking a third term. He’s holding his first fundraising event Wednesday at Vazzy’s.

An investigation of Bradley’s 2018 campaign finance practices by the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) revealed myriad violations of state laws governing Connecticut’s generous public financing program. Bradley’s troubles are rooted in a 2018 campaign kickoff event that was allegedly disguised as a law firm appreciation party for clients. The expenses for that event were not reported in mandatory campaign finance reports.

Lessons have not been learned. Bradley’s invitation to Wednesday’s campaign event appears to have been sent from his law firm. The rising-star-to-shooting-star phenomenon is ineligible to participate in campaign public financing because of his previous violations. The maximum contribution to Bradley’s campaign is $1,000.

Bradley is precluded from soliciting lobbyists for contributions while the legislature is in session. Lobbyists are barred from contributing while the legislature is in session.

Published April 19, 2022.

Governor Ned Lamont spoke often and at length in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd about diversity among law enforcement and judges. On June 1st of that year, Lamont joined WNPR’s Lucy Nalpathanchil on “Where We Live” and discussed what he was doing to make Connecticut a more just place.

After a weekend of protests across the nation, Lamont told Nalpathanchil that he is was “totally at one with the people who are standing up…the progress is so slow.” The first term governor said he’d told members of the state legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, “I need your help when recruiting not just teachers but judges…we have a long way to go.”

The Greenwich Democrat has done nothing to ease or shorten the journey to the State Supreme Court for Black lawyers and judges. The fourth generation aristocrat Wednesday appointed another white appellate judge to the high court. It is Lamont’s second appointment to the court in more than three years in office and his second elevation of a white judge.

Lamont chose Judge Joan Alexander to replace his first appointment to the Supreme Court, Christine Keller. Both are white. Alexander appears to have been a late prospect. She attended a secret session of the Judicial Selection Commission (JSC) at 11 a.m. on April 1st for a 30-minute “[I]nterview for elevation to the Supreme Court,” according to the commission’s agenda, which is also hidden from public view.

Many hopefuls will spend painful years on the list of candidates approved for the state’s highest court. Judge Alexander was on it for 12 days before Lamont appointed her today. This has the look of a nomination rigged by privileged insiders. Alexander is a respected judge but members of the Supreme Court need not be plucked from the lower ranks of the state’s judiciary. Two of the seven members now serving were not judges before Governor Dannel P. Malloy bestowed the honor on them.

Judge Alexander now claims what some observers of the process have dubbed the Mommy Seat, in honor of Speaker of the House Matthew Ritter helping his mom, Justice Keller, win her seat in 2020. Judge Alexander will be eligible to serve for 11 years. Lamont will have done nothing to transform his aspirations into action on the Supreme Court.

In February, President Biden nominated then-Judge Ketjani Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She became the first Black female justice last week. Lamont wrote of her nomination, “I applaud President Biden’s choice and commend his commitment to ensuring that our nation’s highest court better reflects the nation itself.”

In case the governor is confused, he should know that the qualifications to serve on the Supreme Court are not the same as those to become a member of the lily white Round Hill Club that Lamont belonged to for so many years before quitting to jump into state politics in 2006.

Published April 14, 2022.

New Haven Democrat Erick Russell is calling supporters and others today to tell them he’s running for the Democratic nomination for treasurer. Russell has just over three weeks to organize a campaign that wins the support of at least 15% of the delegates, allowing the state party vice chair to claim a spot on the August primary ballot.

Russell, a bond lawyer at Pullman & Comley, will join announced candidate Dita Bhargava in the race. Bhargava was defeated in the 2018 primary by outgoing State Treasurer Shawn Wooden. His sudden announcement last week that he would not seek a second term unleashed the frenetic competition for the job.

Russell’s fellow New Haven Democrat Karen DuBois-Walton is also expected to enter the race. She made an unsuccessful bid for mayor of New Haven in 2021, ending her candidacy as the nominating convention began. Governor Ned Lamont appointed DuBois-Walton to chair the State Board of Education in February.

The truncated convention campaign will be a test of each candidate’s reach and organizing skill.

Republicans last elected a state treasurer in 1994.

Published on April 13, 2022.

Proof that raising $1 million will earn a Senate candidate attention from her rivals came in an email from a Klarides supporter in the Hartford area. The state party committee member wants Klarides and Lumaj supporters to confront Greenwich Republican Leora Levy with a choice: Senate candidacy or her seat on the RNC, but not both.

The April 12th email, from Brian Werstler to 15 Republican activists in the state’s 8th Senate District, urges recipients to ask Levy to choose.

SD8 Team – 
I wanted to flag for you an issue in the US Senate race. Although I know this group is split between Peter and Themis, I think we can be united behind the idea that the party should work together for a common good and not put one person ahead of the will of the body. Given that, I’d ask you and your town committees, when approached by Leora Levy or her team to ask these two questions: As RNC Committeewoman for our state party, will you abide the will of the convention and back the party nominee, if it’s Peter or Themis? If not, and if you insist on running a primary, will you agree to resign your seat as RNC Committeewoman from Connecticut? 

I personally find it troubling for the person tasked with bringing federal funds into this state on behalf of its endorsed candidates is potentially planning to run a primary against the party-endorsed candidate. She can do one or the other, either is fine, but she has to choose. The conflict of interest and detriment to our party and chances this fall is too great. 

Former House Republican leader Themis Klarides is the front runner to win her party’s endorsement to the nomination to face incumbent Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Klarides, formerly of Derby, faces a primary against Peter Lumaj and Levy. Team Klarides, if the Werstler email is any indication, understands their candidate has a much better chance to claim an August primary win in a head-to-head contest against Lumaj.

A vigorous three-way that includes a generously funded Levy risks an uncertain result. If Klarides and Levy spend their money firing at each other over the airways, some disgusted primary voters may find Lumaj a safe harbor. Levy is the opponent who will have the resources to produce some campaign Kryptonite by airing ads tying Klarides to Eversource and the high cost of electricity in Connecticut.

Party-endorsed candidates, the usual victors in Connecticut primaries, may be at some risk this year. Neither party will have a primary for governor, the office that often boosts turnout in primaries. Low voter participation among aggrieved Republicans could be trouble for establishment candidates.

Republicans meet on May 6th and 7th at the Foxwoods casino. Candidates who decide to petition their way onto the ballot may begin collecting signatures later this month. A candidate for statewide office secures a spot on the primary ballot with the signatures of 2% of registered party members.

Published April 13, 2022.

The State Supreme Court issued a decision Tuesday afternoon in the matter of Judge Alice Bruno. The court reached a unanimous conclusion that it will proceed with an investigation to determine if Bruno should be suspended or removed as a judge of the Superior Court.

The state’s new Inspector General, retired judge Robert Devlin, will have broad authority to investigate Bruno’s conduct.

Bruno left her chambers in Waterbury in November 2019 and has not returned. The high court met a week ago to give Bruno an opportunity to demonstrate why it should not proceed with an investigation of her long absence and the conduct that accompanied it.

Bruno’s absence, first reported last fall, has become the subject of considerable public interest. Bruno claims she sought an accommodation of a supportive courthouse environment and the assistance of a mentor to allow her to return to work. She has been paid more than $$400,000 in salary since leaving her assignment.

Published April 12, 2022.