Speed demon: Independent report will end Jonathan Dach’s role as Lamont senior advisor. Damage will continue.

Governor Ned Lamont has a problem: $183,000 a year Senior Advisor Jonathan Dach A report by the Shipman & Goodwin law firm concludes that Dach, Lamont’s third chief of staff, made prolific and reckless use of a state vehicle, Daily Ructions has learned.

The independent report, prompted by an extensive story by Inside Investigator’s dogged Marc Fitch on vehicle misuse, is expected to be completed in the next two days and released early next week in the rush of the final three days of the regular legislative session. There are some acts even a $2.6 billion surplus cannot divert public interest in. The chilling Dach driving dodge is one of them.

The report confirms that Dach used a state vehicle at times for personal, not government, business. In addition, the car’s technology recorded Dach, a Lamont favorite, driving at speeds the law deems reckless, a crime under state statutes. Even a Yale Law School graduate must know that one’s sense of entitlement does not include driving any vehicle at over 90 miles per hour. Dach is known for his righteous claims that he does not own a motor vehicle and uses public transportation. If a state car is included in a sweeping definition of public transportation, Dach is telling the truth.

State employees in positions not as lofty Dach’s would have been fired long ago for committing the abuses the report confirms.

The report’s conclusion will cause needless embarrassment to Lamont, who has been good to Dach. A gentleman would have shared with Lamont in private what he’d done and quietly resigned months ago. Instead, Dach allowed the charade to continue into an expensive law firm investigation while the child of privilege spent months running interference for embattled and failed head utilities regulator Marissa Gillett.

The report may also provide a clue to one of the curiosities of Dach’s tenure with Lamont: Why does he spend so much time on the shoreline visiting with former state Representative Holly Cheeseman, a Republican? Cheeseman, who narrowly lost a re-election bid in November, has been mentioned for a spot on the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).

The release of the report is expected to cause Dach, who does not live in Connecticut, to leave the Lamont administration after Wednesday. That is too late. Dach should go now. Lamont is aware of the report’s damning findings but has allowed Dach to play a significant role in shaping important legislation, despite revealing himself as unsuited and unworthy to wield authority in the public’s name.

Published May 29, 2025.