CBIA Leader's Unlikely Choice:

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CBIA Leader's Unlikely Choice:

September 28, 2006

Endorses Democrat In Governor's Race

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING - Hartford Courant

It's unusual when a Republican business executive publicly endorses a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. It's doubly unusual when the Republican is chairman of the state's largest business lobby.

That happened Wednesday when Roger Joyce, chairman of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, endorsed Democrat John DeStefano over Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

Joyce made the endorsement as an individual, he and the CBIA said, noting that the 10,000-member business lobby does not make endorsements in statewide races.

Joyce is an executive at Bilco Co. in West Haven, a 200-employee maker of bulkhead doors founded by his grandfather in 1926. He said he was making the first public endorsement in his life because he believes New Haven Mayor DeStefano is an inclusive leader who can improve the state in the same way that he has improved his city.

"The business community, collectively throughout the state, is frustrated," Joyce said. "This is a difficult state to do business. ...There is support for John amongst my colleagues at CBIA, and there's support for Gov. Rell."

John Rathgeber, CBIA's president, stressed that the organization itself is staying out of the governor's race.

"I want to make it clear that Roger is not acting on CBIA's behalf," Rathgeber said. "It is totally personal."

The CBIA traditionally focuses on issues such as corporate tax cuts and controlling state spending.

At the outdoor announcement in Hartford, DeStefano criticized Rell for claiming in her latest television commercial that Connecticut is "a leader in New England in creating new jobs." In fact, DeStefano said, the state ranked 43rd nationally in job growth during Rell's first year in office and 46th nationally during her second year.

But Rell's campaign spokesman, Rich Harris, said different statistics show a different story, including that the state's unemployment rate of 4.5 percent is better than the national average of 4.7 percent. The state's poverty rate of 8.3 percent is the third lowest in the nation, he said.

"I can see why John DeStefano would have a bleak assessment, considering that New Haven is one of the poorest cities in the state, and after 12 years with John DeStefano as mayor, 37 percent of families with children under the age of 18 live in poverty and 27 percent of all people in New Haven live in poverty," Harris said.

"If he has all these great strategies for economic development, beating poverty and creating a business-friendly environment," Harris said, "New Haven is hardly the poster child for showing them off."

DeStefano also picked up an endorsement Wednesday from the political action committee of Love Makes A Family, the state's leading proponent for gay marriage. The group has never made an endorsement in a gubernatorial race.

Harris responded that the endorsement was not a surprise, adding that Rell and the group have a continuing dialogue.

Harris said the Rell campaign does not comment on the opponent's endorsements.