Once rivals, Dems now on same page

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Once rivals, Dems now on same page

September 08, 2006

Mary E. O'Leary , New Haven Register Topics Editor

-STAMFORD- The Democratic gubernatorial rivals came together Thursday in a show of unity, a month after a tough primary race where they spent millions and more than two years battling each other.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr., the party's nominee, and challenger Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy, whom DeStefano defeated in a heated primary, reiterated their support for the Democratic ticket in the hopes of taking back the governor's seat for the first time in two decades.

Malloy, who during the primary questioned job growth and safety issues in New Haven, praised DeStefano's leadership over the city "during one of its more robust reinventions" and predicted he will be an "extraordinary governor."

Malloy singled out DeStefano for reaching out to the business community and leading discussions on how to recapture the position the state once had as a center of ingenuity and job creation.

DeStefano, who won the hard-fought race by only 5,000 votes, complimented Malloy on the passion he brought to the primary campaign as the two men crossed paths in towns and cities over 29 months.

"So much of my gratitude, and the meaning I find in this endorsement, comes from the respect I have for Dan?s character and his skills and his talents, not only as colleagues together as mayor for 11 years, but as a competitor on the campaign trail for 2 1/2 years," he said.

Sounding the theme that both men stressed during the primary, DeStefano talked about the need for job creation, which he said incumbent Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, hasn't paid attention to, and he again criticized her for skipping the discussion Wednesday of the Connecticut Economy Quarterly Review held in Berlin.

Referring to that report, DeStefano said, the forecast for the future is a continuing downturn in the state's economy in terms of job growth, and he said she should have been there to address it. Her campaign said her schedule was booked and GOP lieutenant governor candidate Michael Fedele was well qualified to represent her.

DeStefano said young people are leaving for other opportunities, while investment in higher education has not been a state priority. DeStefano said Rell has failed to provide an energy plan and does not understand the need for middle-income housing in places such as Fairfield County, where the median price for a home is $550,000.

Rich Harris, spokesman for Rell's campaign, said the governor's commitment to education at all levels has been "extraordinary," her energy plans were stopped by the General Assembly, and she has saved "tens of thousands of jobs," including those at the sub base in Groton, at MetLife and ING.

He also said 32,000 jobs have been added in the last year.

Fedele this week questioned DeStefano's ability to lead the state, given the achievement gaps of students in New Haven public schools and an uptick in crime, a similar problem for the other cities in the state.

"That was a millionaire's look at a place he doesn't understand," DeStefano said of Fedele, chairman and CEO of the Pinnacle Group. "It is unfortunate in a leader who you would expect to have a little better base of knowledge. He comes from a set of experiences that most families don't share."

DeStefano said the $1.5 million he spent on ads during the primary helped with name recognition and this month the campaign will be purchasing more media time. Still, the latest poll shows Rell winning 64 percent to 32 percent among likely voters, with 28 percent open to changing their mind.

The governor just ran her first ad, which looks back to when she took over the job from disgraced former Gov. John G. Rowland in July 2004.

Since then she has had record favorability ratings, with 60 percent saying she is doing a good job, according to the August Quinnipiac Poll.

Asked how the Democrats were going to overcome that lead, Mary Glassman, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, said, "Once people pay attention to the race, they will see the clear distinction. We put out our issues, we put out our records, and we are still waiting for the governor to come on the campaign trail."