11/29/09 Greenwich Newsmaker: Ned Lamont

On Party Purity and Eleventh Commandments Daily Kos (blog) At the exact same time Lieberman was getting primaried by Ned Lamont, the most conservative member of the Democratic Senate delegation was being ignored. ...

Them Dems sure know how to lose TheDay.com In the clearest rejection of this liberal orthodoxy that runs every aspect of the Connecticut Democratic Party, Ned Lamont, the darling of MoveOn.org and ...

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11/19/09 Greenwich Post: Lamont for Governor?

Pledging that a decision about officially running for governor will likely be made by “early next year,” Greenwich resident Ned Lamont is already laying out a platform based around economics and giving every indication he will be part of a now wide open race.

Earlier this month, Mr. Lamont, who stunned the political world in 2006 by defeating Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) in the Democratic primary before losing to him in a three-way race, announced he is considering throwing his hat in the ring for governor in 2010 and had formed an exploratory committee.

And just after news of Mr. Lamont’s possible entry had settled, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced last week that she would not be running again for another term. While Ms. Rell’s popularity had slipped recently, she continues to have strong approval numbers and the announcement was seen as a surprise. The decision now leaves a wide open field for both parties to try and take advantage.

Mr. Lamont spoke to the Post last Thursday and said he wouldn’t take long to decide whether to turn his exploration into an official run for governor. Putting “early next year” as his timeline for a decision, Mr. Lamont said he feels he has to get involved to try and turn the state around.

“I feel very strongly that Connecticut needs a strong governor to shake up the status quo in Hartford and get the state going again in creating new jobs,” Mr. Lamont said.

Mr. Lamont said he has been out talking to people in the state and that he would continue to do so before making any decision. He said he is effectively reintroducing himself to voters after his 2006 run for the Senate and showing voters his goals in that campaign were not just to speak out in opposition to the Iraq War, which was a major focus of his primary victory over Mr. Lieberman. Mr. Lamont opposed the war and Mr. Lieberman strongly supported it.

“Three years ago this was more than just a one-issue campaign,” Mr. Lamont said. “I ran because I felt that our government was not being governed well. That’s how I feel about the state now. Three years ago, we wanted to challenge the idea of politics as usual, and to get Connecticut moving in the right direction we need to do it again.”

Mr. Lamont criticized the recently passed state budget, saying it is loaded with debt and that the state put itself in deficit before the document was signed. Mr. Lamont praised Ms. Rell for her years of service in a statement released after her announcement, but added, “Too many of our state’s families are hurting, too many of our problems are left unsolved and now is the time for a fresh start.”

Cast of candidates

If he does choose to run, Mr. Lamont could join a field of candidates that would include outgoing Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who did not run for a new term this year, and Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, both Democrats. Neither have officially launched a campaign. Milford resident James Amann, a former speaker of the state House, is the only Democrat officially in the race.

Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi has also shown interest in the race and could seek the Democratic nomination.

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele has already said he will seek his party’s nomination and State Rep. Lawrence Cafero (R-142), who serves as the state House minority leader, formed an exploratory committee before Ms. Rell’s announcement.

Democrat Richard Blumenthal, also a Greenwich resident, said last week he would not run for governor and would instead run for another term as state attorney general.

A Quinnipiac University poll released on Nov. 10 found Ms. Bysiewicz leading Mr. Lamont 26% to 23%, a deficit within the poll’s margin of error, and Mr. Malloy polling at 9%. Mr. Amann was at 3% in the poll, which showed a large number of voters left undecided.

The poll was taken before Ms. Rell’s announcement dramatically shifted the race. Despite her own popularity slipping recently, Ms. Rell was still polled as the likely victor in races against Mr. Lamont, Mr. Malloy and Ms. Bysiewicz, with Ms. Bysiewicz having the best numbers against her, but still trailing by six points.

Mr. Lamont told the Post that Ms. Rell’s decision not to run again will have no impact on his own choice about entering the race. He said he only wanted to make his own interest clear before she made an announcement on her own political future. The founder and owner of Campus Televideo as well as a former member of Greenwich’s Board of Selectmen and Board of Estimate and Taxation, Mr. Lamont said he felt his qualifications in the business world would allow him to stand out from the other candidates if he ran.

“I’m the only one who can say they’ve created a job,” Mr. Lamont said. “I’ve started a business in a state that’s dead last in creating new jobs and starting new businesses. That’s why we’re fighting over smaller and smaller pieces of the economic pie in Connecticut. That’s where we need to institute change and I believe I can bring a different perspective to the table.”

Mr. Lieberman’s recent vow to filibuster any health care reform bill that includes a public option has put him out of favor with progressive Democratic voters. A Research 2000 poll commissioned by the liberal site DailyKos.com showed 68% of likely voters favor the public option. Among Democrats, supporters were polled at 83% in favor, 8% against; among independents those figures were 73% to 15%; and among Republicans, 33% polled in favor and 55% against.

Backing those statistics, an article on the Quinnipiac University Web site quotes poll director Doug Schwartz as saying “a plurality of Connecticut voters like President Obama’s health care plan and by a wide margin trust Obama more than the Republicans to handle the issue.”

While Mr. Lieberman’s sentiment toward the public option could potentially make him ripe for defeat in 2012 if he runs for another term, Mr. Lamont said he is not considering a rematch. He said his attention is squarely focused on the state.

“I’ve always been a hands-on executive and the opportunity to take a leadership position in the state of Connecticut when it is in a crisis right now is something that I want to explore very carefully,” Mr. Lamont said. “I think there will be plenty of Democrats wanting to take on Joe Lieberman in three years. That’s not my life’s ambition.”

by Ken Borsuk

Greenwich Post

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1/29/09 Greenwich Post: Raising a glass: Democrats toast to victory, change

Photo: Charlene Abdal, assistant to the first selectman, gives Ned Lamont a hug during the Democrats’ celebration Saturday

by Ken Borsuk, Greenwich Post

L’escale restaurant was wall-to-wall Democrats Saturday night and the party faithful was in the mood to celebrate.

At what Selectwoman Lin Lavery pledged would be the first annual “Greenwich Celebrates Change” event, more than 280 people arrived to mark what they hoped was a new era in Washington after a successful fall for local Democrats. Not only did President Barack Obama become the first Democrat presidential candidate to win the town’s vote since Lyndon Johnson did in his 1964 landslide victory, but former Democratic Town Committee Chairman Jim Himes defeated 21-year incumbent Republican Christopher Shays to become the congressional representative from the 4th District.

But those in attendance stressed the night was not just about last fall’s victories and that people from all political persuasions were in the crowd.

“People are out here tonight to celebrate change and to raise a glass to the President of the United States and to Jim Himes,” Ms. Lavery told the Post. “We couldn’t be more thrilled. People worked very hard to make it happen. It’s a wonderful moment in history.”

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Dave Roberson called the crowd “amazing” and praised the work of Cathy Farricker and Laura Grad for making the event happen. Upon his arrival, Mr. Himes joked to Mr. Roberson that Greenwich Democats had “gone upscale” since he left town..

..Ned Lamont, who challenged and defeated Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Ct.) in 2006 in the primary, spoke at the event as well, as did state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who said the Greenwich victory for President Obama is “the beginning of a trend.”

Mr. Lamont, a former selectman, joked that being a Greenwich Democrat used to be like rooting for the Chicago Cubs but Saturday the party was turning people away at the door because there wasn’t room for them….

Read the entire article

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Greenwich Resident Lamont thinks Lieberman will join GOP

Ned Lamont, the Greenwich Democrat who challenged U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman two years ago, believes his former opponent will soon join the Republican minority in Congress.

Lamont declined to say Thursday whether the junior senator from Connecticut and self-described “independent Democrat” should be punished for backing U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid.

“My sense is he’s psychologically moving into the Republican column,” Lamont said. “I think he’ll probably jump.”

Lamont, an entrepreneur and millionaire, challenged Lieberman’s support for the Iraq war and won the Democratic primary in 2006.

But Lieberman formed a third party, Connecticut for Lieberman. With support from Republicans and unaffiliated voters, he won the general election.

Lamont had expected Lieberman would make peace with state Democrats.

“I thought he’d go to all the towns and say ‘Hey look, I know the war has separated us but on all the other big issues I’m with you,’ ” Lamont said.

But Lieberman’s work for McCain and running mate Sarah Palin proved where his true loyalties lie, Lamont said.

“It used to be just about foreign policy, but it’s now on a wider variety of issues,” Lamont said.

Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention and campaigned in battleground states for the ticket. He was not shy about criticizing Democrat Barack Obama on the stump or before media pundits, despite the fact he mentored Obama in the Senate and Obama had urged state Democrats to re-nominate Lieberman in 2006.

Lamont chaired Obama’s campaign in Connecticut, where the Democrat beat McCain, 930,424 to 584,725.

He said it was gratifying to see the majority of Americans vote for another anti-Iraq war candidate.

During their campaign in 2006, Lieberman branded Lamont as a representing the far left he feared was taking over the Democratic Party, particularly on foreign policy and defense.

“Hearing Obama talk about foreign policy and Iraq and tough-minded diplomacy, (it) was gratifying to see that’s the mainstream of American foreign policy these days,” Lamont said. “They tried to make us into some lunatic fringe, but I think two years later you see where the country’s headed and the world’s headed.”

One possible punishment for Lieberman is being stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Government Services and Homeland Security Committee.

As speculation about Lieberman’s fate increased Wednesday, the senator’s office sent out an e-mail announcing he had helped secure more than $25 million in security grants for Connecticut in fiscal year 2009.

But Lamont said Connecticut has nothing to fear if Lieberman loses clout with the Democratic majority in Congress.

He said the state still has U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd and, with Democrat Jim Himes’ defeat of long-time U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, an entirely Democratic delegation in the House of Representatives.

“Chris Dodd endorsed Obama early. So we have a pretty senior guy who has the president’s ear,” Lamont said. “I think our state’s going to do just fine and Senator Lieberman is irrelevant to that calculation.”

Lieberman’s term is not up for another four years and there has been some speculation he will not run again.

Lamont said he would consider running again for the Senate seat. “That’s a long way away,” he said. “We’ve got many bridges to cross between now and then.”

http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_10924970

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03/04/08 Neil Vigdor Of The Stamford Advocate Says, "Some push for super status for Ned Lamont"

Ned Lamont’s backers are looking to bestow a new superlative on the former U.S. Senate nominee.

Some who supported the Greenwich businessman in his upset of Joseph Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary want the party to choose Lamont as a superdelegate for its national convention later this year.

Several liberal Internet blogs are promoting Lamont, who endorsed Barack Obama and worked on the Illinois senator’s victorious Feb. 5 Connecticut primary campaign over Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a superdelegate.

They said it would be poetic justice if Lamont was chosen to be a superdelegate, because Lieberman, a self-described independent Democrat who defeated Lamont in the 2006 general election, has been stripped of the same status for backing the Republican presidential bid of John McCain.

“I think he’d be an excellent choice,” said Aldon Hynes, a former Stamford resident and Lamont supporter who runs the “progressive” blog Orient-Lodge.com.

Superdelegates have gained a lot of attention as Obama and Clinton fight to become the party’s presidential nominee. The distinction usually is reserved for party leaders and elected officials. Superdelegates could help put one of the candidates over the top if the number of pledged delegates is close for the two candidates.

Under the party’s proportional system of awarding pledged delegates, Obama claimed 26 to Clinton’s 22 in Connecticut. The state has 12 superdelegates up for grabs, as well as an “add-on” superdelegate seat that must be filled later this month.

On March 19, Obama and Clinton supporters will gather in each of the state’s five congressional districts to elect delegates. The delegates will then assemble March 26 for a state convention, where they will choose the remaining superdelegate and at-large delegates.

State Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo said the superdelegate position would likely go to an elected official.

“It’ll be a Barack Obama person, because they have the majority,” said DiNardo, an unpledged superdelegate.

A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee said there are no rules requiring superdelegates to hold elected office or be a party official.

Lamont said he was flattered that some of his supporters are promoting him to be a superdelegate.

“That’s very nice of them. We worked hard on the Connecticut primary campaign,” Lamont said.

Although Lamont is planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, he said he likely will do so as an at-large delegate, not a superdelegate.

“I think that they prefer it to be an elected official,” Lamont said.

Lamont also pointed out that he has been helping the Obama campaign identify prospective delegates.

“It’s a way you reward some activists and fundraisers,” Lamont said.

Hynes, whose wife, Kim, worked as a scheduler for Lamont during his Senate campaign, said Lamont’s selection as a superdelegate would help cement his status as a key player in Democratic politics. Lamont helped bring people to the party and galvanize grassroots liberals, Hynes said.

“I think in many ways it would be a great thing,” Hynes said.

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