Conventions over and candidates lined up for the fall
Governor signs privacy bill. State Capitol news and notes
News and notes from around the state
CRMA Golf outing update
- Last weekend both major political parties held their state conventions to nominate candidates for statewide office.
- There were no real surprises, as Democrats nominated Governor Lamont to lead the top of the ticket for them, while the Republicans nominated businessman Bob Stefanowski to be their standard bearer.
- Democrats also re-nominated Richard Blumenthal for re-election to the United States Senate.
- The under-tickets, which on the Democratic side saw very crowded fields, also came into better focus – sort of.
- The under-ticket on the Democratic side settled nominations for the office of Lt. Gov., Attorney General and Comptroller, but still have the potential for primaries for Secretary of the State and State Treasurer. As we go to print with today’s FF, no final decisions on whether primaries will be held.
- The CT Mirror has more on those potential primaries here.
- On the Republican side, it appears they will also have primaries for Secretary of the State and for US Senate, where three candidates will vie for the chance to take on Blumenthal.
- Mark Pazniokas covers those stores for the Mirror as well. You can view those by going here. And Courant columnist Kevin Rennie does a great job looking at the conventions and the outcomes, here and here.
- We will keep you up to date up as the candidates hit the campaign trail, including possibly having some of them join us for one our LIVE! Broadcasts.
Governor signs Privacy bill
- As we have mentioned in previous FF, CRMA was very involved with legislation that was introduced dealing with consumer privacy.
- With the Congress having no realistic chance of passing a consumer privacy bill, many states have been taking on the issue. The CT legislature has tried to pass privacy bills for at least the past 5 years.
- But this year was different, and CRMA was in the middle of the debate, doing our best to protect retailers’ relationships with customers by strongly advocating for language in the bill that would not place unnecessary barriers between retailers and customers.
- This week the Governor signed into law SB 6, Public Act 22- 15, AAC Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring, making CT the 5th state in the country to pass a consumer privacy law.
- We are pleased this issue is settled – for the most part – but expect that there will be continued discussion and we will continue to keep a close eye on the issue.
State Capitol news and notes
- More retirement news this week as two additional House members announced they are not running for re-election.
- State Rep. Emmitt Riley (D-Norwich) and State Rep. William Petit (R-Plainville) both announced they are not seeking re-election this fall.
- Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, (R) Stratford, announced he IS seeking re-election. There was some speculation that Kelly would bow out.
- Also, this week, in the wake of not receiving the nomination for Sec. of the State, State Senator Matt Lessor decided not to primary the nominee and instead he filed papers to run for re – election to his State Senate seat.
- Lessor’s decision to run for re-election means that State Rep. Gary Turco, who was planning on running for Lessor’s Senate seat, instead will run again for his state House seat.
- With the Petit and Riley announcements that they are not running, the number of incumbents that will not seek re-election now is nearly 30.
- Lamont signed into law a bill that permits student-athletes in Connecticut to use their school’s names, logos, trademarks, mascots, unique colors, copyrights, and other defining insignia in endorsement contracts. CTNewsJunkie has the details here.
News and notes from around the state
- The average U.S. price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline as of May 12 hit $4.41 a gallon, the highest price ever recorded. But local average gas prices are even higher, as Fairfield County Business Journal reports here.
- The New England power grid saw the lowest demand ever on May 1, as mild temperatures and sunny skies hit the region, according to ISO New England. Hartford Business Journal has the story here.
- Fresh off its acquisition of Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank, M&T Bank has identified two top leaders for its expanded Connecticut operations. New Haven BIZ reports on the selections here.
- New Haven officials will be flying Avelo Airlines to spark new trade and tourism at the airline’s destinations, the city announced this week, as New Haven BIZ reports here.
- Connecticut’s contests for the state’s five Congressional seats this fall are taking shape. CTNewsJunkie reports on the latest candidates and campaigns here.
CRMA Golf Outing
- Please take a moment to visit the CRMA website to review our invitation and fill out a registration form for this year’s CRMA Golf Outing, coming up next month on June 28.
- The Golf Outing is one of the biggest annual fundraisers for CRMA to support our work on behalf of Connecticut retailers year-round. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.
- We are returning to the Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford this year for a day of camaraderie, delicious food and great fun!
- We hope you will be able to join us – or support this event in other ways. Mark your calendar and register today for the CRMA Golf Outing on Tuesday, June 28th!