The more things change the more they stay the same
Lamont Administration makes some changes at the top
News and notes from the State Capitol
News and notes from around the state
- Democrats swept thru Election Day, winning all the top of the ticket races, including governor and Attorney General, and keeping their strong majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly.
- As expected, Governor Ned Lamont won an overwhelming victory over his Republican opponent businessman Bob Stefanowski, by a 56% to 43% margin.
- Meanwhile, the Democrats also kept their majorities in both the House and the Senate, by almost the exact numbers they had going into the election. Both House Democrats and Senate Democrats increased their majorities by 1. The House Democrats now hold a 98 to 53 majority, while the Senate Democrats now hold a 25- 11 advantage.
- Democrats also swept races for the Congress, wining all 5 congressional races including a nail-biter in the 5th District, where incumbent Jahana Hayes beat back a strong challenge from former State Senator George Logan.
- Incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal easily won his bid for re-election to his third 6-year Senate term by besting his GOP opponent Laura Levy, 57%-42%.
- The result of the elections in CT this year can be summed up as the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Lamont Administration makes some changes
- A couple of key members of the Lamont Administration have already announced that they will be leaving Team Lamont when the new year begins.
- This week the Governor announced that his chief of staff, Paul Mounds, would be leaving and would be replaced by Jonathan Dach. Our friends the CT Mirror have a look at that here, along with changes that the governor is making with the position of chief legal officer.
- And our friend David Lehman, who we worked so closely with during the COVID 19 crisis, also announced that he would not be staying in the Lamont Administration when the new term begins in January.
- The Hartford Courant has a look at this replacement as Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, Alexandra Daum, here.
- There will no doubt be some additional changes that will take place with the Administration, as there always is when an administration makes the turn to another 4 years in charge. We will keep a close eye on the comings and goings in the Lamont Administration and will in turn keep you updated along the way.
News and notes from the State Capitol
- In another chapter of the more things change the more they stay the same, soon after the election, all 4 caucus held meetings to selected leadership teams for the next two years.
- And there were no surprises in the results.
- In the House, Matt Ritter will return as Speaker of the House and Jason Rojas will once again be his Majority Leader. The House Republicans will once again be led by Vin Candelora, who returns as House Minority leader.
- The leadership team in the State Senate will also have a very familiar look.
- State Senator Mary Looney will return as Senate President Pro Tem and Bob Duff will be back as Senate Majority Leader. The Senate Republicans re-elected Senator Kevin Kelly as Senate Minority Leader.
- Over the course of the next several weeks, committee assignments will be made, including Committee chairs and ranking members.
- We will keep you up to date on those announcements as well.
- Meanwhile, it looks like the Governor and the General Assembly leadership have agreed to go into Special Session to address the gas tax holiday and more. The CT Mirror has that story here.
- A recount Wednesday gave Democrat Sarah Keitt of Fairfield a 10-vote victory over Republican Meghan McCloat in the 134th House District, flipping an open Republican seat and giving Democrats a 98-53 majority. CT Mirror has the story here.
- In Southington, the Democratic candidate Chris Poulos was elected to a the 81st District House seat by a single vote, after a recount on Monday. The Meriden Record-Journal has that story here.
News and notes from around the state
- Connecticut added 1,100 private sector jobs while losing 600 government jobs in October, according to monthly statistics released Thursday by the Labor Department which reported a modest net uptick that continues a 10-month streak of job growth. CTNewsJunkie has the updated stats here.
- Secretary of the State-Elect Stephanie Thomas is urging the legislature to approve a 3-5 day window for early voting in future elections, after voters approved a constitutional amendment on Election Day. Her view is reported by CT Mirror here.
- Connecticut employers reported 114,000 job openings at the end of September, up from a revised 111,000 job openings a month earlier, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hartford Business Journal has more on the latest data here.
- The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to focus on air quality monitoring in distressed communities. Fairfield County Business Journal has that news here.