The trouble with Harry
Look who’s running for office again ... state Rep. Harry Arora! And he’s running again because that’s what Harry does, he runs. This time Harry is running to be state treasurer, just when we’d gotten used to him running for state representative. Which he decided to do once he ran into a brick wall while running for Congress. But state treasurer is where he now believes his talents can be best put to use.
So see ya later Harry, it was nice to know you for the minute and a half you spent “representing” the citizens of Greenwich’s 151st district. They’ll be throwing you a bon voyage party at the club next week, where we’ll all reminisce over your accomplishments in Hartford. The celebration will start at 3 p.m. And end at 3:05 p.m.
Oh, are we being uncaring toward Harry? No less than he cared about you. After being pulverized in his vanity run for Congress, Harry was thrilled to run a low-key campaign for state representative in the Republican-dominated 151st district where he ran away from every question that dodged him there. He ran away from his opponent too, finding lame excuses to avoid an open debate. He ran even faster when confronted with his time spent as a twice-registered Democrat. But he won; likely because a Republican-branded tomato can could win in the 151st, and within a year was preparing to ... wait for it ... run again.
This time, though, he wanted to be a state senator. Unfortunately for Harry, it’s pretty hard to run on the strength of only one year spent as a representative, so he passed on that contest, decided he liked being a state representative, so he’d do that again instead. Folks in the 151st at the time could hardly be upset that Harry was preparing to ditch them after only one year as, realistically, most had no idea their representative wasn’t still Fred Camillo. Anyway, he ran for and won reelection (see the previous tomato can metaphor) but his campaign was also fined by the State Elections Enforcement Commission in response to a complaint about using campaign funds for a family member’s business. So of course, Harry is still running from that even now.
But he really does now seem done with the 151st and being a representative because Harry just knows that he has what it takes to be Connecticut’s treasurer, the state’s chief banker and money manager. The man who will oversee all of the state’s cash savings, debt and investments. And how does he know he’s the man for this job? Mostly because he says so, citing his experience.
So, does he mean his experience in public service? Harry has spent more time running for offices than actually serving in them. Does he mean his experience connecting with, and working in, his community? Good luck uncovering any volunteer positions or local board positions, Harry doesn’t do community service. I guess it’s his business experience Harry’s talking about, but most of that is something he absolutely should want to run from.
See, before Harry became a hedge fund bro the biggest leadership positions on his resume were at Enron. You remember Enron. The company that’s been called the greatest criminal business failure, ever. Harry followed that up with a stay at Amaranth Advisors where he got out just ahead of the walls caving in after their criminal manipulation of natural gas prices and playing fast and loose with investor money. The detonation of Enron and Amaranth had real and still ongoing effects on Connecticut. Both negatively affected the state’s cash savings, debt, investments, and ... oh wait, that’s pretty much everything a state treasurer is supposed to actually be good at handling.
Yet that’s the experience which made the state’s Republican Party chairman gush, saying Harry is “eminently qualified” to be in charge of your money. Or as another low-bar setting Republican put it, “Harry’s business background will serve him well as treasurer, and his ‘can do’ attitude is a great fit for that position.”
Can do? The thing Harry evidently “can do” best, is run. Run for office, run away from his opponents, run afoul of campaign finance law, and run away from his past and all the messes he leaves behind.