Lamont names Balletto, McKinney to liquor control

By statute, the three-member commission must have one Democrat, one Republican and be chaired by the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection.

Not for the first time, a Connecticut governor has dipped into the ranks of the politically connected to fill two vacancies on the Liquor Control Commission, a part-time gig that pays about $58,000 annually.

Gov. Ned Lamont has named Nick Balletto, of East Haven, whom he deposed as the Democratic state chairman upon taking office in 2019, and former Senate Republican Leader John P. McKinney, of Westport, to the commission.

By statute, the threemember commission must have one Democrat, one Republican and be chaired by the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection.

The appointments are coterminous with Lamont’s term and are not subject to legislative review.

The panel is a regulatory body responsible for holding hearings on a range of issues involving liquor permit holders and applicants, including the suitability of applicants and permit premises and allegations of violations, such as sales to minor or intoxicated persons.

Balletto, a political ally of Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, was elected unanimously by the Democratic State Central Committee in January 2015 as state chair, with the backing of then- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Without Lamont’s support, he left the post in early 2019.

McKinney, a political moderate with friends on both sides off the aisle, was defeated by Thomas C. Foley in the Republican primary for governor in 2014, his last run for elective office.