Governor’s Race Takes Nasty Turn
Candidates, Supporters Show Anger In Spades
The tenor of the governor’s race — much like politics in the America of Donald Trump and the “resistance” — is turning increasingly nasty and polarized.
That acrimony was on full display Monday night at the historic Shubert Theatre in New Haven, where Republican Bob Stefanowski and Democrat Ned Lamont assailed each other’s resumes and blueprints for Connecticut in an emotionally charged debate.
Outside, their minions taunted each other with expletives and chants of “No Show Bob,” a reference to Stefanowski not voting for 16 years, and “Retread Ned,” a dig at Lamont’s failed 2006 and 2010 candidacies for U.S. Senate and governor.
While there have been skirmishes outside debates before, Roy Occhiogrosso, a former top adviser to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said he’s never seen anything like the dynamic of Trump and the resistance in Connecticut.
“Look, there’s a lot at stake,” said Occhiogrosso, a Democratic political consultant. “People are concerned. They’re worried. People are worried. Some of them are angry.”
On Monday, Stefanowski put down Lamont on multiple occasions during the hourlong program, drawing the scorn of the audience and, some analysts say, detracting from an otherwise disciplined debate performance.
“It is kind of Trumpish,” said Gary Rose, chairman of the department of government, politics and global studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. “It probably plays well among Republicans. [But] I’d say those are not scoring too many points. I do think he needs to be cautious about it.”
“I think the more they’re together, the less they like each other and that’s starting to be really obvious,” Rose said.
At one point Monday, Stefanowski challenged Lamont’s attempts to try to tie him to Trump, including the Democratic nominee’s claim that patients with pre-existing medical conditions would be in danger of being dropped by their insurance carriers or denied coverage if Stefanowski was governor.
Stefanowski said that he supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions and that they are codified in Connecticut law.
“You may not know it because I’m not sure what you know,” said Stefanowski, a former UBS Investment Bank and payday lending company executive.
The audience of mostly real estate agents — the Connecticut Realtors sponsored the debate — murmured its disapproval.
Lori Pelletier, the president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, which has endorsed Lamont, tweeted that Stefanowski was “acting like a punk.”
But Stefanowski wasn’t done and recalled Lamont’s 2006 defeat by Joe Lieberman for senate.
“I wish you had won your senate run. You would have been perfect,” Stefanowski said, inferring that Lamont could have been part of the Trump resistance in Washington.
Liz Kurantowicz, a former chief of staff for the Connecticut GOP and political consultant from Fairfield, said Stefanowski wasn’t being disrespectful.
“I didn’t think any of it was over-thetop personal attacks,” Kurantowicz said. “I thought it substantive and policydriven.”
Kurantowicz said Stefanowski’s plainspoken candor was refreshing.
“One thing the Trump era of politics has delivered is a desire for authenticity,” Kurantowicz said.
After the first gubernatorial debate last week, state GOP Chairman J.R. Romano said it was the Lamont supporters who were behind the aggression outside the Garde Arts Center in New London.
“They wanted to fight,’’ said Romano, who demanded an apology from labor union members supporting Lamont. “It was way over the top. They wanted to intimidate and bully.”
Occhiogrosso said Stefanowski was the one continuing the negative tone during Monday’s second debate.
“I think he came across as arrogant and condescending, not surprising for someone who has the professional background that he has, which mostly involves ordering people around, laying people off and ripping people off,” Occhiogrosso said.
Lamont took a few personal shots at Stefanowski during the televised debate and accused his rival of belittling small business owners — like Lamont said he once was before the boom of his telecommunications business.
“Bob knows nothing about small business,” Lamont said. “He knows nothing about the world we live in.’
Lamont similarly drew a rebuke from the audience during his closing remarks, when he attempted to make a not-sosubtle comparison between Stefanowski’s corporate style and that of the Democrat who defeated Lamont in the 2010 Democratic primary — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
“I’ve never heard such arrogance. My way or the highway,” Lamont said to groans.
There are three more debates between Lamont and Stefanowski — Sept. 26, Oct. 18 and Oct. 30. The final debate is sponsored by The Courant, WTNH and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.