Farmington’s Daly removes name from state Senate race

Democratic town committee chairman backing Slap in 5th District

Farmington Democratic town committee Chairman Michael Daly is no longer seeking the Democratic nomination for the vacant 5th Senate seat, he said Tuesday morning.

Daly said he is “confident Derek (Slap) will make a fine senator and will represent the entire district with distinction.”

The seat is vacant after West Hartford’s Beth Bye, who won reelection in November, was tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont to lead the Office of Early Childhood. An election is scheduled for Feb. 26, and conventions will take place this week. Republicans met Wednesday night, and Democrats will meet Saturday.

Daly, 61, said he grew up in Hartford and graduated from Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, as well as Trinity College. He practices law with Furey, Donovan, Tracy & Daly P.C. in Bristol,

focusing on criminal and person injury casework. Daly has lived in Farmington for 26 years and has been actively involved in politics in the state, though he has not held an elected position before.

State Rep. Derek Slap, D-West Hartford, is seeking the party’s endorsement at Saturday’s convention, as well as West Hartford Deputy Mayor Beth Kerrigan; Janée WoodsWeber, an attorney from West Hartford, who is the director of organizational culture at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Foundation; and registered Democrat and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Mark Greenstein, of West Hartford.

“The support I was getting from the voters in the district was incredible and humbling,” Daly said. “But the delegate count coming from a smaller district favored Derek and all along I’ve been a fan of Derek’s. He’ll do an excellent job; he’ll be a great senator and represent the entire district with distinction.”

“The delegate count coming from a smaller district favored Derek (Slap), and all along I’ve been a fan of Derek’s.” — Michael Daly, left