Woodbridge Dem eyes Merrill’s seat

Secretary of the state not sure on re-election bid

The Democratic town chairwoman in Woodbridge has declared her candidacy to seek her party’s nomination for secretary of the state.

Karen Talamelli Cusick on Friday, in a statement, said she decided to skip “the exploratory stage for the post and go full steam ahead as an officially declared candidate.”

Denise Merrill, who is in her seond term as secretary of the state, has not made her future plans known, but Friday night said she was “strongly leaning toward running” and will make an announcement fairly soon.

Cusick is finance director for Project Service LLC, which owns and operates the 23 Connecticut Service Plazas along Intersate 95, the Merritt Parkway and Interstate 395. Prior to this, she was president of Cusick & Company LLC, a financial, administrative and governmental advisory services firm.

As secretary of the state, Cusick said she wants to foster an environment in which businesses and entrepreneurs can thrive. She also said Connecticut needs to update and streamline its elections system.

“At this critical point in time, I will ensure that we preserve access to the ballot which so many have fought hard for years to protect and expand,” Cusick said.

Merrill, who has served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of States, said access to voting has never been stronger in Connecticut than it is today, but it is important to remain vigilant.

One other potential candidate for the office is state Rep. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, a five-term legislator who has formed an exploratory committee to possibly seek the nomination. He has said, however, that he will not run if Merrill seeks a third term.

Lesser has said he wants to tap into the energy that has been generated among voters since President Donald Trump was elected in November.

“You see new groups springing up, folks that are trying to mobilize, trying to get active that may not have paid attention to politics before this year. I think a lot of that comes from the election — not necessarily exclusively, but I think they’re really focused on where their state and their country is going,” Lesser said in April when he first indicated his interest in the statewide position.

Lesser wants the state to join 38 other states in allowing early voting and led legislation to change the Electoral College process.

He wants Connecticut electors allocated to whoever wins the national popular vote, which would kick in only when half the states agree to do that.

This year Merrill was disappointed that early voting in Connecticut failed to get through both chambers.

“I want to be clear that I will reintroduce early voting next year and continue fighting for it in the future. With more than one-third of Americans casting a ballot early in 2016, the citizens of Connecticut have every right to expect this service. The proposal enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and I believe it had the votes to pass in the Senate this year. And I look forward to even more support in 2018,” Merrill said.

She is also resisting complying with a request from Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, for voter data she feels is “overly broad and required the sharing of Connecticut residents’ personally identifiable information for the vague purpose of ‘analyzing vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting.’”

Merrill said Kobach’s “request fails to outline any legal authority of the Commission and lacks the detailed assurances necessary regarding how to safeguard the personally identifiable information you are attempting to obtain.”