The Testo’s truce: Lamont, Ganim meet
If Democrat Ned Lamont wants to be governor, he needs votes in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city.
That means Lamont needs the strong support of its mayor, Joe Ganim.
And since Lamont needs Ganim, he also needs backing from hizzoner’s close friend, Democratic Town Chairman Mario Testa.
So on Wednesday, hours after defeating Ganim in their party’s gubernatorial primary, Lamont and some allies headed to Testa’s restaurant, Testo’s, to make peace with the local party chairman and with the mayor.
Democrats have scheduled a so-called post-primary unity rally Saturday morning in Hartford. But the important work to ensure that unity is not just superficial started at the Bridgeport gathering.
Joining Lamont, Ganim and Testa were, sources said, Marc Bradley, Lamont’s campaign manager, outgoing Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and retiring Attorney General George Jepsen.
“My understanding is the feeling’s genuine on both sides,” said one source familiar with the gathering, who wished to remain anonymous. “The Lamont camp really does want to reach out to everybody who supported Joe and they need all hands on deck to win this election.
“And I think the feeling from Joe and the Joe camp is, ‘We had a tough primary, it’s over, and Bridgeport is going to play an important part in putting together that coalition to put Ned over the top,’ ” the source said. “Joe’s all in.”
Ganim could not be reached for comment Friday, and it was unclear if he would attend the rally in Hartford Saturday. He has had a low-key public schedule the end of this week, attending a back-to-school event and an awards ceremony for the fire chief.
Jepsen, an early supporter of Lamont, confirmed that Wednesday’s meeting was positive: “There wasn’t an ounce of tension.”
Thick skins
Some might find that a little hard to believe, given what transpired during the primary. Ganim, the underdog because of the corruption conviction that ended his first administration in 2003, continually attacked Lamont as an inexperienced, out-of-touch Greenwich millionaire who cannot woo the urban voters Democrats need to win statewide races.
And while Lamont for the most part tried to ignore his primary opponent, during their final debate on Aug. 7, he jabbed at the “culture of corruption” in City Hall during Ganim’s first tenure as mayor — Ganim was re-elected in 2015. And Lamont at that same face-off, when asked if he would endorse Bridgeport’s mayor were Ganim to win the primary, answered “probably not.”
Ganim is used to attacks on his criminal record. But Lamont’s refusal to support him seemed to sting. The mayor responded at that time: “If he loses, Ned Lamont would rather go back to his mansion with eight bathrooms in Greenwich and allow a Trump Republican to become governor than support a Democrat for governor. Democratic voters now know Ned Lamont supports just himself, not Democratic values or principles.”
Testa still seemed to be smarting from Lamont’s comment in a brief interview with Hearst Connecticut Media late Tuesday night, after Ganim had conceded. Asked about support complained, ing Lamont, Testa emphasized, “I’m a very loyal Democrat.”
But, according to Jepsen, nearly 24 hours later on Wednesday, “Joe and Mario very graciously from the onset of the conversation offered their full support any way they can be helpful. They didn’t ask for anything.”
While Ganim and Testa enjoy leverage as leaders of Bridgeport’s Democrats, that leverage only goes so far, considering Tuesday’s primary results. Lamont received 81.19 percent of the statewide vote to Ganim’s 18.81 percent.
Still, Jepsen maintained that Ganim is a needed ally, and not just to get a strong general election turnout in Bridgeport.
“I think also Joe’s secondchance message resonated in some urban areas, especially,” Jepsen said, referring to the mayor’s efforts to turn his conviction into a positive personal story to win support from inner-city voters in particular.
A new beginning?
Although Jepsen maintained neither Ganim nor Testa asked for something in exchange for their backing, Testa on Tuesday night “Everybody needs Bridgeport but Bridgeport never gets anything in return.”
But Bridgeport has also had a rocky relationship with the retiring governor, Democrat Dannel P. Malloy.
Malloy, during his eight years, has invested in Connecticut’s largest city. But there are constant grumblings from local officials that state government pays more attention to the capital, Hartford, and to Stamford, where Malloy served as mayor.
Bridgeport’s relationship with Malloy was off to a rocky start when city Democrats, including then-Mayor Bill Finch, backed Lamont over Malloy in the pair’s
2010 gubernatorial primary. Malloy won the primary and general election and he and Finch eventually were able to work together. And then Bridgeport voters in the
2015 mayoral primary decided they preferred Ganim over Finch.
The governor, in a television interview ahead of that year’s general election, said were he a Bridgeport resident, he “probably” would not vote for Ganim. Ganim won anyway, and he and Malloy had to learn to work together.