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Two more Democrats - former federal prosecutor Chris Mattei and former West Hartford Mayor Jonathan Harris are formally exploring runs for governor in 2018, joining an increasingly crowded field of potential candidates from both sides of the aisle.

Less than a week after Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared he will not seek a third term, Mattei and Harris announced their intention to file paperwork with state elections officials to create exploratory committees. They joined Democratic Mayor Dan Drew of Middletown, who began his exploratory campaign in January, and Jacey Wyatt of Branford.

In a nearly three minute video posted on YouTube, Mattei outlined his reasons for running. "We've arrived at a troubled time,'' he said. "It seems that the values that I grew up with and that so many of us share are being put to the test every day."

A Windsor native who was the former chief of the financial fraud and public corruption unit for the U.S. Attorney's office, Mattei is best known as the prosecutor who won a conviction against former Gov. John G. Rowland, who is currently serving time in federal prison. Mattei, who lives in Hartford's West End, is an outsider to electoral politics, at least compared with some of his potential rivals who have served as mayors or legislators.

Joe Visconti of West Hartford, who ran twice as a Republican, also filed papers on Wednesday for a 2018 governor's run. He said he plans to bypass the state party convention and go straight to a primary, which requires collecting 8,500 Republican signatures. His move would be a repeat of 2014 when he garnered enough signatures to run against Malloy and Greenwich business executive Tom Foley.

In his video, Mattei, 38, makes a play for Democrats who are newly energized by the election of President Donald Trump. "This is a time for citizenship,'' he said. "What I believe is that if we are to resist what's happening in Washington, that work starts right here at home."

In another move prompted by Malloy's announcement, Harris stepped down as commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection earlier this week in a move that frees him up to raise money for a campaign. The Democrat, who served as state senator and state representative in addition to mayor, said Tuesday that he is considering a gubernatorial bid.

"I'll be filing an exploratory committee for statewide office with the goal of running for governor,'' Harris said.

While he plans his political future, Harris will be working as a lawyer at Feiner Wolfson LLC, a Hartford law firm.

But Harris reiterated his intention to sit out the 2018 governor's race if Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman runs. Wyman, who turns 71 on Friday, has not publicly announced her plans yet.

Although Wyman has remained silent on her future plans, Capitol insiders say they doubt that Harris would have quit his high-paying, secure state job if Wyman was going to jump into the race.

On Wednesday, Wyman declined to comment to The Courant.

State Sen. Ted Kennedy said he had not made any final decisions about running for the open seat either, but is leaving the possibility open.

"I'm thinking about it,'' Kennedy told The Courant.

Even before Malloy announced his decision, more than a half dozen Republicans had expressed interest in a gubernatorial run. The list of declared candidates includes Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, U.S. Army veteran Micah Welintukonis of Coventry and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan of Glastonbury. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, attorney Peter Lumaj, and Fairfield County business executive Steve Obsitnik are among the candidates who have formed exploratory committees for a possible gubernatorial campaign.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz of Berlin, who is not running for governor, said he hopes the governor's race will have no impact on the General Assembly as lawmakers wrestle with important bills before the legislative session wraps up June 7.

"In all sincerity, hopefully none,'' Aresimowicz said when asked Wednesday by The Courant. "This is not a time when we can put our political ambitions ahead of what we need to do for the state of Connecticut. ... It's going to require anyone who is interested in a future office to play it straight, to come to the table, be honest, and not come in, drop a bomb and then go out and do a press conference. I pledge not to do that. I pledge to stay at the table around the clock for however long it takes.''

He added, "We can't do it if people are playing political games.''

Originally posted here:
Two More Democrats and a Republican Interested in Running for Governor - Hartford Courant