Malloy To Get Perez Nod

Delegate Selection Approaching

March 20, 2006
By MARK PAZNIOKAS, Courant Staff Writer

Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez intends to endorse Dannel P. Malloy for governor today, giving Malloy a major ally among the third-largest bloc of delegates to the Democratic convention, political sources said Sunday.

Malloy and John DeStefano Jr., rivals for the Democratic nomination, each are staging events today to generate buzz as the campaign approaches a milestone: the selection of delegates.

DeStefano, the New Haven mayor who has been running for governor for two years, will officially declare his candidacy today in New Haven and Hartford.

Malloy, the mayor of Stamford, will counter with a press conference at Hartford city hall with Perez, who believes he can deliver a majority of the city's 54 delegates to Malloy.

Tuesday opens a seven-day period in which Democrats will select 1,607 delegates to the state convention, which convenes exactly two months from today in Hartford to endorse a statewide ticket.

Winning the convention endorsement will be only the penultimate step on the path to the Democratic nomination. Each man is expected to easily win 15 percent of the convention vote and qualify for an Aug. 8 primary.

The winner will face Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, whose approval rating has not dropped below 70 percent since she became governor upon the resignation of John G. Rowland in July 2004.

"We think the convention is wide open," said Chris Cooney, the manager of Malloy's campaign.

"We think the big cities are going to be pretty evenly split," said Derek Slap, a DeStefano spokesman. "This is an important week."

Nearly 30 percent of the delegates will come from just 10 cities and large suburbs. DeStefano's hometown of New Haven will send 69 delegates to the convention, Bridgeport 61, Hartford 54, Stamford 50, and Waterbury 41.

West Hartford, Norwalk, Hamden, New Britain and West Haven round out the top 10, each with between 39 and 30 delegates.

Hartford's town committee will choose its delegates Tuesday in what could be a contentious meeting. While Perez will be with Malloy, DeStefano has the backing of four state representatives from Hartford: Art Feltman, Minnie Gonzalez, Marie Kirkley-Bey and Douglas McCrory.

Perez, who has tried to maintain cordial relations with both Malloy and DeStefano, informed DeStefano of his decision to endorse Malloy in a telephone call Sunday.

The Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus had endorsed Malloy.

The endorsement today by Perez is likely to increase speculation in Hartford that Malloy is considering Perez as his running mate. But one Perez ally said Sunday that no offer has been made.

It was unclear if the prospect of taking on the powerless position of lieutenant governor would appeal to Perez, who is simultaneously serving as an activist mayor and chairman of the city board of education.

DeStefano will be joined in Hartford today by Lt. Gov. Kevin B. Sullivan, whose endorsement of DeStefano weeks ago is expected to help the New Haven mayor win a substantial portion of the delegates in Sullivan's hometown of West Hartford, where Malloy also has significant support.

The DeStefano campaign also said Sunday it has the endorsement of U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District.