Maybe the Wizard Can Win the GOP Primary

I talked with Oz Griebel last week, trying to find out which of the candidates for governor planned to show up at this year's Crocodile Club.
Oz was the only one I spoke with who really knew what it was, though he'd never been to it.
For the record, Democrat Dan Malloy seemed to have heard of it (his running mate Nancy Wymany LOVES it) and Republican Tom Foley said he'd like to learn more. Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Mike Fedele did not respond to my queries at all.
Anyway, back to Oz. He thought the Croc might be a great place to get ideas, which I thought was a wonderful attitude and indicative of his approach.
During our conversation, he also told me he's confident about the primary, which is Tuesday, August 10.
He said he thought he did well in the most recent debate, that Foley's numbers were dropping and Foley and Fedele were busy beating up on each other.
Oz told me he believed he could win it. I wished him well. It would be so cool to have a governor named Oz, don't you think?
Remember, the Crocodile Club is Tuesday, August 31 at Lake Compounce. Don't miss it!

Malloy Stops in Bristol

Dan Malloy, who hopes to win the primary Tuesday and be the Democratic candidate for governor in the fall, spent a little time in the Mum City Wednesday.
The former longtime mayor of Stamford rolled in to the ShopRite plaza on Route 6 with a small entourage that included his running mate, state Comptroller Nancy Wyman.
Malloy, who seemed to be full of energy, told me it was his fifth community of the day. He bounded into storefront after storefront, sticking out his hand and introducing himself.
All I could think was that this kind of campaigning must get pretty old, but Malloy, who is working to defeat opponent Ned Lamont on Tuesday, seemed to relish it.
He talked to shoppers and diners, approaching most of them on his own. Others came up to him to talk.
The guy on Lamont's payroll who follows Malloy around was there with his recording equipment. That's something relatively new to campaigns and I can't say I like it much.
This is at least three visits to Bristol by Malloy that I know of this year, not counting any Democratic Town Committee meetings they may have attended.
As far as I know, Lamont hasn't been in Bristol since he spoke to the chamber in February. Maybe he'll stop by before Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Takes a Pro-Rail Stand

Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele jumped on the pro-rail train, along with Dan Malloy and Ned Lamont. Wonder who will be next to see that taking a good look at the wisdom of spending almost half a billion dollars on a nine mile road between New Britain and Hartford is a good use of all those clams.
I wrote about what Fedele had to say about the rail and other things at this morning's chamber of commerce coffee chat. You can read all about it in The Bristol Press on Friday (www.bristolpress.com).
Steve Collins, who gets more comments than I do, not that I'm jealous of The Bristol Blog, wrote about Malloy. I wrote about Lamont's stand last week.
Momentum for rail is growing, which can only be good for Bristol and, dare I say, it the future of our state.

More Politicians

Yesterday I caught Ned Lamont at the chamber's coffee chat and today it's John Larson at the senior center at 11:30.

Ned said he'd hit the pause button on the busway if elected, among other things. See my story in today's Bristol Press (http://www.bristolpress.com/) for details.

I don't know what John's going to say. It's supposed to be a listening tour, so maybe he won't say much. I'll let you know.

Let it Snow... Foley is Staying in Greenwich

If anyone was thinking of coming to the chamber in the morning to have coffee with Tom Foley, one of the Republicans who wants to be our next governor, you'll have to wait a week.

Mike Nicastro, the chamber president, wisely checked the radar and decided to postpone Foley's informal coffee chat for a week, given the expectation that we're getting a decent sized snowstorm starting late tonight.

Look for Foley at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 17 on the Bristol Campus of Tunxis Community College -- the chamber will be full that morning, so Tunxis is opening its doors. That's in the North Side Square plaza near SuperNatural.

The next morning, Thursday, Feb. 18, Democrat Ned Lamont is scheduled at the chamber at 8 a.m. for his informal coffee chat.

That's two mornings of free coffee next week! You don't have to register or be a chamber member to attend. But you have to show up to get the coffee.

Guess Who's Coming to Coffee?

Mike Nicastro, president of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, tells me he has three more "coffee chats" with potential future governors lined up. The last one with Dan Malloy was kind of fun, so I'm looking forward to the others. Of course, it's the chamber, so it's at the crack of dawn:

Wednesday, February 10th @ 8AM – Tom Foley

Thursday, February 18th @ 8 AM – Ned Lamont

Thursday, February 25th @ 8AM – Lt. Governor Mike Fidele.

In case you can't tell one from the other, and who could blame you? -- it's Ned on the left, Mike in the middle and Tom on the right.

Mike Nicastro promises more to come, so stay tuned!