CT Politics: Gov. candidate wants to legalize recreational pot; says he never tried it

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew Middletown Mayor Dan Drew Photo: Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo: Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media File Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close CT Politics: Gov. candidate wants to legalize recreational pot; says he never tried it 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

There is no Cheech and Chong moment for Dan Drew.

Not even a Bill Clinton, “I ... didn’t inhale.”

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate said he’s never tried marijuana, but supports legalizing recreational pot in Connecticut and will appear at a Nov. 28 Yale gubernatorial debate sponsored by the state chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The only other notable gubernatorial hopeful to commit to the event, which is also being organized by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, is Connecticut’s former Consumer Protection Commissioner, Jonathan Harris.

“Nobody believes me when I say this, but I have never smoked marijuana,” Drew told Hearst Connecticut Media. “I have never used cannabis in any form.”

The mayor of Middletown, home to Wesleyan University, which is consistently ranked as one of the most liberal campuses in the country, Drew said legalizing recreational marijuana would raise up to $250 million in annual revenue for the cash-strapped state and shift the focus onto opioid abuse.

“We treat marijuana in this country with more severity than we treat opioid narcotics, which are killing people every single day,” Drew said.

Everything but the kitchen sink

Mark Boughton has lost another running mate to the competition — but it’s not Heather Somers, who unceremoniously bailed on the Danbury mayor during the 2014 governor’s race.

Boughton’s ex-wife, Phyllis Boughton, gave $100 Sept. 30 to Boughton’s potential rival for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Tim Herbst.

It’s been 20 months since the mayor’s longtime spouse, who owns a kitchen and bath remodeling business, filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

The mayor, who is exploring his third run for governor in 2018, downplayed the significance of her giving to Herbst.

“Listen, I know Tim purchased a number of kitchens from Connecticut Kitchen & Bath,” Boughton said.

Boughton estimated that Herbst and his parents spent between $30,000 and $35,000 having their kitchens remodeled by his ex-wife’s business.

“It’s probably smart business for her to donate,” Boughton said. “It’s a business decision on her part and she’s free to donate to whoever she wants.”

Bookmarks

There is no seven-second delay in Rosa DeLauro’s world.

Nope, the elder stateswoman of Connecticut’s congressional delegation is the first to admit her proclivity for four-letter words.

“I compete with Rahm Emanuel on the use of the F-word,” DeLauro writes in her book released earlier this year, “The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the Vulnerable.” “(He trails me because I am older than he is.) You could say that I swear because I care, or because I’m passionate about good policy, or because a colorful vocabulary helps one command attention in a town that is still getting used to strong women.”

The daughter of an Italian immigrant and garment worker who worked in a New Haven sweatshop, both of whom went on to serve on the Board of Aldermen, DeLauro opens up about her upbringing and liberal ideology in the 276-page memoir. She’s traveled to Chicago, Denver, Miami and the West Coast to promote the book, the proceeds from which will go to the Connecticut Food Bank and the Clifford Beers Clinic.

“The book lays out the battles that I have fought over the years and won some of them and lost some of them to strengthen the social safety net,” DeLauro said.

DeLauro said her advocacy for preserving food stamps, free school lunches, the earned income and child tax credits are particularly salient with Republicans controlling Congress and Donald Trump in the White House.

“It’s about standing up and fighting back as well,” said DeLauro, a 27-year incumbent who is known for her hipster wardrobe.

If you’re looking for a more nonpartisan reading material on Cyber Monday, Sacred Heart University’s resident political guru, Gary Rose, is also out with a new book, “Haywire: A Chronology of the 2016 Presidential Contest.”

Rose, chairman of the Department of Government, Politics and Global Studies at SHU, is also doing a book tour. But he’s not dwelling too much on the past.

“I’m doing a first year assessment of the Trump presidency,” Rose said. “Now I’m talking about governing.”

Putting the visible in Indivisible

From Greenwich to Fairfield and from Trumbull to Ridgefield, the anti-Trump group known as Indivisible contributed to the Democratic surge in this month’s municipal elections.

Now, the group is engaging U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, a centrist group of lawmakers.

Himes is scheduled to speak to Indivisible Connecticut District 4, the Fairfield County arm of the organization, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Unitarian Church of Westport and hold a question-and-answer session. More than 200 people have signed up for the event, organizers say.

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