Former federal prosecutor jumps into 2018 race for Connecticut governor

Chris Mattei Chris Mattei Photo: Digital First Media Photo: Digital First Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Former federal prosecutor jumps into 2018 race for Connecticut governor 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD >> He knows how to get the attention of jurors, but will the former federal prosecutor who put former Gov. John G. Rowland in jail a second time be able to convince Democrats to support his gubernatorial bid?

Chris Mattei, a 38-year-old Hartford attorney, who is now in private practice with Koskoff, Koskoff, & Beider, believes he’s the right Democrat for the job. He’s never held elected office and is describing himself as an outsider to the political process.

Mattei is the second Democratic gubernatorial candidate to announce he’s interested in the seat following Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s decision not to seek a third term. Jonathan Harris, the former Consumer Protection commissioner and West Hartford mayor, spent part of his day Tuesday calling reporters to announce he would be filing an exploratory committee today.

The announcement was much more casual and low-key than the email and maiden campaign video Mattei emailed to his supporters Wednesday morning.

In his maiden video, Mattei, who is not well-known to political insiders, seeks to strike a populist message.

“We’ve arrived at a troubled time. It seems as the values that I grew up with and that so many of us share are being put to the test everyday,” Mattei says in the video that is overlaid with soft piano music. “Values of fairness and decency. Tolerance and the rule of law.”

Click here to view full story at CTnewsjunkie.com