Hartford mayor leaves void in governor’s race

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin Photo: Patrick Raycraft / Associated Press Photo: Patrick Raycraft / Associated Press Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Hartford mayor leaves void in governor’s race 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Lackluster fundraising and a budding controversy over aid for his near-bankrupt city apparently discouraged Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s exploratory candidacy for governor.

Bronin, 38, pulled the plug on the possible next phase of his political career Monday, vowing to now focus his energy at home.

The withdrawal leaves Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim as the remaining big-city mayor in the race for the party’s gubernatorial nomination, and likely boosts the candidacies of other experienced party hopefuls, including Ned Lamont of Greenwich, Susan Bysiewicz of Middletown and Jonathan Harris of West Hartford.

“As I’ve considered the road ahead, I’ve kept my commitment to Hartford at the forefront of my mind,” Bronin said in a Monday afternoon statement. “After thinking hard and wrestling with this decision, I have decided to end my exploratory committee and stay focused on my work as mayor.”

Ron Schurin, a professor of politics at UConn, said Bronin’s departure was inevitable. The exploratory campaign never gained traction, and flew in the face of Bronin’s 2015 pledge to serve the entire four-year mayoral term.

“He was hampered from the beginning by that pledge to serve out his term and didn’t seem to light any fire on the campaign trail,” Schurin said in a phone interview. “I didn’t hear a whole lot of buzz for him. He is a big-city mayor and still has the image of being the Fairfeld County guy.”

Born in Port Chester, N.Y., Bronin grew up across the Byram River in Greenwich. Schurin thinks that much of his regional support could migrate to Lamont, the upstart Democrat who defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Senate primary.

“The other side of that is that Luke was perceived as someone very close to Gov. Malloy, so where would Malloy loyalists go?” Schurin said. “It might be someone like Jonathan Harris.”

Other Democrats in the race praised Bronin and his decision.

“He’s a very smart guy with a bright political future and he has shown a light on the problems facing Hartford,” Lamont said in a phone interview. “He said, rightly, that we need to remember the cities.”

“Keeping Hartford on a productive course forward, in the short-term and long-term, will be pivotal if we are to achieve real, practical solutions on the tough choices that the city, the region, and the state will face in the years ahead,” said Harris, a former mayor of West Hartford who also served in the state Senate and was commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection.

“He has a big job ahead and he is a person of great intelligence and talent and I’m glad that he will be focusing his efforts on improving the city,” said Bysiewicz, a former state lawmaker and secretary of the state.

“I admire the voice that Luke Bronin brought and continues to bring to the plight of our cities,” Ganim said. “We don’t agree on everything, but he is a megaphone for the structural change we need.”

Bronin’s exploratory bid raised $229,000, according to the latest filings with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. That’s short of the $250,000 needed for the public financing program, and many contributions exceeded the $100 maximum, so could not have been included in the qualifying totals.

Bronin’s departure comes just weeks after details of a massive Hartford aid package emerged in the state budget that would pay off the city’s $550 million in general obligation debt over the next two decades, with the total potentially exceeding $750 million.

A former chief legal counsel for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Bronin, was also seen as very close to the governor, a proximity that might have been a liability in a general election.

The Republican Governor’s Association was quick to pounce Monday after the announcement.

“As committed supporters of Malloy and his anti-jobs agenda, Ned Lamont, Susan Bysiewicz, and Jonathan Harris all make compelling cases to become Malloy’s standard bearer,” the RGA said in a statement.

Nick Balletto, Democratic state chairman said he respected Bronin’s exploration, as well as his progressive voice.

“As mayor of Hartford, Luke has a bright future in shaping the direction of the party and I have no doubt that he will continue to use his voice and his office to fight for Democratic values like gun violence prevention and bringing new jobs to the state,” Balletto said.

Members of the General Assembly in recent weeks have reacted negatively to the Hartford aid package that was included in last fall’s budget agreement.

“As legislators and others threaten to undo that work, I want to be able to make the case for maintaining that new partnership without regard for politics,” Bronin said. “I don’t want anyone to undermine our city as a way of getting at me, and I cannot let Hartford’s future become the casualty of a political fight.”