Wyman will not run for governor

Democrats will have to go to their bench in Connecticut, with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman becoming the party’s latest standard bearer to be daunted by following Dannel P. Malloy at the top of the ticket.

Wyman’s decision Thursday not to run for governor ends months of speculation about the political future of the 71-year-old Democrat, who is held in high esteem on both sides of the aisle, but whose political brand is intertwined with that of unpopular incumbent Malloy.

It opens up a lane for fellow Democrats to enter the fray, possibly including former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

At the same time, Wyman becomes the fourth major Democrat to sit the race out after Malloy, state Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., and Wyman’s successor as comptroller, Kevin Lembo.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, of Tolland. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, of Tolland. Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo. Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo. Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Wyman will not run for governor 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

Wyman cited spending more time with her family as her reason for stepping aside, saying Malloy wasn’t a factor in her decision during a news conference in Hartford.

“It had nothing to do with Dan Malloy. My decision was my decision,” Wyman said. “I went back and forth, back and forth, a long time, but this last weekend I realized that my granddaughter who went off to college, asked in October would I come up some time and have dinner, and it has taken me four weeks to do it because of my schedule. I’m getting out of it for the same reason: my grandchildren.”

Start with a bang

The day of Wyman’s big reveal got off to an inauspicious start, as a car crashed into a SUV in which the lieutenant governor was riding in Vernon on Thursday morning.

There were no injuries. The driver of the other car was cited for failure to grant right of way.

A fixture at the Capitol for the past 30 years, first as a state representative from Tolland and then as state comptroller, Wyman teamed up with Malloy as his running mate in 2010. They won by less than 6,500 votes, becoming the first Democrats in nearly two decades to hold the state’s two top offices. In 2014, they won a second term.

But the pair has grappled with one crisis after another, from multibillion-dollar budget deficits to the worst grade school shooting in U.S. history in 2012 in Newtown. There have been hurricanes and headquarters fleeing the state — General Electric, Aetna and Alexion.

It has taken a toll on Malloy’s approval ratings, which are the worst of any Democratic governor in the nation. The governor said Thursday that in recent days he became aware of Wyman’s growing resolve not to run.

“She’s a great friend and a wonderful public servant and I know she had her own internal debate about this,” Malloy told reporters. “She’s been in the Capitol I think since 1980, but ultimately I think she decided to spend more time with her husband and grandchildren. I think she would have been a spectacular candidate for governor, but people get to make their own personal decisions.”

John Olsen, a former state Democratic chairman and past president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said Wyman has been an asset to Malloy.

“I always felt that she wasn’t someone that was looking to blindside someone else,” Olsen said. “She’s liked and respected by Republicans. I think that was helpful in the last couple of budgets. Look, the governor, he’s a little edgy like me. I thought she complemented the governor quite well.”

Malloy, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association until the end of the year, declined to make an endorsement or even handicap the field of candidates.

“This is unlike any election Connecticut has ever seen before,” Malloy said, predicting that national interest in the state race will continue next year.

“The reality is, we have a long ways to go on both the Democratic and Republican side,” Malloy said. “This has a long, long way to go.”

‘10,000 doors’

The state’s top Republican said Thursday that Wyman saw the writing on the wall, much like the current comptroller Lembo, who explored a run for governor but ultimately decided to pass on the race.

“Nancy was kind of their last hope,” said J.R. Romano, chairman of the state GOP. “Similar to Kevin Lembo, I think they can see how the public has recognized their failures as a party leading the state. The likelihood of a Democratic victory is slim which is why the field is so weak.”

Proud of her Brooklyn, N.Y., roots — she still has the accent — Wyman holds the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate. This summer, she used it to push a controversial state employee union concessions package through the Legislature on a party line vote. The deal is expected to save the state $1.5 billion over the next two fiscal years, but was uniformly criticized by Republicans for its no-layoff guarantee for the next four years.

“I would stand by Dan Malloy again,” Wyman said. “I do believe in the future, people are going to look back and say ‘You know what? He’s done some very, very good things for our state.’ It might take a little while for people to realize it.”

Those potentially seeking to become Wyman’s heir apparent about tried to avoid coming across as over-eager, just as Democrats waited seven months for her to make a decision without making plans of their own.

“Today is about Nancy,” said Tong, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee. “Nancy is one of the most hardworking and committed public servants I’ve ever met. I think that she’s given most of her adult life to the service of our state, and my family and I are grateful.”

Tong, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and is widely believed to have aspirations for higher office, declined to comment about his next move.

Bysiewicz, who served three terms as the state’s top election official ending in 2010, thanked Wyman for her service in a statement Thursday. The Middletown politician is exploring a run for state Senate, but has said some Democrats are trying to draft her to run for governor.

“While I am still being encouraged by many voters throughout our state to consider exploring a run for Governor, I remain focused on exploring a run for the 13th state Senate district,” Bysiewicz said. “The support I have received from knocking on over 10,000 doors within the district has been overwhelming.”

A request for comment was left Thursday for Hartford’s mayor, Bronin, whose city averted bankruptcy with a bailout from the state.

State Democratic Chairman Nick Balletto called Wyman, who oversaw the rollout of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act, the ultimate fighter.

“She is a tireless advocate for the working people of Connecticut,” Balletto said. “She understands that our party and our state are stronger when we lay out a clear agenda to ensure that people can find a job and earn a fair wage while protecting the rights of our partners in the labor movement.”

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