It's hard to believe there are only 18 days until the 2007 elections! In every municipality, parties are working overtime to get their members elected to office. And to think that this time last year the heated race for Governor was in full-swing!

The 2006 Gubernatorial election grabbed headlines and grabbed constituents' attention. The Democratic Primary pitted New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, with West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka as his Lt. Governor, against Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, with former counsel for the Senate Democrats, Mary Glassman, as his Lt. Governor. The Democratic Party was faced with an interesting arrangement when DeStefano narrowly defeated Malloy for the gubernatorial nomination, but DeStefano's running mate, Slifka, lost to Glassman for the Lt. Governor's position! Ultimately, this new mix-matched ticket was no match for incumbent Governor Jodi Rell, who won by an impressive margin.

While the frenzy over the Democratic candidates died down after the election, the former candidates still continued to forge ahead with their political careers. Just one year after the gubernatorial election, they are all back in the ring again vying for municipal posts.

Mayor Dan Malloy is running for re-election in Stamford, where he is slated to win. Malloy has been Mayor since 1995 and a win in this election could set him up for another run for Governor in 2010. It has been rumored that Governor Rell will not run for re- election in 2010, which would open up the field for other potential candidates as well such as Lt. Governor Mike Fedele, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, or Congressman Chris Shays.

It looks like Mayor John DeStefano will have no problem being elected to his eighth term as he's currently running unopposed! A highly anticipated primary with challenger James Newton fell flat after Newton failed to gain the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the primary. DeStefano has kept his intentions for the 2010 race close to the vest. Like his other Democratic counterparts, he may be waiting to gauge the effect of outcome of the presidential elections, or to see what challengers may emerge.

Mary Glassman is returning to her roots with another bid for Town Selectman of Simsbury, a post she previously held from 1991 to 1999. Besides running for office, she is the Director of Legislative Affairs for Connecticut Voices for Children, an organization committed to advocating for Connecticut's children and young families.

West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka is running for re- election this year in a town that utilizes an "at large" method. Slifka must earn the greatest number of votes of all the candidates running for Town Council in order to be Mayor. There is not a separate "Mayor" category on the ballot. Slifka is well respected in West Hartford and is predicted to be re-elected.

In our next newsletter, we'll do one last update on Connecticut's municipal races before the big day, Tuesday, November 6!

On October 10, Governor Rell signed into law Public Act 07-1 (SB 1600) AAC Clean Contracting Standards. The bill is the result of a compromise between the Governor and the legislature, who had been negotiating for almost a year. The effective date of PA 07-1 is January 1, 2009.

The key provisions of the bill include:

• establishment of 14-member contracting standards board (Governor appoints eight members and the legislature appoints six)
• the board will hire a Chief Procurement Officer to establish a training program for all agency personnel who do procurement and to ensure uniform procurement practices throughout state government
• the board will work to establish a uniform procurement code
• the board will audit state agencies triennially to ensure compliance with procurement policies
• the board may recommend termination of an existing contract for cause
• the board shall review all new proposed privatization contracts to ensure that the state saves money without jeopardizing the quality of services. State agencies must prepare and submit to the board a cost-benefit analysis as well as a business case prior to board review. Unless there is a significant public policy reason to do so, the board shall not approve a privatization contract that does not achieve at least 10% cost savings
• core governmental functions may not be privatized
• the board may disqualify contractors for cause.

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association reviewed Public Act 07-1 and raised the following concerns:

• The bill includes a 10% cost-benefit savings threshold before a privatization contract is approved. Thus, if a privatization contract does not meet a 10% cost-benefit savings, the state contracting agency will develop a plan to fulfill the contract using existing state resources.
• The bill enables the legislature to oversee state privatization contracts in excess of $150 million in one year or $600 million throughout the life of the contract. These contracts will have to gain the approval of the State Contracting Standards Board and the legislature.
• Because of the added bureaucracy, the bill could dissuade potential contractors from applying, which could lead to more-expensive state services.

If you have any questions pertaining to state law, please contact Paddi LeShane at (860) 560-0000.