Malloy Protégé Luke Bronin Faces Criticism For Abandoning Pledge To Serve Full Term As Mayor

Just one day after announcing that he’s exploring a run for governor in Connecticut, Dan Malloy Protégé Luke Bronin is already facing criticism for abandoning a promise to serve out his full term as Hartford Mayor. A scathing new editorial by The Day of New London shredded Bronin’s decision to run for governor, noting that it opens him up to the charge of being a “political opportunist,” as he puts his own political interests ahead of his constituents, who he’s treating as “a collective speed bump” on his path to higher office. The Day emphasized that “the problems confronting Hartford are too serious and it is at too critical a point in time to be led by a mayor distracted by the demands of running for governor.” As Bronin abandons his promise to the people of Hartford, leaving the city in fiscal ruin so he can pursue his ambitions, he continues to show that he can’t be trusted to lead Connecticut as governor.

The Day writes:

“Everyone knows Luke Bronin is a guy with lofty political ambitions. That is why in 2015, as he ran for mayor of Hartford, Bronin felt it necessary to pledge to serve out his four-year term. He would face re-election in 2019. Now, however, Bronin, 38, is readying a bid governor, filing papers Thursday to form an exploratory committee.

By mid-afternoon, the “Bronin for Connecticut Committee” had blasted out an email seeking donations under the heading ‘LUKEFORCT’…

Connecticut taxpayers, who just saw their state lawmakers commit $40 million in state aid to help Bronin save his city from bankruptcy, have to be second guessing the mayor’s commitment to the job. And Hartford voters, who bought into Bronin’s promise to get their community turned around, might be feeling today like a collective speed bump on Luke’s road to higher office…

Technically, Bronin can continue running the city at the same time he is running for governor. If he lost, he could opt to run for re-election as mayor in 2019. But the problems confronting Hartford are too serious and it is at too critical a point in time to be led by a mayor distracted by the demands of running for governor in 2018.

In launching this bid for governor, Bronin has opened himself to the charge of being a political opportunist…

Bronin quickly recognized that the city’s fiscal problems were so severe that without state help it would confront bankruptcy. In approving a bipartisan state budget four months into the current fiscal year, the legislature agreed to provide $40 million for Hartford over the next two years — $20 million to help Hartford meet and restructure its debt obligations and $20 million channeled through the Municipal Accountability Review Board. Malloy created the board to work with municipalities confronting insolvency.

The mayor acknowledged a state bailout did not solve the problem. It only provided an opportunity…

‘No matter what’s in the state budget this year, any truly sustainable solution is going to require the participation of all our stakeholders — including labor and bond holders. That means we’re going to have a lot of tough, important work to do,’ Bronin told Bloomberg News after word of the state help to avoid bankruptcy.

Most people facing ‘a lot of tough, important work to do’ don’t take on a second job, which running for governor certainly amounts to, and then some. Given that Democrats running for governor generally need the support of labor, Bronin’s decision also raises questions how hard he will push to get the city labor concessions, a necessary component to fixing Hartford’s money problems.

It’s hard to see how this move is in the best interest of the capital city or of the state, which is trying to shore it up. It remains to be seen whether it proves to be in the best interests of Luke Bronin.”