“It is a great honor to receive the support and endorsement of the hard-working men and women of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO recognizes that working people are the engine that runs the American economy, and they are at the front of the fight to ensure that every worker and every family is treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.

“Together we will work to protect Medicare and Social Security from cynical political attacks, to bring good jobs with strong benefits back home to Connecticut, and to enact laws that guarantee equal pay for equal work.”

The Connecticut AFL-CIO joins the Connecticut Democratic Party, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, former 5th CD Congressman Jim Maloney, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chellie Pingree, the Connecticut Working Families Party, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, the New Britain DTC, the Meriden DTC, the Newtown DTC, the Bethlehem DTC, the Burlington DTC, the Torrington DTC, the Harwinton DTC, the Canaan DTC, the Middlebury DTC, the Morris DTC, the Watertown DTC, the New Milford DTC, the New Fairfield DTC, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Blue America, the SEIU CT State Council, the Connecticut State Police Union, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, AFT Connecticut, AFSCME Council 4, AFSCME Council 15 – the Connecticut Council of Police, the Connecticut Education Association, the Connecticut State Council of Machinists, the Connecticut Carpenters, the IAFF – Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, United Auto Workers Region 9A, the Connecticut Laborers District Council, and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 in endorsing Chris Donovan as the best candidate to fight for the families of Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.

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“CSEA members endorsed Chris Donovan for Congress because he is the best candidate for the job. In fact, without Chris the reality of the lives of working men and women in Connecticut would be much different. And, thanks to his leadership in the State House, public employees in Connecticut are treated with a level of dignity and respect not seen in most other states,” said Patrice Peterson, President of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001. “Chris Donovan has been a loud, proud, and bold voice for working men and women. We need that voice in Washington.”

“Chris Donovan has always fought for working people and we will fight for him,” said Ron McLellan, President of CEUI.

“Our strong endorsement is based on Chris Donovan’s outstanding record and unwavering commitment to all workers, whether or not they are members of a union,” said David Pickus, President of the New England Health Care Employees Union District 1199ne, and President of the SEIU State Council. “No one has done more to raise families out of poverty, to ensure fairness for all, or to protect the rights of every individual than Chris – whether it’s fighting to raise the minimum wage or to ensure that everyone has health care. He’s the right leader to represent the working families of the 5th Congressional District.”

“It is an honor to have the endorsement of SEIU, a union that is unwavering in its fight on behalf of the working families of Connecticut,” said Donovan. “Together, we will fight for every Connecticut family to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect, to bring good-paying jobs with solid benefits back home to Connecticut, and to protect Medicare and Social Security from draconian Republican cuts.”

SEIU joins the Connecticut Democratic Party, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, former 5th CD Congressman Jim Maloney, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chellie Pingree, the Connecticut Working Families Party, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, the New Britain DTC, the Meriden DTC, the Newtown DTC, the Bethlehem DTC, the Burlington DTC, the Torrington DTC, the Harwinton DTC, the Canaan DTC, the Middlebury DTC, the Morris DTC, the Watertown DTC, the New Milford DTC, the New Fairfield DTC, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Blue America, the Connecticut State Police Union, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, AFT Connecticut, AFSCME Council 4, AFSCME Council 15 – the Connecticut Council of Police, the Connecticut Education Association, the Connecticut State Council of Machinists, the Connecticut Carpenters, the IAFF – Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, United Auto Workers Region 9A, the Connecticut Laborers District Council, and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 in endorsing Chris Donovan as the best candidate to fight for the families of Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.

Chris opens his Meriden office and has an overflow crowd:

Every single person in the room put a knuckle on a door, an ear on a phone, or a bag of lit in a hand that day – and they have been coming back since!

And 200 people turned out for a rally in the rain, at 5:00pm on a week day:

Elections aren’t won in news cycles; they are won on the ground. Don’t mourn; organize.

-Gabe

CT Mirror:

[Republican House Minority Leader Lawrence F.] Cafero said he disagrees with Donovan on nearly every major political issue, but he cannot conceive of him doing anything unethical.

“I’ve known Chris for 20 years,” Cafero said. “He’s the most honest guy I ever met.”

CT Mirror:

Senate Democratic Caucus spokesman Adam Joseph said, “[Senate President Pro Tem] Don [Williams] did not have any communications with Chris regarding this bill” during the regular 2012 session, which ended May 9.

More importantly, Joseph added, Senate Democrats have talked with the speaker’s office since the regular session ended, and both sides are looking to include the measure in one of the budget policy implementation bills that are expected to be adopted in the June 12 special session.

CT Mirror:

The House chairwoman of the legislature’s tax-writing panel said Friday that neither Donovan nor his office ever reached out to her in any way regarding the roll-your-own legislation during the session.

“I never had a conversation about this bill,” said Rep. Patricia Widlitz of Guilford, “absolutely no communication at all.”

Branford Eagle:

“And as it got to the end there were questions about Chris Donovan and his involvement in the legislation which, was not at all. I never had a conversation with Chris Donovan about this bill. Not once. Ever.” – Rep. Widlitz

WTNH:

[Sen. Eileen] Daily has been co-chair [of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, the committee that had approved the "Roll Your Own" tax, for] the past 10 years and says the FBI wanted to know what connection Speaker of the House Donovan had with that bill.

Daily told the FBI, “Speaker Donovan had no connection with the ‘Roll Your Own’ bill. I never had a conversation with him, none of the staff ever asked me about anything.”

CT Mirror:

The primary reason the bill died on the Senate calendar during the regular session, Joseph said, is that Sen. Len Suzio, a Meriden Republican, had attached a controversial amendment to temporarily lower wholesale gasoline taxes this summer. Majority Democrats in the Senate already had proposed, and the full legislature had enacted, a circuit-breaker mechanism to effectively freeze the state’s wholesale gasoline levy.

“That amendment was going to be a talker,” Joseph said, adding that the Senate couldn’t afford to wage a major debate on that bill during the waning days of the regular session.

CT Mirror:

The tax proposal was a Senate bill approved by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee that never was acted on by the Senate. The bill never came before the House, so Donovan was not in a position to make a decision on whether to bring the measure to a vote.

WTNH:

Governor Malloy, who said last week that Donovan had to come forward and personally address questions in the scandal, is apparently satisfied by Donovan’s remarks so far.

“He’s met the test of dismissing the individuals, he has said he had no prior knowledge and he’s come forward to speak to the public,” Malloy said.

Roll call vote for the bill that included the Roll-Your-Own Cigarettes legislation.

MERIDEN – Democratic Congressional Candidate and Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives Chris Donovan today released the following statement congratulating HealthyCT and the Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS) and the CSMS-IPA on their CO-OP award:

“I am excited to congratulate HealthyCT on receiving the federal funding needed to start up a consumer-directed health insurance company through the Affordable Care Act’s non-profit Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program. There are only 14 of these loans in the country right now, so once again, Connecticut is on the cutting edge of working to provide health care coverage to every family. These funds will allow HealthyCT to launch, bringing quality, affordable health care to more of the hard-working families of Connecticut, and bringing us one step closer to ensuring that every man, woman, and child is entitled to quality health care as a right. Congratulations!”

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We’ve had a tough few days on the campaign. That’s why I wanted you to hear a couple of things directly from me: Chris has done nothing wrong, and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. I say that without any uncertainty or equivocation. And this campaign is going forward, and going forward in a way we can all be proud of.

I joined the campaign at this time without hesitation. I have known and worked with Chris Donovan for almost 20 years. I know him to be an honest man with a deep commitment to progressive politics and principles. He will fight for Connecticut’s working and middle class families in Congress, as he has done as Speaker, as a state legislator, and as a community organizer.

The campaign has hired a well-respected former Republican-appointed United States Attorney, Stan Twardy, to independently review the campaign’s finances and ensure that if there are any ill-gotten or inappropriate funds, they are donated in their entirety to the Connecticut Citizens Election Program. We are hiring a new finance team, and will work to ensure that accountability measures are put in place to make impossible for anything like this to happen again.

And I want to be absolutely clear: Chris had no knowledge of any wrongdoing, and there was absolutely no effect on his work as a State Representative or as Speaker of the House. As has been reported in the CT Mirror, Ct NewsJunkie, and elsewhere, neither Chris nor his staff had any contact on the matter with the relevant committee chair, or any effect on the outcome of the relevant legislation.

On the campaign front, we are continuing to do the work necessary to win in August and in November. We opened four field offices this weekend, with supporters coming out in New Britain, in Waterbury, in Danbury, and in Meriden, and 65 people braved the rains in Meriden and New Britain on Saturday morning to drop off literature.

Volunteers stand with Chris in Meriden today before going out to knock on doors.

As always, this campaign will be won with an army of supporters – with boots on the ground, knuckles on doors, and ears to the phone. That’s why I’m glad we have you. I don’t want you to have any illusions: This isn’t going to be easy. But with your help, and the help and hard work of thousands of the district’s working families, we will win.

Thank you, and let’s get to work,

Swan

New Britain – The Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG) announced their endorsement of Chris Murphy for US Senate and Chris Donovan for the 5th Congressional District today at a press conference today. CCAG announced that these two races were the organization’s top priority for the second half of 2012 and pledged to engage their over 20,000 member families in winning these races.

“It is essential that Connecticut send Chris and Chris to represent us in Washington,” said Tom Swan, Executive Director of CCAG. “We would be hard pressed to think of any two elected officials who could fight more effectively for Connecticut’s families.”

CCAG worked closely with Representative Murphy when he was a state legislator on health care issues and could always count on him on other issues, especially those relating to anti-corruption reforms, including Connecticut’s landmark Citizens Election Program. In Congress, Chris continued to advocate for reforms including pushing for an independent ethics process, meaningful health care legislation and for government procurement of American made products.

“Chris has a tremendous track record of standing up to moneyed interests to make government work more effectively for Connecticut families” Continued Swan. “His election will be the type of change Connecticut voters need and deserve in the US Senate.”

“Over the past 25 years, there is no organization in Connecticut that has fought harder for middle class consumers than CCAG. From campaign finance reform, to the fight for universal health care, I’ve been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with CCAG over the years, and I am thrilled to have their support in this campaign,” said Chris Murphy. “CCAG knows how to win

legislative fights, and they know how to win elections. In an election where we expect to be outspent five to one, CCAG’s grassroots organization will be a key to our victory.”

As a former organizer with CCAG, including in New Britain, Chris Donovan knows firsthand the issues that CCAG member families are dealing with on a daily basis. Over the past 18 years Representative Donovan has done more to advance CCAG’s issue agenda than any other Legislator. Whether it be environmental protection, good government, social justice or health care issues Chris Donovan worked with CCAG to ensure the public’s voice was heard.

“Congress needs a principled fighter like Chris Donovan in these trying times,” said John Murphy, CCAG Political Director. “Chris has been able to accomplish a great deal, while staying true to his values, the same ones he exhibited in his days at CCAG.”

“As a former CCAG organizer, it is an honor to have the support and endorsement of the members of CCAG. Together we will knock on doors and make phone calls, as we continue to fight side by side for fairness, dignity, and respect for every Connecticut family.”

CCAG announced that they will do everything they can to advance these candidacies including mobilizing our members in assist in broader voter education and mobilization efforts.

“I am honored to have the support of so many hard-working Democratic activists, and the endorsement of the Democratic party,” said Donovan. “I will fight every day for the right of every Connecticut family, and every American, to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. That is what I have done in Connecticut, and it’s what I will do in Congress.”

“Not everyone shares the values of fairness, dignity, and respect,” continued Donovan. “Congressional Republicans are actively blocking job creation measures, attempting to destroy Medicare and Social Security, and waging a war on women’s access to health care and contraception. In Congress, I will fight for all of our families to have access to great jobs with strong benefits, to Medicare and Social Security as they age, and I will fight to make sure that every woman has access to the health care and contraception that they need.”

The Connecticut Democratic Party joins Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, former 5th CD Congressman Jim Maloney, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chellie Pingree, the Connecticut Working Families Party, the New Britain DTC, the Meriden DTC, the Newtown DTC, the Bethlehem DTC, the Burlington DTC, the Torrington DTC, the Harwinton DTC, the Canaan DTC, the Middlebury DTC, the Morris DTC, the Watertown DTC, the New Milford DTC, the New Fairfield DTC, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Blue America, the Connecticut State Police Union, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, AFT Connecticut, AFSCME Council 15 – the Connecticut Council of Police, the Connecticut Education Association, the Connecticut State Council of Machinists, the Connecticut Carpenters, the IAFF – Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, United Auto Workers Region 9A, the Connecticut Laborers District Council, and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 in endorsing Chris Donovan as the best candidate to fight for the families of Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.

“Chris Donovan is one of the strongest supporters of the Connecticut State Police and we are delighted to give him our first endorsement in 2012,” said Andrew Matthews, President of the Connecticut State Police Union. “Chris is a strong advocate for public safety, understands the importance of sufficient State Police staffing, and he works tirelessly for Connecticut’s working families. He is the best person to fight for us in Congress. We look forward to helping elect Chris and working with him in Washington.”

“It is an honor to have the support and endorsement of the hard-working men and women of the Connecticut State Police. These brave troopers put their lives on the line every day and deserve to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. I look forward to working with the members of the CSPU to fight to bring good jobs with strong benefits to Connecticut, and to protect Social Security and Medicare from Republican attacks,” said Donovan.

The Connecticut State Police Union joins Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, former 5th CD Congressman Jim Maloney, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chellie Pingree, the Connecticut Working Families Party, the New Britain DTC, the Meriden DTC, the Newtown DTC, the Bethlehem DTC, the Burlington DTC, the Torrington DTC, the Harwinton DTC, the Canaan DTC, the Middlebury DTC, the Morris DTC, the Watertown DTC, the New Milford DTC, the New Fairfield DTC, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Blue America, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, AFT Connecticut, AFSCME Council 15 – the Connecticut Council of Police, the Connecticut Education Association, the Connecticut State Council of Machinists, the Connecticut Carpenters, the IAFF – Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, United Auto Workers Region 9A, the Connecticut Laborers District Council, and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 in endorsing Chris Donovan as the best candidate to fight for the families of Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.