Leaders from Connecticut’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus turned out to support Gov. Ned Lamont’s bid for a third term at a campaign rally held on Saturday at Lamont’s New Haven field office at 1315 Whalley Ave. Lawmakers and supporters offered testimonials on education funding, housing, labor protections, and immigrant rights.
The rally took place two days before the start of early voting on Monday in the Democratic gubernatorial primary between Lamont and Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott. The primary itself is on Aug. 11. Whoever wins will face Republican candidate and Greenwich State Sen. Ryan Fazio in November’s general election.
State Rep. Derell Wilson of Norwich served as emcee for the event, introducing a series of colleagues and pointing to Electric Boat’s newly announced $76.6 billion federal submarine contract — a deal covering 14 new Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines expected to bring thousands of jobs to the Groton shipyard — as an example of the economic partnerships Lamont has built.
“Those opportunities come once in a lifetime,” Wilson said.
Education funding was a recurring theme. State Rep. Toni Walker of New Haven pointed to a roughly $37 million bump the city recently received under Lamont, along with the governor’s work with her on juvenile justice reform.
“That is something that I’m excited about,” she said. “I feel like that is going to be part of our legacy.”
State Rep. Treneé McGee of West Haven, the youngest woman in the Connecticut General Assembly, cited an additional $170 million in state funding for municipal school districts and told the crowd, to applause, that “the taxes did not increase in West Haven” under Lamont’s tenure.
State Sen. Herron Gaston of Bridgeport said his city has invested $35 million in education infrastructure alongside Lamont’s $300 million early childhood education endowment.
That tax relief wasn’t just an abstraction for attendees at Saturday’s event.
June Amimi, a retired teacher who taught at the Hartford Transitional Learning Academy, said the state’s tax exemption on a portion of retired teachers’ pension income has made a tangible difference in her household. She and her husband, Mahmood, have lived in Connecticut for roughly 40 years.
“Under the other Democratic governor, we had to pay the state every year in extra tax — we owed them,” she said. “With this guy, being a retired teacher, every year we’re getting a refund, which helps. Every single penny helps.”
She said the refund has gone toward paying off credit card debt built up while helping her son through college and paying for his wedding. She described her daughter-in-law, also a teacher, once asking her for pillows so students could sit on the floor of a classroom that lacked desks and chairs.
Several officials also pointed to local infrastructure and housing gains.
State Rep. Anthony Nolan of New London said his city has completed more than a dozen municipal projects under Lamont.
“We have more housing now than we ever had,” he said, while acknowledging more is needed.
State Rep. Geraldo Reyes of Waterbury credited the administration with helping preserve a second hospital in his city after it faced the possibility of being left with just one.
“Our constituents will never forget it,” Reyes said.
On labor and immigration, State Sen. Jorge Cabrera of Hamden thanked Lamont for supporting project labor agreements and record education cost-sharing funding, calling the governor “a member of our family.”
State Rep. Hilda Santiago of Meriden, speaking partly in Spanish, praised Lamont’s support for the state’s Trust Act, which limits local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, telling the crowd he “doesn’t sleep on the job” and has signed off on more than 200 bills passed this session. Gaston also highlighted state investments in public safety recruitment and retention, including mortgage and tuition assistance for police, fire, and EMT workers.
Mahmood, one of the rally’s attendees, said his support for Lamont goes back roughly 20 years, to Lamont’s U.S. Senate run.
“I voted for him when he ran for the Senate, and twice as he ran previously for governor,” he said. “He’s done plenty of good work. That’s what really counts. We are not just liking the guy — he has to deliver.”
Taking the podium, Lamont thanked the group and warned attendees against complacency heading into the primary and general election, drawing a comparison to the 2024 presidential race.
“We ended up with a you-know-who in the White House, which has been a disaster,” he said, criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. “We used to call them the Dreamers. Now they call them criminal aliens. What the hell is going on down there in Washington? Not here in Connecticut.”
After the rally, Lamont sat down briefly with the Independent to talk about his case for a third four-year term.
He pitched his candidacy as fundamentally about follow-through rather than rhetoric, pointing to new housing, transportation investment, and education funding as top priorities.
“Affordability starts with a roof over your head,” he said. “Make sure it’s something you can afford.”
Asked what distinguishes his leadership from Elliott’s, he drew a similar contrast: “People come into the office and we get things done. We don’t just give a speech.”
Asked what he’d do differently in a third term, Lamont pointed to expanding access to affordable health care as his top priority.
“We finally have the resources we need to make a difference,” he said. “I don’t want to play defense. I want to play offense.”
On immigration enforcement, he pointed to the state’s strengthened Trust Act, which he said limits ICE’s presence in courthouses and schools and subjects the agency to the same police accountability standards as local and state law enforcement.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that state lawmakers associated with the Black & Puerto Rican Caucus rallied for Lamont. The Black & Puerto Rican Caucus has not endorsed Lamont.
Lamont (center).
At Saturday’s campaign rally at 1315 Whalley Ave.
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