Kimber Boosts Lamont At GOTV Gospel Concert

by Thomas Breen

Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Kimber, and New Haven Rising’s Scott Marks in Kimber’s office on SUnday.

Treasurer Erick Russell: “The federal government is not there for us right now. It is state government that has stepped up.”

Rev. Boise Kimber threw his support behind Gov. Ned Lamont on Sunday evening as his Newhallville church hosted the two-term incumbent for a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) gospel concert in the runup to Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

“We are on the move and there is no reason to change horses in midstream,” Kimber told several dozen congregants, elected officials, and “TEAM NED” campaign staffers gathered in First Calvary Baptist Church’s 609 Dixwell Ave. sanctuary. “When you have a Kentucky Derby horse, let’s ride him to the finish line.”

Kimber — a politically influential local pastor who now lives in Meriden — has long mixed his ministry with Connecticut gubernatorial politics (including in 2018, when he ultimately wound up on the side of Lamont’s Republican opponent, Bob Stefanowski, before the general election.)

Kimber’s national stature has only grown in recent years, as he became the president of the Nashville-based National Baptist Convention in 2024. In addition to leading First Calvary Baptist Church in Newhallville, he also helms New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Bridgeport as well as an all-boys charter school a few blocks away on Dixwell.

On Sunday evening, Lamont, state Treasurer Erick Russell, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal served as the featured guests at a free gospel concert designed to urge residents to hit the polls on Tuesday for the gubernatorial primary.

Not once did anyone on Sunday’s speaking lineup mention — or even allude to — Lamont’s Democratic challenger, Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott.

Instead, Kimber and elected officials touted Connecticut’s investments in young people, and drew a sharp contrast between a state government that cares for the neediest and a more hostile Washington, D.C.

Under Lamont’s leadership, Connecticut has been a “backstop” to federal cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and other parts of the social safety net, said Russell. “The federal government is not there for us right now. It is state government that has stepped up.”

He and Lamont put a special emphasis on Connecticut’s Baby Bonds program as well as its Early Childhood Education Endowment.

The Baby Bonds program, which is run by Russell’s office, invests $3,200 into a trust for every child born under Medicaid coverage. They can access that money between the ages of 18 and 30 — and can use those resources “to build wealth,” purchase a home, start a business. “It’s a check that says we believe in you,” Lamont said.

The Early Childhood Education Endowment, meanwhile, is designed to provide free childcare for families making under $100,000 per year, Russell said. Families making over that amount will see childcare costs capped at 7 percent of their income. “That is about investing in people who need it the most,” Russell said.

“Despite the headwinds in Washington,” he added, “we continue to move in the right direction, investing in people.”

Even as he called on attendees to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Lamont stressed that he wants to “send a signal loud and clear to Washington, D.C. about who we are” during November’s mid-term elections.

“Because we have a president of the United States who looks at a congregation like this and a lot of the times, he’s saying, ‘You don’t belong. You don’t belong. You weren’t born in this country. You’re not like me.’ And he knows nothing about this country,” Lamont said. “You are the people that make this country amazing. It’s the incredible diversity, race, color, creed, wherever you’re born, we love u here in Connecticut. That is what America is all about.”

Even though Sunday’s gathering was billed as a GOTV event for Lamont, Kimber ended his time at the mic by making a special plea for a different Connecticut Democrat running in an even closer primary race — U.S. Rep. John Larson.

“It is the seventh game of the series. There is no reason to put a rookie in the game,” Kimber said, alluding to Larson’s lead First Congressional District challenger, former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Kimber asked those in attendance to tell people they know in Hartford and Windsor and Middletown “that we don’t need a rookie in the game at this time. We need someone with experience, someone who has stood for us, understands us, and understands the plight of America today. Pass that word along.”

Gov. Lamont: “With God, all things are possible. With all the storm clouds out there, all the noise coming out of the White House — with God, all things are possible.”

In the front row were Brandon McGee (left) and Pastor John Cotten (right). Rev. Kimber at the mic.

New Hope’s Jermaine Walston on the keys and John Cotten on the drums.