Scully Communications

It was a great week and another year is in the books for the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament. Your faithful Shad took the week to work the event as stadium announcer and player-gazer. Some last observations:
• It’s the last year of sponsorship by Pilot Pen Corp. PPC Chairman Emeritus Ron Shaw, a key figure in keeping the tournament in New Haven for the last 15 years, was on-hand at the closing ceremonies to tell everyone it wasn’t his fault the company was beating feet. Pilot Pen’s corporate office in Japan pulled the plug. At least we know who to blame.
• Caroline Wozniacki is as sweet as she seems. Hence the song I played for her every time she won (she is undefeated in New Haven). I’ll be rooting for her in the US Open.
• Most of the players are nice and personable. Some are insufferable.
• Maria Kirilenko is as beautiful as Anna Kournakova and she can actually play.
• Dave Soloman (New Haven Register), Paul Doyle and Lori Riley (Hartford Courant) were daily must-reads covering the event.
• New England Sound is the company to go to for sound systems.
• Tennis Chair Umpire Lynn Welch is the nicest sports official I’ve ever met. If I was a player, I’d have a hard time yelling at her, a la John McEnroe.

Former Democratic State Party Chairman John Droney might be of the opinion that Barak Obama and Nancy Pelosi would hurt Democrats by coming to the state to campaign for them but he doesn’t speak for the state party.  So says the current party Chairman Nancy DiNardo. DiNardo reiterated to The Hanging Shad that the party welcomes President Obama to the state to lend his support for its candidates.

The mini-controversy arose after Droney taped an edition of Channel 3’s “Face the State” Thursday night. Droney was filling in for DiNardo in an appearance with Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy.  Host Dennis House, ever the fair and prepared journalist, reports on his blog that Droney basically said the party should say “no thanks” to the possibility that the president and speaker of the house might come to Connecticut.  Healy apparently was all for the idea, saying it would help Republican candidates.

DiNardo was asked to appear on the show Thursday morning (it tapes Thursday night) and she had a family commitment she could not break.  She tells The Shad she suggested Droney when asked by House for a substitute. “He asked me for a ‘Democratic voice’ and I suggested Droney,” DiNardo said. “And that’s just who he is—a Democrat with a point of view.  It just so happens the state central committee does not share his point of view.  He doesn’t speak for the party,” she said.

DiNardo went on to restate the party’s position. “We absolutely welcome President Obama.  Of course he will help our candidates.” As for Pelosi? “That’s really up to the individual candidate for Congress. I know of no offer by her to come to Connecticut.”

It has already been reported that President Obama is coming to the state next month. Details are still to come.

“Face the State” airs Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

Just when we thought we were off the hook listening to candidates fight over whether there should be debates and if so, how many, theerr’rree baaack… Defeated Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont retreated like a scared turtle in the primary against Dan Malloy and it cost him—how much, we may never know. Now, in the middle of August, there is already a little dance going between Republican candidate Tom Foley and Malloy about how many debates there should be. Foley would be smart to go to school on Lamont’s disastrous decision to avoid debates and sit on his lead in the polls. In this case, Foley has no lead to sit on.

This week, Malloy came out of the gate saying he has agreed to eight debates around the state, including several on TV and radio. Some, especially those who backed Lamont, say this is some sort of strategy. But it’s less a strategy and more giving voters want they want and what they deserve—a side-by-side comparison of the two men who want to lead the state out of its fiscal morass—especially when their policy ideas are so starkly different. Actually, the best way to get hesitant candidates to debate is to ask them point-blank on TV if they will as demonstrated by Dennis House on Channel 3’s “Face the State” last week.

It’s not a persuasive argument that TV debates don’t matter because nobody watches them. Apathy is not an excuse to deprive would-be informed voters from seeing the forums.

State Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz’ chief of staff Michele Gilman has left her position to take one with the campaign of Kevin Lembo who is running for state comptroller. Now, much is being made of the fact that Gilman helped maintain a constituent database that is the source of all sorts of trouble for Bysiewicz, including a referral of the matter by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane. Gilman tells the Hartford Courant that the Database Debacle has nothing to do with her leaving although she admits the timing may lead people to think that. Often accused of being a bit cynical, The Shad, having known Gilman peripherally from working at the Capitol, gives her the benefit of the doubt on this one and believes her.

First, Gilman is a consummate professional and any campaign, and down the line, any office holder, would be fortunate to have her and Lembo is clearly the favorite to win his race. Secondly, Bysiewicz is out of there at the end of the year after not running for reelection and getting booted off the ticket for attorney general after Republicans spent some $142,000 so NRA darling and right-wing wing-nut Martha Dean (or Ross Garber) wouldn’t have to run against her. And third, there is no evidence whatsoever that Gilman did anything wrong (nor is there any accusation from Blumenthal that Bysiewicz did anything wrong) as it pertains to the database. Lay off Gilman and let her get on with her impressive career.