Jonathan Harris Pulls Out of Governor’s Race, Endorses Ned Lamont
Audio By Carbonatix
West Hartford resident and former mayor Jonathan Harris, with his wife, Lucy, at his side, made an announcement Feb. 24 that he would run for governor of Connecticut in 2018. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
Former West Hartford Mayor Jonathan Harris announced Friday that he has ended his gubernatorial campaign.
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Jonathan Harris has ended his campaign for governor on and on Friday announced his endorsement of Ned Lamont.
“Today, I am announcing that I am ending my campaign for governor,” said Harris. “Public service is and will always be close to my heart. I am proud to have dedicated myself to advancing my community in West Hartford and fighting to make Connecticut a great place to live.”
Harris continued, “This campaign has been an incredible experience and an important part of my journey as a public servant. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring forward the issues that I hold dear and have a productive conversation about the future of our State. Above all, I want to thank my family for their love and support. I couldn’t have done this without them. I also want to thank my supporters for their commitment to this campaign, and for their belief that together we can build a better Connecticut. Earning your support has been one of the highest honors of my life.”
Harris then went on to explain his endorsement of Ned Lamont: “When I entered the race, I said that Connecticut needed a bold leader who isn’t afraid to speak openly and tackle tough issues. With that in mind, I am happy to announce my support for Ned Lamont for Governor.”
“Ned is someone I have become close with over the past few months and I know that he has the fresh perspective we need to fix our state’s budget problems and the leadership to build a real grassroots movement that brings people together to change Connecticut for the better. I hope that my supporters join me in getting behind Ned Lamont. Ned gives Democrats the best chance to win this November, and that is our best chance to bring positive change to our state.”
Ned Lamont accepted the endorsement saying “I am humbled to have earned Jonathan’s endorsement. He has run a campaign focused on the people of Connecticut. He is a great leader, a dedicated public servant and by far one of the nicest people I could have shared the early days on the campaign trail with. I look forward to working closely with Jonathan to build the ground swell of support that we need to bring real change to Connecticut.”
Ned Lamont is a leading member of the business community who has leveraged his experience in the academic and business worlds to attract new business to Connecticut, most notably Infosys, a tech company that will train up to 1,000 people for high paying tech jobs over the next few years. For the past decade Ned has been training the next generation of entrepreneurs as a professor at Central Connecticut State University. Ned Lamont became a well-known figure in Connecticut politics when he challenged Joe Lieberman in the democratic primary in 2006 over the Iraq War. In 2008 he was the Chair of the Obama campaign and helping him win the support of Connecticut Democrats. In 2010 he challenged Dan Malloy in the Primary for the nomination for Governor, saying that if real political courage wasn’t shown Connecticut would find itself in an economic crisis 10 years later.
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[…] Harris, who ended his own campaign for governor to endorse Lamont, joined the administration on its first day as the undersecretary of comprehensive planning and intergovernmental policy at the Office of Policy and Management, surprising insiders who thought his experience and connections would be better used in the Capitol. […]