Wyman, Glassman face off in Democratic Primary in lieutenant governor's race

Written by Maggie Caldwell, Hersam Acorn Newspapers

Nancy Wyman, the party-endorsed candidate, and Mary Glassman are both seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for lieutenant governor in the Aug. 10 party primary. Ms. Wyman is a four-term state comptroller; Ms. Glassman is Simsbury's first selectman.

Ms. Glassman trumpets her varied career life as providing her with the education she needs to be a good leader. She has worked in the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government, and as a journalist, attorney and local municipal leader.

As Simsbury’s four-term chief executive, she reduced her salary by 10%, cut town spending, delivered no budget increases, and brought international businesses to her town, according to her campaign statement. Simsbury recently ranked among the “Top 100 Best Places to Live in America,” and was the first and only town in Connecticut to make the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of Dozen Distinctive Destinations, while on her watch.

She has experience in Hartford, having worked at the state Capitol with the speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate president. Following the 2004 resignation of Gov. John Rowland, she served two years as chief of staff in the lieutenant governor’s office.

She calls herself “a unifying candidate,” being the first Democrat elected in a Republican town in nearly 40 years.

She said what matters most to people in Connecticut is “quality education for our children, a good paying job, an affordable home in which to live, and the opportunity for everyone to succeed,” things she will strive to achieve in office.

Ms. Wyman, who has served as the state comptroller since 1995, calls herself “Connecticut’s leading voice for taxpayers.”

Her priority in that role has been “to be the voice of fiscal honesty and responsibility on behalf of Connecticut’s taxpayers and that will be my priority as lieutenant governor,” she said.

She joined Mr. Malloy as a running mate because he shares her “commitment to fiscal discipline, long-range economic planning and affordable health care for all Connecticut residents.”

With Connecticut losing more than 100,000 jobs in the recession, she said the state “will not truly recover until we get them all back.”

She supports lowering the tax burden by lowering the cost of government while also cutting the cost of insurance.

“We know that small business generates the great majority of job growth in our state, and what I continually hear from business owners is that one of the biggest obstacles to hiring more workers is the cost of providing employee health coverage,” she said. “I strongly believe that we must allow small businesses to group together in the same way to buy health insurance — and that will be one of the top priorities of the Malloy/Wyman administration.”

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