The Connecticut gubernatorial race is really, really close. No one knows this better than Governor Dannel Malloy, Senator Gary Holder-Winfield, Representative Robyn Porter, and the Yale College Democrats. Last night, all of these people gathered in the Branford Common Room to hear from the governor, to prepare for a tough election cycle, and to kick off the Dems’ year.
After an introduction from Dems’ President Becca Ellison ’15, Holder-Winfield and Porter started the event by underscoring why this race matters so much. Holder-Winfield proudly spoke of everything Connecticut was able to accomplish with a Democratic governor, from transgender rights to decriminalizing marijuana. He fielded a few questions, such as about what the best part of his job, and he told us that he loves being able to do “crazy liberal things,” like abolishing the death penalty, which even advocates thought would be impossible.
Governor Malloy then stepped forward and started by saying that he, too, was a young Democrat once—“a long, long time ago.” He was patently aware of his young audience and understood, as this was the Dems’ opening event, that many in the room were new to Yale and to the Dems.
He then dove into his philosophy on his job, which stems from his mother’s advice to leave the world a better place for him having lived in it. This, he told us, is why he feels so passionate about moving Connecticut forward, even if those decisions are unpopular. The biggest theme he emphasized was that he always wants to do the right thing and be able to look himself in the mirror every morning when he shaves (which he explained while joking that many of the young men in the room do not even have to shave daily yet) and feel that he did the right thing the day before.
But even though he’s been able to look himself in the mirror every day and feel he’s done the right thing, it’s hurting his campaign. As he put it, he’s “ruffled some feathers” by trying to do the best thing from the community, and in his words, “I may not win, because I did the right thing.” His progressive views on minimum wage, prison reform, decriminalization of marijuana, and sick days at work (among others) have gotten him into some political trouble, but they often elicited snapping in agreement from the Dems, a typical Yale response.
Governor Malloy is concerned that he might not be able to keep doing what he loves by making a difference, though, as the election in 2010 came down to about 6,400 votes, and there is now more political opposition to his actions.
Still, the enthusiasm from both Governor Malloy and from the audience was obvious. He was at home with the college audience, joking, calling certain political beliefs “batshit crazy,” and interacting on a personal level with the students who asked questions.
Malloy ended by urging us to vote in Connecticut, to help campaign for him, and to do the right thing. He also requested that the audience “do that thing again” – meaning snap for him. The crowd obliged and then proceeded to applaud before he had to head off to continue campaigning across the state.