© 2024 New England Public Media

FCC public inspection files:
WGBYWFCRWNNZWNNUWNNZ-FMWNNI

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@nepm.org or call 413-781-2801.
PBS, NPR and local perspective for western Mass.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hartford Mayor Bronin Drops Out Of Governor's Race

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin listens to Gov. Dannel Malloy's State of the State address during opening session at the Capitol in February in Hartford.
Jessica Hill
/
AP
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin listens to Gov. Dannel Malloy's State of the State address during opening session at the Capitol in February in Hartford.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin announced on Monday that he’s ending his exploratory committee for governor of Connecticut.

Bronin, a 38-year-old lawyer who used to be a legal adviser to Governor Malloy, says he made the decision in order to stay focused on his work as mayor of Hartford.

This comes after the capital city reached a controversial $550 million bailout deal with the state in order to avoid bankruptcy. That deal has been criticized by state lawmakers and some of Bronin’s political rivals, who want to scale back the agreement.

One of those rivals is Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who’s still in the race for governor. He claims the bailout, which involves a state takeover of the capital city’s debt payments for the next 20 years, is unfair to other Connecticut cities.

Bronin says he got out of the race because he doesn’t want the city’s financial woes to be politicized and because he doesn’t “want people taking shots at Hartford in order to take shots at me.”

Also on Monday, Bronin handed in his proposed municipal budget for fiscal year 2019. He said the budget contains no new borrowing for capital investments and that the city will spend about $2.3 million less in operating costs than it did this fiscal year. Just a few days earlier, on Friday, the ratings agency Standard and Poor's upgraded the city's bond rating from CCC to A.

“This is a capital city that has an opportunity today to move toward real long-term sustainability and strength,” Bronin said.

The mayor did not endorse another gubernatorial candidate. He says whoever the next governor is, he hopes that person will be an ally to his city and that the future of Hartford “depends very much on having a governor who gets it.” 

Bronin won’t say whether he’ll run for governor in the future or if he’ll seek another term as the mayor of Hartford.

Copyright 2018 WSHU

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year. In addition to providing long-form reports and features for WSHU, he regularly contributes spot news to NPR, and has worked at the NPR National News Desk as part of NPR’s diversity initiative.
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Dan is a former News Director at WSHU
Related Content