Farmington Town Council Chairman and former FBI guy Mike Clark official announces his run for Congress from the 5th District tonight at Apricots restaurant.
Clark, a Republican, will be introduced by former U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor.
"We need a government that supports and nurtures business - not one that stifles it,'' Clark will tell supporters tonight, according to a version of his speech that his campaign provided to the Courant. "I am not one who will say that all government is bad - I do not believe that. Here in Farmington we have used government for good - for example, to promote and protect open space - including right along the Farmington River behind me, and by building a wonderful rails to trails system. But we have also taken the steps to limit the size of government, to pay off our debt, and to keep our taxes low."
For the full speech, click here: Intro speech final.doc And for more on Clark, check out Rick Green's column and Farmington reporter Melissa Pionzio's news story.
Meanwhile, another Mike, Mike Williams, a Southington native who graduated from the London School of Economics and lives in the Litchfield County village of New Preston now, announceed today that he is considering a run for the 5th District seat.
Williams, a Democrat who formerly worked for former Sen. Joe Biden, has embarked on what he calls a "listening tour" of the district.
Williams has a website where you can find more information about his run.
And the final item in our CT-5 round-up is Justin Bernier's first quarter fundraising haul. Bernier, a Republican making his second run for the seat, announced today that he brought in $83,000. He says it's a new first-quarter record for a non-incumbent congressional candidate from the state, besting the previous record set by Joe Courtney in the first quarter of the 2006 election cycle.
"Some donors in Connecticut were discouraged after last year's election results," said Bernier finance director Megann O'Malley in a statement, "but that hasn't slowed Justin's fundraising program."
UPDATE: I got an email earlier today from a supporter one of Bernier's 2010 (and 2012) intra-party rivals, Mark Greenberg, claiming Bernier erred in claiming that he set a new 1Q record for a non-incumbent. Greenberg, a wealthy businessman from Litchfield County, brought in $153,000 in his first quarter in the 2010 race, the emailer wrote.
But Greenberg wasn't even in the race in the first quarter of the 2010 election cycle (which ran from January 1 to April 1 of 2009.) Greenberg didn't declare his candidacy until late 2009.
If the sparring between the two camps this early in the cycle is an barometer, 5th District Republicans are in for a grueling primary battle.