CROMWELL - In her final speech to a Middlesex County chamber breakfast, outgoing Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered a jocular list of presents that should be buried in the state's time capsule.
Others have tried Christmas poems in the past, while Rell has traditionally offered a list of presents that are delivered, tongue-in-cheek, to some of the state's top officials.
This year, Rell presented a list for the time capsule, which has already been buried outside the governor's mansion in Hartford's West End as part of the state's 375th anniversary. It will be opened in 25 years.
"Let's start with my BlackBerry. After January 5, never do I want to hear another beep, tweet, ring or ding,'' Rell told the sell-out crowd of more than 800 people at a Cromwell hotel ballroom. "And as long as we're talking about electronic devices. How about the Secretary of the State's calculator?''
The crowd burst into laughter, and Rell eventually looked down the long dais to see the last person seated at the end - Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. She then waved to the crowd.
Rell was referring to the numerous problems with the counting of votes in the election that was won by Democrat Dan Malloy by one half of one percentage point in the closest gubernatorial election in more than 50 years.
"We should also add a spare bag of Bridgeport ballots. That way we'll always know where they are,'' Rell said as the crowd laughed. "As for our newly elected U.S. Senator - and outgoing attorney general who leaves behind 36,000 incomplete lawsuits and investigations - we'll bury a copy of his latest book, 'Sue First and Ask Questions Later.' ''