Mayor Mark A. Lauretti has not yet made a decision on his potential bid for governor.
On Monday morning, Lauretti said he was still giving it serious thought and would make a decision later this week or early next week.
Lauretti has said several times he’s interested in seeking the state’s top office, but hasn’t officially thrown his hat in the ring.
As of Monday, Lauretti had not started an exploratory committee or a candidate committee for the governor’s race, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission database.
Talk
But Lauretti keeps talking about the prospect.
When he was elected to his 10th term as Shelton’s mayor, Lauretti hinted that he was interested in the governor’s race, saying he had at least one more election in him.
“I’ve got all my options open,” Lauretti said at the time. “And (governor) is certainly a consideration.”
See the video above, posted on Tony Hwang’s YouTube page.
Then in January Lauretti told Connecticut Post Capitol reporter Ken Dixon he would form an exploratory committee soon.
Four months later — no committee, no answer.
On April 6, Lauretti told the New Haven Register he would make a decision by the end of that week.
“I’m behind the curve,” Lauretti reiterated in his office Monday morning, acknowledging there is a lot of work that would have to be done if he decides to seek election.
The clock is ticking
State Republicans are preparing for their nominating convention on May 22, where a delegation of Republicans will decide which of several interested candidates to endorse.
Other Republicans vying for the endorsement include Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, and Hartford Businessman Oz Griebel.
Those candidates, and several others, have already had public face time at debates and in articles detailing their campaigns.
On the other hand, Lauretti’s name has appeared most often in news articles about a federal corruption trial against Shelton developer James Botti.
The judge found a mistrial on counts of conspiracy and bribery of a public official — who prosecutors identified as Lauretti — and Botti was convicted on one count of mail fraud.
But through the process, U.S. Attorneys elicited testimony accusing Lauretti of taking cash and gifts from developers in town.
Lauretti has denied wrongdoing and blasted the feds for their “unfair” strategy.
Lauretti has not been charged with any crime.
