Supporters of Mayor Mark Lauretti gathered Saturday (May 15) to gear up for the mayor’s run for governor.
An e‑mail about the event, held at the mayor’s house, laid out Lauretti’s plans.
The e‑mail read:
TO THE SHELTON REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE … and BEYOND
Mark A. Lauretti wants to run for governor.
To do so, he needs to petition to get on the ballot…..
To Get on the ballot he needs 8,500 Republican Signatures.
SO WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We not only need your signature, we need you to send this request for help to your own personal e‑mail chains today and request your Republican Friends and Family for THEIR Signatures as well. Every Republican in Connecticut can sign a petition supporting Mark A. Lauretti for GOVERNOR.
Please come together on Sat. May 15th for a KICK OFF PICNIC
Ann Walsh was listed a contact for the event. She referred questions to Lauretti.
Lauretti wasn’t saying much about the event Saturday morning.
“I try not to say things that are just in the wind,” Lauretti said. “It’s not a kickoff. I’m having some friends over for a discussion.”
Lauretti has been on the fence regarding a governor’s run for months.
He spoke about it recently in a Sunday piece published in The New Haven Register.
He faces an uphill battle, with the Republican convention a week away.
Five Republicans are still in the running for their party’s nomination, including Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Thomas Foley, R. Nelson Griebel, and Christopher Duffy Acevedo, of Branford, according to CT News Junkie.
Chester First Selectman Tom Marsh, who was running as a Republican, has decided to continue his race as an independent.
Foley is thought to be the GOP frontrunner.
The candidates have been releasing a flurry of endorsements in recent days.
Lauretti, meanwhile, had his name muddied during the recent corruption trial of Shelton developer James Botti.
Botti and federal prosecutors claimed the developer bribed Lauretti.
Lauretti has never been charged with a crime and has repeatedly denied the claims.
After several weeks of testimony and deliberations in March, a jury found Botti guilty of one count of mail fraud. The jury couldn’t decide on Botti’s other two corruption charges: mail fraud conspiracy and bribery.
Lauretti was elected to his tenth term as Shelton mayor in November, receiving about 53 percent of the vote.
