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DeStefano links Rell to Rowland, but will it stick?
Associated Press
July 15 2005
AP Photos HF1, HF102
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By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press Writer
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Gov. M. Jodi Rell hasn't even announced whether she'll run for a full term as governor, but her ties to her imprisoned predecessor are already becoming a campaign issue.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, the leading fundraiser in the Democratic race to unseat Rell next year, mailed 2,000 campaign DVDs to potential donors last week, linking Rell to the corruption that plagued former Gov. John G. Rowland's administration.
"John Rowland may be in jail, but the same old leadership with the same old policies are still in charge," a voice says as a black-and-white image of Rowland and his inmate number fades slowly into a picture of Rell.
With Rell consistently receiving high approval ratings while taking on typically Democratic issues such as stem cell research and same-sex civil unions, playing up her ties to Rowland is a logical move in the Democratic primary, political scientists said.
Republicans called DeStefano's campaign comparison unfair, but conceded they expect more of the same if Rell decides to run.
A Quinnipiac University poll in April showed Rell with an 80 percent approval rating, the highest ever in the poll for a statewide leader. If Rell's poll numbers remain high, political analysts say the move could backfire.
"DeStefano doesn't run much risk in backlash right now because these are people who want to see a tough campaign and who are prepared to think the worst of Republicans," said Howard L. Reiter, a political scientist at the University of Connecticut. "Whether they could sustain that attack in a general election? I think it's risky."
Rell has said she's leaning toward running but her staff had no comment on the video Thursday because she is not in the race. But Pat Longo, vice chairwoman of the state Republicans, said portraying Rell as Rowland won't stick.
"Why's her approval rating so high?" Longo said. "I don't think the general public believes that."
Sacred Heart University political scientist Gary Rose said he expects the Rowland legacy to play a key role in the campaign because Rell has attracted so many moderate voters. DeStefano's video, he said, is just building the foundation.
"Rell really has struck into the middle ground with civil unions, campaign finance reform," Rose said. "This is their trump card."
The 20-minute DVD, which the campaign said cost more than $15,000 to make, highlights New Haven's improved economy and public safety record. DeStefano's campaign manager, Shonu Gandhi, said Rowland's corruption was used early on as a "point of departure" for an issues debate.
"I don't think anyone is going to win the election calling Jodi Rell corrupt," Gandhi said.
DeStefano, in his video, tells viewers: "The way I win this race is by convincing people that there's a choice to be made here ... a choice between the corruption of low expectations and the choice for accomplishment."
Reiter, the UConn professor, predicted voters will hear more lines like that about Rell, in which corruption is dropped into the conversation without it being an attack.
"Certainly she's got high poll numbers and almost any attack is going to be hard to sustain," Reiter said.
This video was targeted to the Democratic base in an effort to separate DeStefano from a primary field that already includes Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy.
Gandhi said nobody who received the video or watched it at a campaign event has criticized it as unfair. Rowland and Rell were political allies for a decade, she said.
"Whether you're a really nice woman or not, the policies are really the same and Connecticut voters deserve to know that," Gandhi said.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
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