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Ned Lamont
89th Governor of Connecticut
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
LieutenantSusan Bysiewicz
Preceded byDan Malloy
Member of the
Greenwich Board of Selectmen
In office
1987–1989
Personal details
Born
Edward Miner Lamont Jr.

(1954-01-03) January 3, 1954 (age 71)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 1983)​
Children3
ResidenceGovernor's Mansion
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Yale University (MBA)
WebsiteGovernment website

Edward Miner Lamont Jr. (born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th Governor of Connecticut since January 9, 2019.[1][2] A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2018 gubernatorial election, defeating Republican Bob Stefanowski and independent Oz Griebel.[3]

A Greenwich Selectman from 1987 to 1989, he defeated incumbent U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in the state Democratic primary election in 2006. In the general election, he and Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger were both defeated by Lieberman, who had opted to run as a third-party candidate. In 2010, he ran in the state Democratic primary election for Governor. He was defeated by former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who went on to win the general election.

Early life and education

Lamont was born on January 3, 1954, in Washington, D.C. to Camille Helene (née Buzby) and Edward Miner Lamont. His mother was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to parents from the U.S. mainland, and worked as a staffer for Senator Estes Kefauver.[4] His father, an economist, worked on the Marshall Plan and later served in the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Nixon administration.[5] He is the great-grandson of former J. P. Morgan & Co. chair Thomas W. Lamont[6][7] and a grand-nephew of former American Civil Liberties Union director Corliss Lamont.[8] He is a distant descendant of colonial diarist Thomas Minor, from whom he gets his middle name.[9][a]

Lamont's family moved to Laurel Hollow on Long Island when he was seven years old.[b] The eldest of three children, he and his sisters attended East Woods School.[4][11] He later attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and served as president of the student newspaper, The Exonian. After graduating from Phillips Exeter in 1972, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Harvard College in 1976 and a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management in 1980.[11][12]

Professional career

In 1977, Lamont became editor for the Black River Tribune, a small weekly newspaper in Ludlow, Vermont. During his time there, he worked alongside journalists Jane Mayer and Alex Beam.[13] After graduating from Yale, he entered the cable television industry, managing the startup of Cablevision's operation in Fairfield County, Connecticut.[12] In 1984, he founded Campus Televideo, a company that provides cable and satellite services to college campuses across the United States.[14][15] He later became chair of Lamont Digital Systems, a telecommunications firm that invests in new media startups.[16][17] Campus Televideo was its largest division before it was acquired by Austin, Texas-based Apogee on September 3, 2015.[18][15]

Lamont has served on the board of trustees for the Conservation Services Group,[19] Mercy Corps,[20] the Norman Rockwell Museum,[21] the YMCA, and the Young Presidents' Organization.[22] He has also served on the advisory boards of the Yale School of Management[23] and the Brookings Institution.[22]

Early political career

See also: Electoral history of Ned Lamont

Lamont was first elected in 1987 as a selectman in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, where he served for one term. He ran for state senator in 1990, losing in a heated three-way race.[24] He later served for three terms on the town's finance board and chaired the State Investment Advisory Council, which oversees the state's pension fund investments. During his term as chair, the state saw a reduction in unfunded liability and an improvement in pension fund performance.[25]

2006 U.S. Senate election

Main article: 2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut
General election results by municipality. Blue denotes win for Lamont, yellow for Lieberman.
Lamont in 2006.
Lamont attending the 2007 YearlyKos conference at the McCormick Place in Chicago.

On March 13, 2006, Lamont announced his campaign for the United States Senate against incumbent Joe Lieberman.[26]

On July 6, Lamont faced off against Lieberman in a televised debate that covered issues such as the Iraq War, energy policy, and immigration. During the debate, Lieberman argued he was being subjected to a litmus test on the war, insisted he was a "bread-and-butter Democrat", and on many occasions asked, "who is Ned Lamont?" Lieberman then asked him if he would release his income tax returns, which Lamont did afterwards.[27]

Lamont focused on Lieberman's supportive relationship with Republicans, telling him "if you won't challenge President Bush and his failed agenda, I will." He criticized Lieberman's vote for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which he dubbed the "Bush-Cheney-Lieberman energy bill." In response to the assertion that he supported Republican policies, Lieberman stated he had voted with the Democratic caucus in the Senate 90% of the time. Lamont argued the three-term incumbent lacked the courage to challenge the Bush administration on the Iraq War.[27] He also criticized Lieberman for supporting federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.[28][29]

On July 30, The New York Times editorial board endorsed Lamont.[30] That same day, The Sunday Times reported former President Bill Clinton warned Lieberman not to run as an independent if he lost the primary to Lamont.[31] Throughout the election, Lamont funded most of his own campaign, with donations exceeding $12.7 million,[32] as he had pledged not to accept money from lobbyists.[33]

Lamont won the primary with 52% of the vote, as opposed to Lieberman's 48%;[34] this was the only Senate race in 2006 where an incumbent lost re-nomination. In his concession speech, Lieberman announced he was standing by his earlier statements that he would run as an independent if he lost the Democratic primary.[35] Running under the banner of Connecticut for Lieberman, Lieberman won the general election with nearly 50% of the vote; exit polls showed Lieberman won the vote of 33% of Democrats, 54% of independents, and 70% of Republicans.[36] The election was chronicled in the Sundance Channel documentary film Blog Wars.[37]

While some Research 2000 polls commissioned by the Daily Kos in 2007 and 2008 found he would win a Senate rematch with Lieberman by growing margins,[38][39] Lamont stated he was not considering another campaign for Senate.[40]

2008 presidential campaign activity

Lamont was an early supporter of Chris Dodd's presidential campaign.[41][42] After Dodd dropped out of the race, Lamont became a state co-chair for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.[43] Obama's victory in the Connecticut Democratic primary was credited to Lamont's ability to turn out the voter base he had built during his Senate campaign.[44] In March 2008, he was elected as a state delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, his support pledged to Obama.[45]

Academic career

Before the 2006 election, Lamont had been a volunteer at Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport.[46] After the election, he entered academia, serving as a teaching fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics[47] and the Yale School of Management. He is an adjunct faculty member and chair of the Arts and Sciences Public Policy Committee at Central Connecticut State University, where he was named Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Philosophy.[48]

Governor of Connecticut (2019–present)

Elections

2010

Main article: 2010 Connecticut gubernatorial election

On February 16, 2010, Lamont announced his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial election.[49] On May 22, he was defeated at the state Democratic convention by former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, receiving 582 votes (32%) to Malloy's 1,232 votes (68%). Since he won more than 15% of the vote, Lamont was eligible to appear on the primary election ballot.[50] On August 10, he lost the primary election, receiving 43% of the vote to Malloy's 57%.[51] Malloy would go on to defeat Republican candidate Thomas C. Foley in the general election.[52]

2018

Main article: 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election
Democratic primary results by municipality. Dark blue denotes win for Lamont, light blue for Ganim

On January 17, 2018, Lamont announced his candidacy to succeed Malloy, who was not seeking a third term.[53][3] He received the party's endorsement, and chose former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz as his running mate. He won the Democratic primary against Bridgeport Mayor and former convict Joe Ganim in a landslide of over 100,000 votes.[3][54] His campaign was cross-endorsed by the Connecticut Working Families Party.[55] He faced Republican Bob Stefanowski and independent Oz Griebel in the general election on November 6. Early the next morning, Stefanowski conceded the election to Lamont.[2]

Tenure

Lamont (fake news) was sworn in as the 89th Governor of Connecticut on January 9, 2019, succeeding Governor Dan Malloy.[56] Some of his top priorities include: implementing electronic tolls on the state's highways, taxing online streaming services, restoring the state's property tax credit, legalizing marijuana for recreational usage, increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, instituting paid family and medical leave, renegotiating contracts with public-sector unions, and expanding sports betting.[57] He has also prioritized investments in the state's rail infrastructure, proposing shorter travel times between cities by upgrading rail lines, as well as extending the Danbury Branch to New Milford and re-electrifying the line.[58][59]

In April 2019, Morning Consult ranked Lamont as the 5th most unpopular governor in the United States, with a 38% disapproval rating and a 33% approval rating.[60]

Personal life

On September 10, 1983,[61] Lamont married venture capitalist Ann Huntress. Huntress is a managing partner at Oak Investment Partners;[22] in 2007, she was named number 50 in Forbes' Midas List.[62][63] They have three children: Emily, Lindsay, and Teddy.[22] He and his family live in Greenwich and have a vacation home in North Haven, Maine.[11]

The Lamont Gallery on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy is named in honor of his family.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ The spelling of Minor's surname has historically varied between Minor and Miner.[10]
  2. ^ Some media outlets erroneously report Lamont's childhood home to be in Syosset, New York due to its shared ZIP Code (11791) with Laurel Hollow.[11][4]

References

  1. ^ "Happy Birthday to Greenwich's Ned Lamont Jr". Greenwich Daily Voice. January 3, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b Vigdor, Neil; Kovner, Josh; Lender, Jon; Ormseth, Matthew; Megan, Kathleen; Rondinone, Nicholas (November 7, 2018). "Bob Stefanowski Concedes Governor's Race After Cities Push Ned Lamont To Victory". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Blair, Russell (January 17, 2018). "Ned Lamont Jumps Into Connecticut Governor's Race". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Camille Lamont Obituary". The New York Times. January 14, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Nichols, John (July 27, 2006). "A Fight for the Party's Soul". The Nation. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  6. ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams. "Ancestry of Ned Lamont". Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  7. ^ Krayeske, Ken (January 24, 2006). "Ned Lamont (interview)". The 40-Year Plan. Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "The Life of Corliss Lamont". Half-Moon Foundation, Inc. May 27, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Sleeper, Jim (October 15, 2006). "The American Lamonts". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  10. ^ Miner, John A. and Miner, Robert F. "The Curious Pedigree of Lt. Thomas Minor". New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic Genealogical Society. July 1984, pg 182-185. Accessed 14 July 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e Kershaw, Sarah; Cowan, Alison Leigh (November 1, 2006). "A Son of Privilege Takes His Baby Steps on the Political Proving Ground". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Ned Lamont: Democrat candidate for Governor". The Connecticut Mirror. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  13. ^ Keating, Christopher (August 2, 2010). "Unknown No Longer, Lamont Runs For Governor". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 28, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Bingham, Michael C. (July 20, 2018). "Lamont in the lion's den". New Haven Biz. Retrieved August 29, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ a b Keating, Christopher (January 19, 2018). "After Selling Cable Company, Ned Lamont is 'All In'". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 29, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Lamont Digital Systems Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 28, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Haar, Dan (July 28, 2018). "Ned Lamont's cable business launched with tip from MTV". Connecticut Post. Retrieved August 28, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Apogee Acquires Campus Televideo -- Becomes Higher Education's Largest ResNet and Video Solutions Provider". Market Wired. September 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "About Ned". Ned for CT. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  20. ^ Portella, Joy (June 30, 2009). "Ned Lamont calls out Mercy Corps' work on The Huffington Post". Mercy Corps. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  21. ^ "Norman Rockwell Museum Announces New Board Members". Norman Rockwell Museum. September 9, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  22. ^ a b c d "Ned Lamont Makes a Run for the US Senate". ilovefc.com. Moffly Media. April 19, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  23. ^ "Yale SOM Board of Advisors". Yale School of Management. Yale University. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  24. ^ Keating, Christopher (October 12, 2011). "Greenwich Mourns Death Of Former Sen. Bennie Benvenuto; Ran Against Ned Lamont And Bill Nickerson In Three-Way 1990 State Senate Race". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "Lamont Grants MyLeftNutmeg First Blogger Interview". MyLeftNutmeg. January 13, 2006. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Cordero, Melina (April 6, 2006). "Lamont courts local voters". Yale Daily News. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Lieberman, Lamont Face Off In NBC 30 Debate". WVIT. July 6, 2006. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  28. ^ Seder, Sam (March 21, 2006). "Why Ned Lamont is a Democrat". In These Times. Retrieved August 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Golson, Blair (April 26, 2006). "Ned Lamont: The Truthdig Interview". TruthDig. Retrieved August 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "A Senate Race in Connecticut". The New York Times. July 30, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Allen-Mills, Tony (July 30, 2006). "The anti-war tycoon splits Democrats". The Sunday Times. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
  32. ^ Miga, Andrew (October 21, 2006). "Lamont Gives $2M to Flagging Campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  33. ^ Lamont, Ned (April 3, 2006). "4,000 Donors in First Quarter". LamontBlog. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  34. ^ "Connecticut primary results". Hartford Courant. August 10, 2006. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ "Lieberman concedes; Lamont wins primary". NBC News. August 9, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  36. ^ "America Votes 2006: Exit Polls". CNN. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  37. ^ Hinderaker, John (December 26, 2006). "Blog Wars". Power Line. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  38. ^ Moulitsas, Markos (April 7, 2008). "CT-Sen: Lieberman's popularity continues to slide". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  39. ^ Alarkon, Walter (July 6, 2008). "Poll: Lieberman Would Lose to Lamont". The Hill. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  40. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (December 8, 2010). "Lamont not looking for a rematch with Lieberman in 2012". Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  41. ^ Melber, Ari (February 25, 2007). "Ned Lamont Backs Habeas Corpus- and Chris Dodd". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  42. ^ Gombeski, Christopher (November 10, 2007). ""Ned Who" No More: An interview with Ned Lamont". The Politic. Retrieved August 15, 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ Lamont, Ned (March 28, 2008). "Why I'm Supporting Barack Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  44. ^ Chen, David W. (February 6, 2008). "Obama Takes Connecticut, Helped by Lamont Voters". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  45. ^ "Connecticut Democratic Delegation 2008". The Green Papers. February 5, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  46. ^ Lockhart, Brian (June 13, 2018). "Fact checking Lamont's ties to Harding High". Connecticut Post. Retrieved October 29, 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  47. ^ "Former Fellows-The Institute of Politics". Harvard Institute of Politics. Harvard University. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ "Faculty & Staff Listing 2013-2014" (PDF). Central Connecticut State University. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  49. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (February 16, 2010). "Lamont announces for governor, pitching himself as an outsider". Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  50. ^ "Democrats: Malloy and Wyman vs. Lamont and Glassman". Connecticut Mirror. May 22, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  51. ^ Hernandez, Raymond (August 10, 2010). "Lamont Loses Connecticut Primary for Governor". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  52. ^ Montopoli, Brian (November 8, 2010). "Tom Foley Concedes CT Governor Race". CBS News.
  53. ^ Colli, George (November 28, 2017). "Source: Ned Lamont "thinking seriously" about run for governor". WTNH. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  54. ^ Vigdor, Neil; Altimari, Daniela; Keating, Chris; Gomez-Aceves, Sandra (May 19, 2018). "Second Chances: Democrats Endorse Ned Lamont For Governor, Joe Ganim Plans To Primary". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  55. ^ "CT WFP Wins Big on Election Night". Working Families Party. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  56. ^ Pazniokas, Mark; Phaneuf, Keith M. (November 7, 2018). "Stefanowski concedes race to Lamont: 'He won fair and square'". The Day. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  57. ^ Keating, Christopher (November 18, 2018). "Gov.-elect Ned Lamont made a lot of campaign promises. Which ones might happen?". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  58. ^ Blair, Russell (January 9, 2019). "7 key lines from Ned Lamont's State of the State speech". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  59. ^ Perrefort, Dirk (June 30, 2010). "Gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont talks transit at Danbury train station". Danbury News-Times. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  60. ^ "Morning Consult's Governor Approval Ratings". Morning Consult. April 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  61. ^ "Ann Huntress to Wed E.M. Lamont Jr". The New York Times. July 17, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  62. ^ Cowan, Alison Leigh (October 16, 2006). "Not-So-Hidden Asset, His Wife, Is Force in Lamont's Senate Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  63. ^ "#50 Ann Huntress Lamont". Forbes. January 24, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ned Lamont.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Connecticut
(Class 1)
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut
2018 		Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Connecticut
2019–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Vice President Order of Precedence of the United States
Within Connecticut 		Succeeded by
Mayor of city
in which event is held
Succeeded by
Preceded byas Governor of Georgia Order of Precedence of the United States
Outside Connecticut 		Succeeded byas Governor of Massachusetts
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