By voice acclamation, the Democratic Town Committee nominated RTM member Lonnie Reed as its candidate for the state General Assembly, saying it wanted a “can do” person in Hartford.
Incumbent Peter Panaroni, who served for 12 years as the state Representative from the 102nd District, was cast aside. He watched from the sidelines, leaning against a wall, as his political fate slowly played out. It’s not every day that Democrats unseat a previously successful vote getter, but for a variety of reasons Panaroni had become a liability.
After Reed’s name was put forth at the DTC’s convention Tuesday night, Panaroni asked to speak.The hall at the Community House fell silent as delegates were not sure what to expect. Almost immediately Panaroni told them that he was retiring from the Democratic Party, effective immediately. He might have put up a floor fight, he said, but he knew from the groundswell of support for Reed that it would accomplish little. In retiring from the DTC he was also saying there would be no Democratic primary this summer.
“It’s quite obvious what’s going to take place tonight,” he said of Reed’s expected nomination. “And that’s fine. It doesn’t mean I am retiring from politics. Maybe I need to step back a little bit, maybe I need to — I could have gone through the whole process of getting two people to endorse me, I could have had all my so-called friends hang out there with their vote, all the nice people that helped me in my life and I’ve done favors for. But that’s all right. So tonight I bid you adieu.”
Meanwhile the Republican Party, which held its convention the same night, declined to nominate a candidate, declaring the slot vacant. According to sources, it also chose not to cross-endorse Reed, an idea DTC Chairman Frank Carrano sought to broker with his counterpart, Joe Cogguillo. The general consensus seemed to be that if individual Republicans wanted to vote for Reed, fine, but the leadership did not think it a good idea for the party to formally cross over.
The impact of the Republican Party’s decision not to mount a candidate and Panaroni’s decision not to engage in a democratic primary against Reed might well mean that Reed will run unopposed in the November election.
Reed, a television producer, former television anchor and investigative reporter, has been a member of the RTM for three terms and is currently the chair of the RTM’s education committee. She is making her first run for state office and doing so under the state’s new public financing law. This means she will not have to curry favor with lobbyists, members of PACS and other financial contributors.
Her nomination came after James Perito, the chair of the DTC nominating committee, told delegates that his 17 — member committee overwhelmingly endorsed Reed after it interviewed Panaroni and Reed separately on May 9th.
“We had good conversations about the direction we would like to see the state go,” Perito said.“We discussed issues of concern to the shoreline. The exchanges were very heartfelt and both candidates had a lot of knowledge of what was going on.” In the end, the committee seemed swayed by attitude. Pararoni’s attitude and remarks to the committee were viewed as defeatist while Reed told them “my personal motto is, you either get it done or die trying.” The nominating committee endorsed her overwhelmingly with 15 yes votes and two abstentions.
Anthony Giardiello, Reed’s campaign treasurer, put her name into nomination, saying: “It is the qualities that make her so valuable to Branford as a member of the RTM that I think will make her indispensable to Branford in Hartford. “And I am happy to report for the first time that 150 contributions and the $5,000 threshold (for public financing) has been reached and passed. The only thing she needs now is her party’s nomination. I leave it to you.” It didn’t take long.
After accepting the nomination Reed addressed the delegates. Sixty-seven of the 96 had showed up. A number of delegates were attending the Guilford DTC convention for State Rep.Pat Widlitz because she represents the Stony Creek section of Branford along with Guilford. Unk DaRos, the town’s First Selectman, came late because Widlitz had asked him to nominate her. 
In her acceptance speech, Reed spoke of what she termed a “Branford Agenda,” one part of which centers on two intertwined and related issues: funding for education and property taxes. She said there were dedicated legislators who want reform but “who are frustrated because they can’t get traction for that issue in Hartford.” She was speaking primarily of State Sen. Ed Meyer (pictured) who attended the event.
She stood in between a sea of green balloons that matched the green “Lonnie” baseball caps that some delegates had now donned. “As you know. Branford sends a fortune to Hartford every year and gets precious little back to help operate our schools. Ninety-six percent of our schools are paid for with property taxes. That equation can’t be sustained. It just can’t.”
She said a grassroots effort is essential because change is not coming from the “top down. So it must come from the grassroots up.” She then announced a shoreline conference on property tax reform that will be held in Branford in September and will be sponsored in part by the 1,000 Friends of Connecticut. Other shoreline towns will be asked to participate.
Many people spoke of Reed’s leadership in the Broadwater defeat. “We in Branford know about successful grassroots efforts. We’ve fought some big battles and won.” She also told the group that Branford had another first. She said that morning she attended the dedication of the Tri-Generation plant installed at Branford High School, a system designed to save energy. It is the first of its kind in the world.
Panaroni did not hang around to hear her speak. Nor did he wish her well publicly. But she was quick to recognize him.
“I just want to say that Peter is our neighbor and our friend and he has spent a lot of years doing good things and I think we ought to thank him for his service. I have said from the beginning and I absolutely plan to make this my pledge … I don’t like any kind of negative campaigning, particularly when it doesn’t advance the agenda to get things done for the people of Branford.”
Pat Widlitz (pictured) arrived after she was nominated for a 7th term in office as State Rep. of the 98th Assembly District. She and Meyer were the chief sponsors of the path breaking Assembly-Senate bills on global warming that the legislature recently adopted .