A former Connecticut state House member is forming an exploratory committee and is expected to enter the race for freshman Rep. Chris Murphy’s (D) seat, setting up a primary battle with a candidate who has earned the early support of national Republicans.
Former state Rep. Tony Nania (R) served three terms in the state House beginning in the 1980s, but he has not run for office since stepping down in 1991. He would face state Sen. David Cappiello, who has been the only candidate in the GOP race for months and was seen as his party’s likely standard-bearer.
Nania said he will launch an exploratory committee Tuesday.
[...]
While Nania has been out of the public spotlight for 15 years, state party Chairman Chris Healy said he has remained involved in party politics and would be a formidable opponent to Cappiello.
He said that primary challengers often hurt the party when facing an incumbent, but added that he hopes Nania and Cappiello will focus on Murphy instead of each other.
“Either one will be exponentially better congress-people than Chris Murphy,” Healy said. “That’ll be very obvious to any voter in the 5th district, mostly because Cappiello and Nania are grown-ups and understand the world as it really is.”
Nania said he is lining up support at all levels of the state party and suggested that party operatives have not been impressed with Cappiello’s candidacy. But he declined to offer any possible endorsements at this point.
Cappiello has been in the race since the middle of the year but saw his fundraising drop off significantly from the second quarter to the third quarter, when he raised only $70,000. His campaign explained he was busy surrounding the birth of his child.
The $200,000 he raised in the second quarter, however, helped put him on the national Republicans’ radar, and they eventually made him one of 10 beneficiaries of the Challengers Helping Obtain the Majority Program (CHOMP), which is run by House Republican members.
Murphy, meanwhile, raised more than $1 million in the first nine months of the 2008 cycle.
[...]
Sacred Heart University political science Professor Gary Rose said Cappiello appears to be making a renewed effort to raise money around the state in recent months. Cappiello is a member of his party’s state Senate leadership.
Rose said Nania would suffer from a lack of name recognition.
“How many people really know him?” Rose said. “At the same time, I would say this is still a swing district and anyone … could still pose a challenge to Murphy.”
Nania has not been recruited by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which has appeared content with Cappiello’s candidacy. But he does fit one of the committee’s top criteria for prospective candidates: the ability to supplement his campaign with his own money.
The NRCC has a policy of not endorsing before a primary.
“We trust local Republicans to nominate who they believe will make the best possible candidate in the general election,” said NRCC spokeswoman Betsy Andres.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Carrie James, called Cappiello a less-than-impressive candidate and added, “It’s not surprising he is now facing a possible primary opponent.”
Come on down, grab a front row seat and watch the Republican bloodbath...if you get a view of the boxseats, you might catch a glimpse of Congressman Murphy enjoying the show while eating a hot dog from JK's.
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On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
