New Haven attorney Erick Russell captured the Democratic nomination for state treasurer in Tuesday’s primary, easily beating Greenwich hedge fund manager Dita Bhargava and the chair of the ‘New Haven Housing, Karen DuBois-Walton.
A Pullman and Comley partner specializing in public finance, Russell was on track to capture more than half the vote, according to unofficial results, while overall turnout remained very low. He will face state Rep. Harry Arora, R-Greenwich, in the November general election.
“This is the work I do every day,” said Russell, who centered his campaign on a promise to invest Connecticut’s nearly $45 billion in pension assets to expand economic opportunity for working families. “There’s a very natural transition for me. People want to know how [these investments] impact them daily.”
Addressing supporters Tuesday night at Trinity Bar & Restaurant in New Haven, Russell thanked her husband, former state Rep. Chris Lyddy, for their support and vowed to use Connecticut’s pension investments as a strength powerful for change.
“It may be a small state, but when it comes to investments, Connecticut can punch above its weight,” he said. “We can make sure our money doesn’t go to corporations that deny climate change, prey on our communities with addiction or fraud, or fund extremist organizations. We can push companies to live up to our values of inclusion, high standards ethical and common good”.
While the campaign for treasurer traditionally receives far less attention than many other statewide contests, high gas prices and 9 percent inflation mean Connecticut voters are ready to listen to anyone paying attention to the challenges at hand. ‘face, said Russell.
“People know this is going to be a tough election cycle and there’s more at stake than there’s ever been,” he told the CT Mirror earlier Tuesday.
Russell could become the first black LGBTQ candidate elected to statewide office in national history, according to Atlanta-based nonprofit The LGBTQ Institute.
“Erick has the perfect combination of political chops, deep political experience and grassroots support to make an effective state executive,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the affiliated political action committee at the non-profit institute. “Voters are clearly eager to support his policy agenda to address racial and social wealth gaps and ensure that all Connecticut residents have a fair shot at the American Dream.”
Russell said that’s humbling, “but it also comes with a responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” he said. “But it’s also a reflection of our state’s commitment to elect the best person for the job, no matter where you come from, what you look like or who you love. Together we demanded that our government reflect our values and that the job didn’t have a goal”.
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The New Haven attorney also said this potential breakthrough, while significant, isn’t the only diversity his campaign has to offer. The first member of his family to graduate from college or law school, he often spoke of his family’s working-class roots and the values he learned as a child helping out at a convenience store of his parents in New Haven.
People want to see themselves reflected in government, Russell said earlier Tuesday. “But I’m also talking about real-life experience and the perspective of someone who knows the experience of struggling, of what it means to make ends meet.”
Erick Russell, left, won Tuesday’s primary for state treasurer; Stephanie Thomas, center, won the primary for secretary of state, and Sean Scanlon was unopposed among Democrats for the state secretary nomination. They posed for a selfie at Trinity Bar in New Haven after the results came in on Tuesday. Outgoing State Treasurer Shawn Wooden is at right. Ginny Monk / CT Mirror
Russell praised DuBois-Walton and Bhargava for running campaigns “that raised important issues, that spoke truth to power, and that helped voters understand the importance of the treasurer’s office.”
A former Democratic state party vice chairman, Russell and his two rivals had to battle in early April — a month before the nominating conventions — when incumbent Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, D-Hartford, announced that he would not seek a second term. because he wants to spend more time with his family.
Russell won the endorsement at the state party convention in May with 47% of the delegate ballot.
Bhargava, who lost the 2018 treasurer primary to Wooden, made headlines last month when he battled Hulu, ultimately convincing the streaming service to air its ad in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn lar Roe v. Wade. Bhargava said he would push companies seeking investments in Connecticut pensions to provide health insurance that covers abortion services.
He also took aim at Purdue Pharma, the Stamford-based maker of OxyContin, which filed for bankruptcy three years ago and whose questionable marketing practices sparked a national response to the opioid crisis.
And while Connecticut’s pension funds were not invested in Purdue Pharma, Bhargava said it typified the corporation “driven by short-term greed” that state treasurers must watch out for.
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Bhargava, the first treasurer candidate to issue position papers in the 2022 race, said she would strongly consider a recommendation from the state panel to transfer lottery revenue and other state assets to further bolster pension assets.
Although Connecticut recently used $4.1 billion in budget surpluses to pay down more than $40 billion in long-term pension debt, most of which accrued between 1939 and 2010, Bhargava prides himself on a campaign that praised paying down the debt but kept voters focused on the need for many more years of fiscal responsibility.
“When I look at 70 years of math, you see a clear picture of the lack of accountability, the failure of former leaders to do the right thing,” Bhargava said.
DuBois-Walton, 54, had also focused much of her campaign message on using public investments to expand economic opportunities for residents. He spent 25 years overseeing these investments with the housing authority and while holding two administrative positions in the New Haven mayor’s office.
“He’s positive and optimistic, not attacking,” he said of his campaign on Tuesday.
DuBois-Walton also said she was proud to use her campaign to push for more aggressive state action to expand affordable housing development, especially in Connecticut’s wealthy suburbs.
Writer Ginny Monk contributed to this report.