Luke Bronin appears to be testing the waters, according to several sources.
The next election for Hartford's mayor is over a year away, but competition for Mayor Pedro Segarra is already beginning to emerge -- and a top adviser to Governor Dannel Malloy is considering a run.
Luke Bronin is the governor's general counsel and talk of his potential run has swirled through city hall. Segarra's office isn't commenting, and the mayor hasn't yet said whether he’s running in 2015. That said, a challenge from within the Malloy administration is something that no Democratic mayor would want.
Is Bronin running or not? I asked him. In an email, he said this: "I love my job as the governor's general counsel. That's my focus, and I hope and expect to have the opportunity to continue to serve in that capacity after November."
Bronin has served as the governor's chief legal advisor since he returned to Connecticut at the beginning of 2013. Before that, he was deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Doba, Malloy's spokesman, said talk of Bronin's potential run has made its way to the governor's office.
"The Governor has a close personal and working relationship with Mayor Segarra, and he has given zero thought to a hypothetical event that may or may not happen in the future," Doba said. "The Governor is aware that people have talked to Luke about a possible run for mayor and that Luke’s focus remains, as it should, on serving the people of Connecticut in his capacity as the Governor’s General Counsel."
Bronin appears to be testing the waters, according to several sources. They said he’s making an exhaustive series of appearances at city events, and that he’s meeting with black leaders whose support would be crucial were Bronin to try to unseat a Puerto Rican incumbent mayor.
With Malloy’s own race in the balance, Democrats in the city didn’t want to be identified on the record. Several said that Bronin has told them he’s considering a run. He’s also been careful to say that his first priority is getting Malloy re-elected in November.
Bronin has served as the governor's chief legal advisor since he returned to Connecticut at the beginning of 2013. Before that, he was deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C.
He's married to SaraBronin, a UConn law professor and chair of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, the same body that gaveSegarra'sbaseball stadium plan a big thumbs down last week. The couple also lived in Hartford between 2006 and 2009. They now live with their three young children in a brownstone just steps from the state capitol.
