Gov. Ned Lamont isn’t exactly a regular in Southbury. But last week, he sat down with nearly 20 Heritage Village Democratic Club members, took their questions, and made his case for why he deserves a third term.
The visit came weeks after state Rep. Josh Elliott, who is challenging Lamont in a Democratic primary, addressed the club in a larger setting. This time, the room was smaller, and the conversation was more direct. Residents arrived with prepared questions and a potential future endorsement in mind.
Before the meeting, Lamont joined First Selectman Tim O’Neil for a tour of parts of the Southbury Training School campus.
STS: A Local Priority
O’Neil didn’t waste the moment.
He had reached out to the governor’s office when he heard Lamont was coming to town, and the two toured the sprawling campus together beforehand, walking past vacant homes and washed-out driveways.
“Part of what I ran on last year was getting affordable housing into Southbury,” O’Neil told the group, laying out his vision to move forward with the Pierce Hollow Personnel Village project, rewritten from senior housing to multigenerational affordable housing.
The path forward isn’t simple. An access agreement still needs to be signed before contractors can come on-site. An environmental impact study completed over a decade ago may need updating. And indigenous artifacts have been identified on the property, meaning an archaeological dig will be required before any ground is broken. O’Neil noted the area’s deep Native American history, recalling his childhood when he would walk the fields searching for arrowheads.
While Lamont did not outline specific plans for the Southbury Training School, he called the property “one of the most amazing parcels” he’d seen and pledged to be a partner in its future.
On Taxes
One resident directly pressed Lamont on his resistance to raising taxes on the wealthy, citing studies that suggest such taxes don’t drive residents out of state.
Lamont noted that his predecessors have all raised the state income tax, noting that he is unique in that he hasn’t raised it, but rather cut it for middle- and working-class families, citing House Bill 6941, signed in 2023, to “make life just a little bit more affordable,” he said.
The two-term governor touted an increasingly progressive tax code under his administration, while also overseeing economic growth within the state.
The numbers back him up, at least partially.
Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Connecticut’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew faster than the nation overall for the first three quarters of 2025. The state’s second quarter GDP growth of 4.6 percent in 2025 ranked ninth among the 50 states.
On property taxes, Lamont acknowledged the limits of state intervention, but pointed to increased municipal aid and education funding as tools his administration has used consistently, while also outlining a regional approach.
By working through Councils of Governments, Lamont acknowledged an opportunity to share services that could reduce the cost of functions that smaller municipalities can’t afford to staff full-time, like a building inspector.
On Trump: A Careful Balancing Act
Asked how he handles working with the current federal administration, Lamont explained that it’s the number one question he gets asked.
“It’s hell on earth,” said Lamont.
As governor, he said that he doesn’t mention the current president by name as much as other state leaders do, such as Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Attorney General William Tong.
The low-profile approach, or “juggling act” as Lamont described it, consists of a style similar to coalition-building and reaching out to fellow governors across the aisle.
“I don’t make it about Trump, but I say, you want to know something, Arkansas? You’re going to get screwed by these Medicaid cuts even more than Connecticut is. By using that style, I’m able to mitigate a lot of that,” said Lamont.
The approach runs in contrast to what State Rep. Elliott told the group weeks ago, with the Hamden politician describing his style as one that would stand up to the federal government in a more direct and public manner.
Lamont used Revolution Wind, an offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, as a recent example.
Seven years in the making and 80 percent built, the project was repeatedly stopped by the Trump administration. Despite the legal challenges, Lamont finally stood at State Pier in New London last month watching the turbines spin.
“We won that case and I was ready to jump for joy,” said Lamont. “We kept our profile down. They didn’t appeal it in the end. They let it go through.”
“So you have to have the balance there,” he added. “But in your core, people got to know this is probably the most dangerous president I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
On Voting Rights and ICE
Residents also raised concerns about a federal bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. Its stated goal is to ensure that only American citizens vote in federal elections – a requirement that is already federal law.
The SAVE Act would add a new layer of documentation requirements, which some see as a step toward voter suppression.
“So he wants to see our voter rolls…he’s not going to get our voter rolls,” said Lamont. “He wants to make sure that a lot of people are scared to vote.”
Lamont referenced House Bill 5533, which would bar federal law enforcement within 250 feet of a polling place without permission from state election officials or a court order.
“Just standing outside there is going to scare some people away from voting,” said Lamont. “The Ku Klux Klan used to do that in Selma (Alabama) in the 1960s. We’re not going to allow it.”
Lamont stated that Connecticut’s elections are held with honesty and integrity, even referencing a ballot-stuffing scandal in Bridgeport in 2019.
“People say, oh, but I saw somebody putting ballots into a ballot box in Bridgeport. You know why you saw them? Because we put cameras in each and every one of those ballot boxes to make sure this never happens again,” said Lamont.
What’s Next
Following Lamont’s visit, members of the Heritage Village Democratic Club outlined their next steps, including a potential endorsement of one of the two candidates in the Democratic Primary. The club is expected to vote on an endorsement at a future meeting.
Members debriefed after the hour-long discussion, speaking to the talks held with both Lamont and Elliott.
“I think this is the first time I’ve heard [Lamont] speak off-the-cuff,” said Barbara Wheeler. “Truthfully, I was very impressed.”
Another member said that experience plays a factor in how to maneuver through local and national issues.
“We are living in extraordinary times,” said Barbara Mechler. “I don’t think we have time for a new, but capable person, who needs to learn the ropes and make connections. That takes time, and I don’t think we have it. We have to go with somebody who already has these connections.”
In the 2022 election, Southbury voters were nearly split between Lamont (4,957) and the then-GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski (5,085), with a difference of less than 130 votes among the 10,000-plus voters. In 2018, about 60 percent of Southbury voters preferred the Republican ticket to Lamont’s campaign. Neither election featured a Democratic primary contest.
By Evan Triantafilidis
The Southbury Record 