Add the name of former Congressman Chris Shays to the list of 13 potential candidates for governor we mentioned yesterday.

If Shays jumps into the race, he could be seen as an immediate front-runner for the Republican nomination, could make it a two-man race with former Ambassador Tom Foley, and push Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele to the sidelines.

The moderate Shays could also be Republicans' best opportunity to continue in the mold of the middle-of-the road M. Jodi Rell and hold on to the seat despite Democrats' decided advantage in party enrollment in Connecticut.

Who, besides Susan Bysiewicz and Jodi Rell, isn't running for governor?

That might be the question to ask after the flurry of news over the past few days about more candidates jumping into the race.

On the Democratic side, potential candidates now include:

- Ned Lamont, the millionaire failed 2006 U.S. Senate candidate.

- Dan Malloy, former mayor of Stamford and failed 2006 Democratic primary candidate.

- Mary Glassman, first selectman of Simsbury and failed 2006 lieutenant governor candidate.

- Michael Jarjura, mayor of Waterbury.

- Jim Amann, former Connecticut speaker of the House.

- Gary LeBeau, state senator from East Hartford.

- Rudy Marconi, first selectman of Ridgefield.

- Juan Figuerora, health care activist.

And on the Republican side:

- Tom Foley, millionaire former ambassador to Ireland who was a candidate for U.S. Senate before switching to the governor's race after Rell dropped out.

- Michael Fedele, our sitting lieutenant governor.

- Lawrence DeNardis, former U.S. Congressman from Hamden.

- Nelson "Oz" Griebel, a Simsbury businessman.

- Mark Boughton, mayor of Danbury.

Also mentioned as potential candidates on the Republican side are state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and former U.S. Congressman Chris Shays.

The hottest topic at last night's Litchfield County Board of Realtors and local Home Builders Association meeting with area legislators wasn't directly related to real estate or home building.

It came in a lengthy and sometimes-spirited question-and-answer period in which longtime master of ceremonies for the event, local Realtor TJ Zappulla, pointed out that funding for crucial programs such as a $220,000 tuberculosis screening program has been eliminated while Connecticut's new system of public financing for political campaigns will be giving up to $2.5 million to each candidate for governor this year who qualifies.

Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-Goshen) said he was kind of taken aback to receive a check for $85,000 to spend on his campaign. He ended up returning almost half of it to the taxpayers.

Rep. John Rigby (R-Colebrook) was most critical of public financing, saying that the $60 million used for the program should be returned to taxpayers, and that it was ridiculous to be spending taxpayer money on political campaigns when people are losing their homes.

Public financing was defended by the three Democrats in the room, Rep. Annie Hornish (D-Granby), Rep. Michelle Cook (D-Torrington) and Rep. Roberta Willis (D-Salisbury).

Willis said that public financing was first introduced in response to the many political scandals that led to Connecticut becoming known as a corrupt state.

Hornish and Cook suggested that the system could be tweaked, i.e., establishing lower spending thresholds and encouraging more candidates such as Roraback to return money, rather than scrapped altogether.

Democratic State Representative Michelle Cook, who represents Torrington in the Connecticut General Assembly, is encouraging residents to consider a newly launched program that could give consumers rebates ranging from $50 to $500 for buying new energy efficient appliances for their homes.
The appliance replacement rebate program, funded through federal stimulus dollars, applies to Energy Star qualified refrigerators, freezers, washers, air conditioners and central air systems that were purchased by residents between the dates of January 25 and April 30, 2010. The appliances must replace an existing, less efficient model.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to not only take advantage of the program but also give families the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars per year from the energy savings these new appliances would bring," Rep. Cook said.
The rebates apply to Energy Star certified clothes washers ($100 rebate), refrigerators ($50 rebate), freezers ($50 rebate), room air conditioners ($50 rebate) and central air conditioning units ($500 rebate).
Rep. Cook said that these new rebates, administered through a partnership between the state Office of Policy and Management and the utility companies, enhance already existing appliance rebate programs offered in the state. The rebates cannot be applied retroactively and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Additional information and rebate applications can be found at www.ct.gov/opm/ApplianceRebates and from the Connecticut electric utility companies. Applications will also be available in retail stores after February 1. Consumers can also call 1-877-WISE-USE
(1-877-947-3873) for additional information or to request a rebate application be mailed to them.
The U.S. Department of Energy is distributing federal stimulus money nationwide for these appliance rebates. Connecticut qualified for $3.4 million of those funds and will be one of the first states to begin administering rebates under this program.

Republican congressional candidate Justin Bernier says that the recent financial statement issues by his opponent, State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, doesn’t tell the whole story.
"If you read between the lines," Bernier told The Register Citizen, "he spent more than he brought in."
Bernier said that if you look at Caligiuri’s financial disclosures, "he lost $10,000."
Caligiuri announced that he raised over $100,000 from the time he launched his Congressional campaign on November 24 through the end of the quarter on December 31.
"It looks like he spent 110,000," Bernier said.
Bernier’s campaign is listing $207,000 in cash on hand as of its most recent financial disclosure.
"We’re actually putting money in the bank," Bernier said. He’s bragging about what he’s brought in, when we’re putting a lot away."

State Senator Sam Caligiuri announced today that he raised over $100,000 from the time he launched his Congressional campaign on November 24 through the end of the quarter on December 31.
"I could not be happier to make such a strong showing right out of the gate. I am humbled by the outpouring of support for my candidacy, and looking forward to building on this momentum in my first full quarter as a Congressional candidate," said Caligiuri.
"Having spent over twenty years fundraising in the Fifth District, I am very impressed with Sam’s ability to bring in over $100,000 in the short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are the toughest weeks of the year to raise money. Couple this fundraising success with the immediate support he received from legislators and rank-and-file Republicans alike, and the message is clear: Sam is the strongest candidate in this race," said Nancy Johnson, former Congresswoman from Connecticut’s 5th District, who has endorsed Caligiuri.
Over 98% of the money raised came from within Connecticut. This fundraising total does not include any transfer of funds from Caligiuri’s U.S. Senate campaign – no funds will be transferred from the Senate campaign. All contributions came from individual donors.

A new poll is out showing that 5th District Congressman Chris Murphy would trounce U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman if he challenged him in 2012.

The same poll, however, shows that Gov. M. Jodi Rell would handily beat both of them if she were to jump into the race.

Murphy, presently gearing up for a re-election campaign to his seat in the 5th District, has made it clear that he is interested in running for the Senate in two years.

There is no question that the biggest winner in Susan Bysiewicz' decision to switch to the race for attorney general is Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman.

The move leaves Glassman, Democrats' lieutenant governor nominee four years ago, a rising star in the party and a new and somewhat surprising entrant in the race for governor, as the only prominent woman running.

She could end up as a fresh-face alternative to millionaire failed Senate candidate Ned Lamont and former Stamford Mayor and failed 2006 gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy.

CLICK HERE for the story about Glassman's decision to explore a run for governor.

Everyone saw the poll numbers released yesterday showing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal absolutely trouncing potential Republican nominees Rob Simmons, Linda McMahon and Peter Schiff in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd.
Why not just give up now, some pundits have said, or in the case of Simmons, who doesn't have the personal wealth of McMahon, consider switching to the race for governor?
One development that could be keeping both in the race and optimistic is what's happening in our even-more-liberal, even-more-Democratic-Party-dominated neighbor, Massachusetts.
The special election to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat has a lot of parallels.
Kennedy and Dodd served in the Senate FOREVER. They were ideological peas in a pod, and sailing buddies. And Dodd very publicly took up the health care reform mantle after Kennedy's death.
Both seats are up for grabs after decades of dominance by a single family.
And the Democratic nominee in Massachusetts and presumed nominee in Connecticut both happen to be the respective state's sitting attorney general.
And the Republican nominee in both states (regardless of whether Schiff, Simmons or McMahon wins in Connecticut) will be from the moderate-to-liberal wing of the GOP.
Connecticut Republicans have to be encouraged by the latest from Massachusetts, where Coakley's once crushing lead in the polls is at break-even now to slightly behind state Sen. Scott Brown.
Brown has focused almost completely on Democrats' push for a health care bill that would carry huge tax increases. Instead, he argues, the Obama administration and Congress should be focusing on cutting taxes, stimulating the economy and creating jobs.
If Brown wins or comes anywhere close to winning a Massachusetts seat that no Republican has any business winning, "Sen. Blumenthal" come November is no safe bet.

A strong opponent of the Democrats’ unaffordable health care bill that promises to grow the size of government, today State Senator Sam Caligiuri became the first candidate in Connecticut to sign the Club for Growth’s “Repeal It!” pledge. Caligiuri is a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives (CT-5).

“From the way it is being negotiated, to the government-expanding provisions it is likely to include, most everything about this bill is wrong. We can and must work to make health care more affordable, but we can and must do it without growing the size of government or saddling future generations with even greater debt. And no piece of legislation this critical should be negotiated under a veil of secrecy or rushed to meet an arbitrary deadline,” said Caligiuri.

“Signing this pledge is my way of telling voters in Connecticut’s 5th District that I am committed to fighting government takeover of our healthcare, maintaining my record of fiscal conservatism, and limiting the role of government in our lives.”

Caligiuri’s signing of the Repeal It! pledge is yet another example of his commitment to exercising fiscal restraint and limiting the growth of government. Hailed by one newspaper as the “Last Sane Man in Hartford” for being the lone vote against Connecticut’s 2007-2009 state budget, Caligiuri has earned the reputation of staying grounded in his fiscal conservative principles, even in the face of political pressure.

Text of the Repeal It! Pledge

“I hereby pledge to the people of my district upon my election to the U.S. House of Representatives, to sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government.”

For more information about the Club for Growth’s Repeal It! Pledge, visit www.RepealIt.org.

WASHINGTON, DC – As the House and Senate enter the final days of negotiations on a comprehensive health care bill, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) is pushing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to include in the compromise a provision that would require Members of Congress and their staffs who wish to utilize government health insurance benefits to receive those benefits through the newly formed exchange. The purpose of the exchange is to force private plans to compete with each other to increase competition and lower costs for individuals, families and businesses. This provision was in the Senate bill, but not in the House bill.
“As we near the end of this long road, it’s more important than ever for the American people to know that we here in Congress have a real stake in the outcome of this reform effort. And I can’t think of a better way than to put Members of Congress who want federal health care in the exchange, which will be a fair marketplace with lots of options for people in Connecticut and across the country,” said Murphy.
Murphy has been pushing for this idea to be incorporated in the bill since he heard about it from his constituents beginning in August. After hosting public events in Waterbury, Danbury, Meriden, Simsbury, Avon and Washington, Connecticut over the last six months and meeting with and hearing from constituents throughout last year on health care, Murphy urged House leadership to include the concept in their version of the bill before it was unveiled in late October.
Right before the House bill came to the floor for a vote in November, Murphy filed an amendment to require Members of Congress who take federal health care to purchase their insurance in the newly created health insurance exchange. While Murphy’s amendment was not made in order, the Senate version of the bill included what he has been pushing. So he is taking this last opportunity to persuade the negotiators to include this concept in the final health care bill.
“We are closer than ever before in our quest to provide American families and small businesses with comprehensive, affordable health care. In order to give people confidence in the newly established health insurance exchange, it just makes sense for Members of Congress who take federal insurance to be the exchange’s first customers,” said Murphy.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut state Sen. John McKinney of Fairfield says he will not seek the Republican nomination for governor in this year's election because a campaign would take away his time with his three young children.

McKinney, the Senate minority leader, announced Tuesday that he was dropping out of the race but will seek re-election to his Senate seat in November. He is in the middle of divorce proceedings from his wife.

McKinney did not endorse either of the two leading GOP candidates for governor: Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley.

Hamden Republican and former Congressman Larry DeNardis, meanwhile, announced Tuesday that he is running for governor.

Former state House Speaker James Amann is the only declared Democratic candidate.

George Jepsen has announced that he is forming an exploratory committee. Here is the letter he sent to media outlets on Jan. 12:

"This week I will open my exploratory committee for the office of Connecticut Attorney General.

If I become Attorney General, I pledge to give my full time and commitment to the position. As part of this pledge, I will not run for any higher office while Attorney General in my first term. Specifically, I will not seek the 2012 US Senate seat or the 2014 Governor’s seat. The next Attorney General needs the professionalism upheld by Richard Blumenthal and the office should avoid immediate conflicts involving electoral politics.

When Richard Blumenthal became Attorney General, he committed himself to the work at hand in his first term and I will give that same level of dedication.

We need an Attorney General who, like Richard Blumenthal, will be a constant beacon for legal leadership and ethics over many years, and not a person looking at this position as a short-term stepping stone. I would ask that other officials running for Attorney General match my pledge."