Justin Bernier, Republican candidate for U.S. Congress filed paperwork today with the Secretary of State's office to enter the primary for the 5th Congressional district of Connecticut.

Bernier received more than double the votes necessary to qualify for the primary ballot at the Republican convention in Hartford this past weekend.

Bernier issued the following statement upon the filing the paperwork to be place on the ballot:
"I am grateful for the tremendous support we are receiving from grass-roots Republicans who want a choice in this election. The Republican voters in Connecticut tell me they are hungry for new ideas and new leadership. This primary will allow us to debate the direction of America and our party during a serious time in our nation's history. The voters deserve a choice and an opportunity for a fresh start, and that's what we'll give them."

Connecticut's primary is scheduled for August 1oth.

The CT Early Childhood Alliance will recognize state legislators for their engagement on issues related to early childhood in their communities.

The event takes place May 26, 2010 at the Capitol building at 10 a.m. in the Old Judiciary Room.

House Speaker Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden) has been chosen by the CT Early Childhood Alliance to receive its "Legislator of the Year" award for being a consistent champion for Connecticut's children this year, forming the Task Force for Children in the Recession and showing unwavering leadership in supporting children.

Fifty-two members of the House and Senate will be honored for their engagement on issues related to early childhood.

Some of the 2010 honorees include: Rep. Michelle Cook (D-Torrington), Rep. Roberta Willis (D-Salisbury), Sen. Sam Caliguiri (R-16th District), Sen. Tom Gaffey (D-13th District), and Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-30th District).

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA), released statements Thursday May 20 after Mexico's President Calderon awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle to the late Senator Ted Kennedy.

The award was given to honor Ted Kennedy's lifelong fight for immigrants and his passionate interest in helping the people of Mexico build better lives on both sides of the border. Vicki Kennedy accpeted the award on behalf of her late husband.

The Order of the Aztec Eagle is the highest honor that Mexico awards to heads of state and other foreign dignitaries for distinguished service to Mexico or to humankind.

"No one understood better than my friend Teddy Kennedy that the United States and Mexico must embrace the things that unite us and work together to keep both of our nations safe, strong, and prosperous. Teddy knew how much Mexican-Americans contribute to our country. I was proud to work with him on this important issue, and prouder still to call him my friend," said Dodd.

"Th tale behind the eagle and the snake that appear on this medal is a story about how people find their homes, how they make new homes and how they shape the history of entire nations. That's what the Aztecs did when they stopped their journey and built a city on a lake. That's what the Kennedy family did in journeying from Ireland to America. And it's also what Ted Kennedy's life's work made possible for so [many] Mexican-Americans and countless others." said Kerry.

"It is an honor to have Vicki Kennedy here today accepting this award on behalf of Ted who was a tireless advocate for immigrants and champion of comprehensive immigration reform." Kerry said.

Here's a roundup of links this morning to stories and analysis on the Richard Blumenthal military record scandal.

- The New York Times piece that started it all CLICK HERE

- Twitter feed of Blumenthal-related Tweets CLICK HERE

- Register Citizen editorial calls for him to drop out of Senate race CLICK HERE

- Chris Murphy seen as potential replacement candidate for Democrats CLICK HERE

- Democratic spokesperson: He's staying in the race CLICK HERE

- Wonkette: Connecticut Dem frontrunner likes to tell horrible lies about service in Vietnam CLICK HERE

- Blumenthal campaign releases video of him saying he "did not serve in Vietnam" CLICK HERE

- The Guardian in London: So long, Mr. Blumenthal CLICK HERE

- Linda McMahon campaign claims credit for "feeding" story to New York Times CLICK HERE

- CTMirror.Org has detailed story with Connecticut reactions from other campaigns CLICK HERE

- Chris Dodd defends Blumenthal, calls it a "bump" in the road for his campaign CLICK HERE

- Dueling videos at NewHavenRegister.Com ... Did he or didn't he claim to serve? CLICK HERE

- Blumenthal to speak at press conference this afternoon CLICK HERE

- Washington Post blog: The wrath of Linda McMahon CLICK HERE

- Wall Street Journal law blog: "Bright Shining Lies" ... Blumenthal and Vietnam CLICK HERE

- Politico: Rob Simmons stands to gain the most from this CLICK HERE

- Vanity Fair: Did the Jewish Jack Kennedy fabricate his Profile in Courage? CLICK HERE

- Hartford Courant columnist: $16 million McMahon campaign did what decades of media coverage could not CLICK HERE

- Next for Blumenthal? Damage control CLICK HERE

- Public Policy Polling: Democrats still favored to keep Connecticut seat should Blumenthal drop out CLICK HERE

- FOX News: Blog about Blumenthal's history in the Nixon White House CLICK HERE

- MSNBC: Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says he still backs Blumenthal CLICK HERE

- Rob Simmons tries to cash in on Blumenthal's trouble CLICK HERE

In a letter to his supporters, Marconi explains that he has decided to end his campaign for governor and will continue to serve as the First Selectman of Ridgefield.

He will be supporting Ned Lamont and Mary Glassman.

"We have some challenging days ahead of us, but I believe that with hard work and the right leadership, they can also be great days," Marconi said in explaining his decision to support Lamont and Glassman.

"Together they represent the best of what Connecticut has to offer. Ned has decades of experience building a business from the ground up and creating hundreds of jobs here in Connecticut, while Mary has a proven record of improving education and fixing transportation as the First Selectman of Simsbury," Marconi said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy has chosen State Comptroller Nancy Wyman as his runningmate for lieutenant governor, according to THIS STORY in the Journal Inquirer of Manchester.

Fifth District Republican congressional candidate Sam Caligiuri raised $43,256 during the month of April, compared to $29,104 by rival Justin Bernier and $7,872 by also-ran Mark Greenberg.

Bernier spins the fundraising picture differently, trumpeting the fact that his campaign had more "cash on hand after debt" May 1 than Caligiuri, $237,723 to $157,390.

Bill Evans, U.S. Congressional candidate for the 5th District of Connecticut, joined the "Bullpen" of The Freshmen 50 - a coalition of candidates nationwide dedicated to fiscal and legislative responsibility.

The non-partisan PAC has a simple platform of six reforms which Evans believes the 5th District voters want their representative and Congress to abide by.

Those reforms are:.
1. Apply the law Equally - all laws that apply to all citizens also apply to Congress.
2. Term Limits - limit terms in Congress to no more than 12 years in the House and Senate, respectively.
3. Enforce Congressional Ethics - Yearly tax and expense audits, former Congressmen and their staff cannot be lobbyists, allow the ethics committee to do their job.
4. Read the Bill - prior to a final vote, read the entire bill out loud on the floor of the House, if a representative is not present for the entire reading, he can not vote.
5. Tax Reform - repeal our current tax code in favor of one that taxes only once, at one rate, and requires a 2/3 majority vote for any new tax.
6. Balance the Budget - amend the constitution to require a balanced budget.

The Freshmen 50 was founded in early 2009. To date, 100 or more candidates have signed onto the platform with many of those candidates in the most competitive races nationwide.

HARTFORD - Environment Connecticut Program Director Christopher Phelps issued the following statement Tuesday urging lawmakers to pass the Fonfara-Nardello Energy Bill:

"In the face of aggressive pressure from dozens of energy industry lobbyists, lawmakers at the state capitol pulled the plug on a planned Monday vote on the Fonfara-Nardello Energy Bill. The bill would mark a huge step towards a cleaner, more efficient and more affordable energy future for every family and every business in every community across Connecticut.

Environment Connecticut calls on lawmakers to stand up to the utility and power company lobbyists and reject their scare tactics. The Energy Bill will create and retain needed jobs at renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses here in Connecticut."

Phelps explained that the energy bill would create and retain needed jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses in CT. He said that the energy bill will help expand use of solar, wind, fuel cell, and other clean and renewable energy sources that cut pollution and help break our dependence on oil.

"The Fonfara-Nardello energy bill is too important to Connecticut's economic, energy, and environmental future to allow lobbyists for big utilities, energy companies and power plant owners to block action on the bill. Now of all times, when our nation is seeing firs-hand in the Gulf of Mexico the catastrophic results for our economy and our environment from dependence on oil, we need our lawmakers to stand up to the arm twisting of lobbyists for big energy companies," urged Phelps.