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Dan Malloy got a warm reception last month at a debate in Stamford hosted by the NAACP, but the civil rights group now says the governor-elect is giving its members the cold shoulder. In an NAACP statement issued Saturday, the organization's state leader blasted Malloy for the makeup of his transition team, labeling it "shameful."
"The lack of diversity in Dan Malloy's transition team is a slap in the face to all of the urban areas in the state of Connecticut," said Scott X Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of NAACP Branches. "Clearly, Dan Malloy would not have been elected if the minority communities did not come out in record numbers on Election Day. Only time will tell, but we demand substantial representation at the table."
The NAACP hosted a gubernatorial debate at Stamford High School on Oct. 29 that in addition to Malloy and Republican candidate Tom Foley also included Independent candidate Tom Marsh. Each declared a commitment to diversity in their administration.
Shortly after the election, Malloy announced Lt. Gov.-elect Nancy Wyman and Tim Bannon, who will become Malloy's chief of staff, would head his transition team. Esdaile cited those and eight other team appointments, none of whom is minority, as the basis for his criticism.
Stamford voted decisively for former mayor Malloy, with 19,416 votes; 13,779 votes for Foley; and 269 for Marsh. Although those figures are not broken down by race or ethnicity, surveys indicated African-Americans and other minority groups in Connecticut's urban areas strongly supported Malloy.
The election took a dramatic turn when some parts of Bridgeport ran out of ballots on Election Day and some polling places in that city remained open until 10 p.m. to aviod disenfranchisement.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should Governor-elect Malloy have a more diverse transition team? Who would you select to help with the transition or to serve in the Malloy Administration?
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