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A little more than nine hours before polls were to open Tuesday, gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel was in Stamford delivering his stump speech to a group of Tea Party devotees. Stressing on his major theme, which has remained constant during his campaign, Griebel said that less government intervention and less spending are needed to make Connecticut a "pro-jobs and pro-business" state. He also encouraged members of the audience to continue their activism.
"It's critical that we keep people like you engaged," Griebel said. "We're going to need you to make phone calls, keep harping away at legislative leaders, write letters to the editor" about important issues.
About 20 members of the Greenwich/Stamford Tea Party attended, and several said they would cast their ballots for Griebel.
"I'm voting for Oz," said Cort Wrotnowski of Greenwich. He said Griebel was "the most specific" about the steps he would take to make needed changes, such as keeping spending flat and reining in pension expenditures.
Stamford resident Frank Yohan, a retired lawyer, also liked Griebel's specifics. "I may not make up my mind until I wake up," Yohan said. "But I may vote for him even though I don't think he's got a chance. All the polls say he's behind."
Griebel is in a three-man race for the Republican nomination for governor. A banker and lawyer, the 61-year-old Simsbury resident was CEO of Bank of Boston Connecticut and is on leave from his position as CEO of MetroHartford Alliance.
With Griebel's appearance, all of the Republican gubernatorial nominees have addressed the Greenwich/Stamford Tea Party in recent weeks. The group "didn't get around" to inviting Democratic nominees, Tea Party member Monique Thomas said.
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