State Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw briefly responded on Wednesday to claims that other members of the Lamont administration disrespected her because she is a Black woman. McCaw defended the governor, but not other members of the administration.
"As a Black woman and the first woman of color to hold the position of OPM Secretary, it is not easy to work professionally at this high in a field that has been dominated by white males," McCaw said before she delivered the state budget presentation to lawmakers.
"And while I can not say the same for everyone in this administration, I want you to know that Governor Lamont and I have always had a strong and close working relationship, based on mutual trust and mutual respect," she said.
A former deputy secretary in McCaw's office, Konstantinos Diamantis, filed a grievance claiming that two high-ranking members of the Lamont administration mistreated McCaw. The grievance was sealed, but the Connecticut Mirror reported it named Lamont's high-ranking officials, Paul Mounds and Joshua Geballe.
Geballe recently announced plans to leave Lamont's office for a new role at Yale University.
Diamantis is now part of a federal investigation. He had also resigned under pressure, over the hiring of his daughter by the chief state's attorney Richard Colangelo. In the wake of an independent investigation commissioned by Gov. Lamont that found details about the hiring process were not credible, Colangelo also announced his retirement on Wednesday.
McCaw said she would have no further comment on the issue.
This post has been updated to reflect that Geballe has not yet left Lamont's administration.