State Rep. Josh Elliott, challenger to incumbent Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary for Connecticut governor, on Wednesday unveiled his first endorsement by a labor union.
At a press conference outside the state Capitol in Hartford seven weeks out from an Aug. 11 primary, Elliott stood alongside members of the 4Cs, SEIU Local 1973, the union representing faculty and staff at Connecticut's community colleges. The endorsement comes after members have criticised the leadership of the state’s public colleges and universities system, which faces its third chancellor in two years.
"Josh Elliott has been a champion for us for a long time," said Michael Hinton, an associate professor at CT State Tunxis and faculty vice president with the union. "It's been a simple decision for me and for many of our leaders, and for the vast majority of our members who overwhelmingly supported this endorsement."
Elliott, a five-term state representative from Hamden, said he hoped the endorsement would be the first of more to come from labor unions.
"I’m cautiously optimistic," Elliott said. "I know that I can stand on my record when I come before the unions – that, as a rule, I am there with labor every time."
In Lamont's bid for a third term in the governor's office, his campaign this week listed the support of several unions, including the Teamsters, the Amalgamated Transit Union, the Connecticut District Laborers’ Council, and more.
“As Governor, I've stood shoulder-to-shoulder with organized labor, protecting the right to organize, investing in good-paying union jobs, and building the workforce our growing economy depends on,” Lamont said in a statement announcing the Amalgamated Transit Union endorsement.
Elliott said he was in close communication with several unions who had yet to endorse either candidate.
“We are giving other unions that haven't endorsed yet the opportunity to be on board,” Elliott said. “This is a campaign that’s built to win.”
