DEEP Chief Dan Esty Says He’s Not Going Anywhere, Now That His Wife’s Headed To D.C.

Dan Esty said Thursday that he plans to remain as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, despite some public speculation that he might end up in a federal post in Washington, D.C., now that his wife, Elizabeth Esty has won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat, defeated Republican Andrew Roraback in Tuesday’s election for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by now-U.S. Sen.-elect Chris Murphy.

In response to a question about Dan Esty’s plans, DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain issued  this statement:

“Commissioner Esty serves at the pleasure of Governor Malloy … and he plans to remain as Commissioner for as long as the Governor requests. Commissioner Esty thoroughly enjoys his work as the head of the agency and has no plans to do anything else.  The Commissioner believes that as a result of the leadership and support of Governor Malloy, Connecticut is emerging as a national leader on environmental and energy issues and he wants to keep building on this foundation. He is encouraged by the real and positive progress Connecticut is making in applying a 21^st century approach to environmental regulation and in bringing cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy to our state’s residents and businesses.”