Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell Makes First Endorsement Since Leaving Office; Praises Andrew Roraback for Congress in 5th District

DANBURY – Since retiring as Connecticut’s most popular governor in recent history, M. Jodi Rell has essentially disappeared from the political scene.

And she likes it that way.

In a rare public appearance Tuesday, Rell came out of political seclusion to endorse Republican state Senator Andrew Roraback in the Fifth Congressional District that stretches from Simsbury to Danbury to Salisbury.

Rell, who now splits her time between Florida and her longtime hometown of Brookfield, stood outside Danbury city hall to make her first endorsement since leaving office nearly two years ago.

She said she decided to get involved in the campaign when Roraback’s opponents “started to try to paint him as some sort of right-wing nut, for lack of a better term, someone who was out of touch, [and an] anti-woman legislator.”

“Everyone who knows Andrew knows that that simply is not true,” Rell continued. “Andrew is a moderate. … He’s a fiscal conservative, which I am, and which I appreciate in him. I think he is one of the most thoughtful, reasonable individuals I know on all issues.”

Roraback defeated three fellow Republicans in the August 14 primary, rejecting various attacks that were made in commercials and in direct mail that criticized his record. He now faces former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty in the general election in November.

“Like me, Andrew is a believer in a woman’s right of choice,” Rell said, adding, “What we really need in Washington are more people just like Andrew – people who care, people who show up for votes, and yes, Andrew, that wasn’t a slight at anyone else.”

Roraback then stepped to the microphone at the outdoor event and immediately thanked Rell.

“Governor Rell, I’d like to offer to give you a ride to Hartford this afternoon and put you back in the governor’s office,” Roraback said as fellow Republican legislators laughed.

“No thanks,” Rell responded as she stood nearby.

“Each day that passes, M. Jodi Rell is missed more and more by the people of the state of Connecticut,” Roraback told reporters. ”And the reason she is missed is because the tone of any organization is set at the top. With you as our governor, Governor Rell, you set a tone of being firm, but fair, of being decent and honorable. Not looking to pick a fight, but looking to find a solution to the very real problems that we face – be it in education, healthcare, economic development.”

“There’s a reason Governor Rell’s approval ratings never went below 60 percent, and there’s a reason that Governor Malloy’s approval ratings have never been above 50 percent,” Roraback said. “And that’s because the shrill tone that one-party rule has delivered to the state of Connecticut is not what the people want. One-party rule is a bad thing, and Governor Rell, when she was governor, was the check and balance that this state needed to stay on track. I’m running for Congress because I’m going to be the voice that stands up to the monopoly that one party holds on power in this state. I’m going to be the brakes on a runaway agenda that’s led this state, this district, and this country into the economic doldrums that we together are experiencing.”

Roraback said that “it means a great deal to me for Governor Rell to come out of her comfortable, private life” to make an endorsement.

When asked by a reporter if she misses politics, Rell quickly responded, “Not at all.”