Saturday Debate: A Chance For Last Impressions In The Fifth

Ten days before Democrats in the Fifth District pick their nominee for the fall election, the three candidates vying for that title will come together one last time to each put one final image of themselves in voters’ minds before they head to polls.

And while all of the candidates will play up parts of their platform at a Saturday morning debate in Litchfield, each candidate comes into the debate Saturday with their own objective.

A strong undercurrent running through the event will be the ongoing federal investigation into the campaign of state House Speaker Chris Donovan’s campaign.

If he holds to his strategy for much of the summer, Donovan will likely try to shift attention instead to the strengths he has: his party’s convention endorsement, continued support from union-backed groups, years of experience as a legislative leader and a platform of “fairness, dignity and respect” for middle-class workers.

One of his rivals, political newcomer Dan Roberti, has repeatedly criticized Donovan as resistant to public questioning and has said the Speaker should fold his campaign for the good of the party. On Saturday, Roberti will have the forum he’s been calling for and could use it to keep the focus off criticisms he has received in the campaign: a thin political resume, a Super PAC working to support him in spite of his voiced opposition to such groups and donations that appear connected to his father, a powerful Washington lobbyist.

The course for the race’s third candidate, former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty, is less clear. Esty has largely resisted chances to hammer Donovan for the scandal–even though the two newspaper endorsements she has picked up have cited the investigation as one reason why she’s the better candidate. And she has not completely avoided negative attacks. Her camp released an ad this week hammering Roberti as a manufactured candidate.

Instead, some insiders believe that Esty will continue a difficult verbal tap dance to say she’s better than the Speaker for reasons other than the investigation, perhaps as a hedge to bring longtime Donovan supporters into her fold for the fall if her recent pick-ups translate into a victory later this month.