Candidate Halts Public Appearances Days Before Primary
5th District Candidate Dan Roberti cancels campaign appearances after his mother's death.
Monday, Aug 13, 2012 | Updated 9:19 AM EDT
5th District Candiate Dan Roberti.
A Democratic candidate in Connecticut's 5th House District who recently curtailed public campaign appearances to spend time with his ailing mother says she has died of skin cancer.
Dan Roberti said in a statement on Saturday that his mother, Kathleen Lenihan, died at age 60 after a six-year battle with melanoma. Roberti calls his mother, a former Bridgeport public school teacher, "an inspiration."
Campaign manager Erik Williams said Roberti, a public affairs representative, had been at his mother's bedside since Thursday evening. Funeral services are pending.
Williams says Roberti won't be making any campaign appearances through Tuesday's primary election, but campaign volunteers and staff are still working on his behalf.
Roberti, state House Speaker Chris Donovan, and former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty are competing for the Democratic nomination.
