David Stemerman is prepared to spend millions of his own money to ensure he is the GOP nominee for governor and eventually sitting in the governor’s office.
“I will pursue a race that I believe will lead to victory and my personal financial support will be one of the ways that we will get there,” said the Greenwich resident during one of his first interviews as he pursues Connecticut’s highest elected office.
Stemerman is joining a crowded GOP field that now exceeds a dozen announced and exploratory candidates.
Born in the suburbs of Boston, Stemerman attended Yale for his undergraduate studies and later completed law and business degrees at Harvard. He is married with five children.
He says his business acumen, specifically finding success at a time when others were failing, is what suits him to be the next governor.
“I started my business from a single desk with an idea in 2008, the start of the financial crisis, so I’m no stranger to starting a business in a challenging situation.”
Up until December of last year, Stemerman managed Conatus Capital Management, with assets in excess of $1.6 billion.
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On the issue of gun violence, Stemerman said he supported the post-Sandy Hook gun regulations Connecticut put in place but did say, “Connecticut has to do an adequate job of enforcing those laws,” and said the state needs to appropriate more money for mental health.
Fiscal health, Stemerman said, is what he would focus on if elected governor. He said the union agreement extended to 2027 was, at its core, the fault of former governor John Rowland. Stemerman was quick to describe Rowland as a “two-time felon,” who set the state on a poor budget path.
The most recent SEBAC agreement, Stemerman argues, was a faulty contract on its face. He says what was promised will never be realized, and he thinks that’s a case he can make to rank and file union members.
“My concern is just as much for the state employee union membership and their families as it is for the taxpayers of this state. I don’t believe that that membership has been well served by this agreement. I’m not sure they understand how at risk their retirement is.”
The race for governor, on both sides of the political aisle, is a very crowded one. On the Republican side, the candidate that receives the endorsement of the state party at its May convention will have a leg up with financing because that person is expected to qualify for more than a million in public election funds.
Stemerman, however, has already made it clear he is willing to bankroll his campaign and receive help from well-heeled donors. Stemerman gave his campaign $1.8 million to start, more than any publicly financed candidate would receive following the GOP convention.
“I will pursue a race that I believe will lead to victory and my personal financial support will be one of the ways that we will get there,” he said.
Finally, Stemerman is aiming to make it on to the August primary ballot without the GOP nomination, if necessary. He recognizes the heavy lift of collecting an estimated 9,000 registered Republican signatures in order to secure ballot access, and he says that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
“There is more than one path to the ballot and I will explore all of those paths but I am committed to being on the path in August.”
