Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele made it official Wednesday morning that he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010.
In a somewhat unusual maneuver, Fedele made his announcement at a meeting of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association in Cromwell.
He said he chose the CBIA meeting because it's an organization that is all about protecting Connecticut's businesses and providing jobs. In the afternoon Fedele was expected to make a more celebratory announcement in his hometown of Stamford.
Fedele is 54, was born in Italy and moved to the United States in 1958. He served five terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives while starting a new information technology business. In 2006, Gov. M. Jodi Rell tapped Fedele to run with her in the gubernatorial race against New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, a race that Rell-Fedele handily won.
He said last month that he has the support of Rell, who recently announced she would not run again. But in recent weeks, Rell has only said the Republican party has several qualified candidates and she is not endorsing anybody at this time.
Fedele told CBIA members his campaign will be all about jobs. He said Connecticut has lost too many jobs in recent weeks and that the bleeding must stop.
He said his success in developing a business and making it grow gives him a keen insight into how the state can do the same thing.
