Oz Griebel, a former bank executive and President of the MetroHartford Alliance, is mounting a bid for governor outside of the two major parties.
He’s joined in the effort by Monte Frank, an attorney from Newtown, who has been focused on the issue of gun violence prevention since 2012.
“Our view is, electing either the Republican or the Democrat is the definition of political insanity, repeating the same processes over and over again and expecting a different result,” Griebel said.
Griebel, who ran unsuccessfully for governor as a Republican in 2010, he lost in a three-way primary, says the failure to grow jobs over the past few decades is the failure of both Democrats and Republicans who have varying degrees of control over Connecticut government over the past three decades.
The Oz and Monte platform has a plan for transportation that includes protecting revenues meant for infrastructure projects, reinstating a board that deals specifically with strategy relating to transportation, and instituting a pilot program for electronic tolls.
Griebel says tolls are one part of a far more broad conversation about how to make Connecticut an easier place to navigate.
“The essence is, it’s not about tolls. It’s about investment in transportation,” Griebel said. “Tolls are one element of the financial component of it. So is the gasoline tax. So is flexible work rules so people all don’t come to work at the same time.”
Politics
Griebel and Frank met with reporters just 36 hours after the nominees for governor for both Republicans and Democrats had been decided.
The winner of the November election will replace Democrat Dannel Malloy, who chose not to run for a third term.
The campaign between the major party candidates started sharply on Wednesday, with both Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski criticizing each other on varying points of contention.
During one Twitter exchange, Lamont called Stefanowski, “Trumpanowski,” on the same day President Donald Trump endorsed the Madison businessman.
Stefanowski responded on Twitter, calling Lamont, “Ned Malloy.”
Frank, on the ticket with Griebel, said of that interaction, “The two party primary winners on day one after the primary resorted to childish name calling.”
Griebel says his campaign does not anticipate a rush of donations to their cause, and said his outreach will be based on social media and old-fashioned retail politics.
He said, “the radical middle,” is where his run will stand on many issues.
“I hope everyone keeps an open mind. I mean one of the things about the primary system is everybody goes for the red meat issues.”
