As Dan Malloy settled into a New Haven coffee shop to discuss his gubernatorial campaign, the word went out to his opponent’s headquarters up the block: Grab the videocam!
Steven Winter arrived on the scene, ready to record Malloy’s statements. If he had permission.
Click on the play arrow to watch his entrance, and Malloy’s reactions.
The encounter took place Thursday afternoon at Bru Cafe on Orange Street.
Malloy, who’s running in a Democratic gubernatorial primary, sat down with a cup of iced black tea to discuss his campaign in an interview with the Independent.
A young woman seated by the window was eating a wrap. It turned out she works at the headquarters of Ned Lamont, the other Democrat running in the Aug. 10 primary. The Lamont statewide headquarters is on the same block of Orange Street.
Within minutes, Winter showed up, camera at the ready. The Lamont campaign has assigned Winter, a Yale student, to follow Malloy on the campaign trail to record his public statements and actions on video. With the growing influence of Youtube on elections, trackers like Winter have become staples in political campaigns throughout the country. Click here to read Melissa Bailey’s first report on how the phenomenon surfaced at the May state Democratic convention.
Winter referred questions about his mission to the Lamont press office. However, he said he’d be willing to leave if his presence was unwanted. A Malloy staffer asked him to leave, and he did.
Malloy said he considers episodes like that one a “form of harassment.”
He said his campaign, too, dispatches a tracker to record some of Lamont’s public speeches. He claimed that unlike his campaign, the Lamont campaign has had its tracker come into his personal space while he’s shaking hands or otherwise conducting less-public interactions.
Lamont spokesman Brian Coy praised Winter’s conduct and noted that Winter left when asked.
“That exchange underscores what we’ve been saying all along. He’s very respectful,” Coy said. Winter is “keeping tabs on what people are saying in public. It’s part of a modern political campaign.”
Awkward!