Kimber Backs Malloy

Dannel Malloy got the first major endorsement of his nascent gubernatorial campaign in New Haven Saturday – and he wasn’t even seeking it.

The endorsement came from the Rev. Boise Kimber (in right photo), a powerbroker in the black community known for controversies and shifting political alliances.

Malloy (in left photo) was the only one of 10 gubernatorial candidates who appeared alongside Kimber and the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Kimber’s First Calvary Baptist Church on Dixwell Avenue for a rally Saturday promoting Jackson’s campaign against foreclosures and Wall Street greed.

Malloy, the former Stamford mayor, has formed an exploratory committee to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. As such, he can’t solicit endorsements yet, he said Saturday. He spoke at the rally at Kimber’s church about how the current foreclosure crisis has disproportionately hurt black and Latino families.

“They [foreclosures] rob the next generation of wealth,” Malloy said. ​“Most wealth in this country is generated by home ownership. Every time a family loses its house to foreclosure, put in the back of your mind that the next generation … will not be able to afford college, will not be able to take care of a family in need, will not have the resources to draw upon, and we simply have got to do more to make sure that fewer and fewer, rather than greater and greater numbers, fall into foreclosure.”

As he headed out the door at the close of the 90-minute rally, Malloy said he is not looking for endorsements at this point.

Kimber later gave him one anyway.

“I have told Dan Malloy that I would support him as he seeks the governorship,” Kimber said in an interview after the event. He said he considers it a formal endorsement. He said he has been appearing with Malloy at events around the state and invited him to the Saturday event at First Cavalry. He said he supports Malloy because ​“I think he garners the experience of running a city – he ran the city of Stamford. He ran for governor last time, won the nomination but lost in the primary. I think he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.”

Malloy ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2006. Kimber opposed him in that race – he backed hometown candidate New Haven Mayor John DeStefano. DeStefano’s not running this year. And Kimber and DeStefano, longtime allies, are now on the outs following a string of embarrassing legal and ethical scandals going back decades. (Read about that here.)

In endorsing Malloy, Kimber also passed over a candidate he supported in 2006. That candidate is Ned Lamont. Kimber, with the Rev. Al Sharpton alongside him, was the most visible black leader in Connecticut supporting Lamont’s 2006 Senate run against U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman. This year Lamont is running for governor, in the field that includes Malloy.

Asked if he’s been in touch with Lamont, Kimber replied Saturday, ​“I’ve seen Ned on several occasions. Ned has not asked me to support him.”

For his part, the Rev. Jackson did not make an endorsement of a gubernatorial candidate Saturday.

Asked if he supports or endorses Malloy for governor, Jackson said no. ​“Our thrust is that we must focus on economic reconstruction, bottom up,” he said. ​“We must stop the home and church foreclosures and student defaults. We must begin to focus on reconstructing banks and candidates running for office who represent that agenda. So whoever they are and whatever party they’re from, we want to see who makes the most sense for the most people.”

Jackson, too, visited New Haven in 2006 to support Ned Lamont’s Senate bid. Asked if he’s been in touch with Ned Lamont in this campaign, Jackson said he’d seen him in Stamford the week before. ​“We’re open to talk to all the political leaders, but whoever has the best plan to help the people, they should be the winner.”