Two days before Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz announced she would no longer seek the Democratic nomination for governor, she marched under a banner at the Newton Labor Day parade. It said "Bysiewicz for governor."

This recollection comes from Audrey Blondin, a Torrington-based solo and one of six Democrats vying for their party's endorsement for Bysiewicz's supposedly "open" secretary seat. Blondin marched in that parade too, and the incumbent made no mention of second thoughts.

But when Blondin ran into Bysiewicz a few days later in Clinton, Bysiewicz pulled her aside to say she had reconsidered and would run for SOS again. "It was a total surprise," Blondin said.

While Bysiewicz's withdrawal naturally restructured the race for governor -- New Haven Mayor John DeStefano trying to claim momentum and Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy trying to look viable -- Bysiewicz's decision also radically altered the lives of the people trying to replace her and those in her camp who had stood to benefit from her rising star.

It also begs the question: Did Bysiewicz make a promise she couldn't keep?

Since the beginning of the year, whenever Blondin asked Bysiewicz her intentions, she said she was running for governor. Period. State Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, another one of the six, says he got the same answer. Once a politician makes a commitment to a colleague, his or her reputation suffers greatly if he or she backs out (as opposed to the oft neglected promises to the public).

So does Blondin feel Bysiewicz broke her word?

"Everyone answers to their own God," she said. "There are times when different understandings are made of different situations."

"I had said to each of them I was committed to running for governor, and I made the decision knowing those folks out there are all my friends and are working very, very hard," Bysiewicz said. "When I let them know my decision, all of the candidates I have spoken to have been very, very gracious."

So does that mean Bysiewicz doesn't believe she broke her word?

"I told them I was committed to running for governor. The interesting thing about politics is that things change all the time. I have always been very honest when the candidates spoke to me. I do not believe I have broken my word."

Blondin and the other five hopefuls now face the grim chore of figuring out what money to return to supporters. For Blondin, who loaned at least $112,000 of her own money to her campaign, that task takes on an added dimension.

The Bysiewicz decision also reaches outside the circle of folks trying to replace her. Take West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka, an associate at Updike, Kelly & Spellacy. He took a sabbatical last year to become Bysiewicz's chief of staff at the SOS office (not the political campaign). Bysiewicz has also had a longstanding political relationship with Updike partner Robert Martino, who has run her fundraising PACs.

Had Bysiewicz been successful, Slifka's electoral ambitions certainly would have been enhanced by the added clout. As it happened, he returned to Updike in May, saying they discovered the federal Hatch Act prohibited him from serving further.

The Hatch Act is a federal law that prohibits state employees from running in a partisan election, unless the agency they work for receives no federal funding. Slifka said the Secretary of the State office receives federal funding through the Help America Vote Act and that they determined it would not be appropriate for him to continue. The West Hartford mayor added that they thought this might be a problem when he signed on with Bysiewicz last year, but decided to take the job with the understanding that it could be a short-term appointment.

©The Hartford Courant 2005