KARSTEN STRAUSS, Register Citizen Staff12/02/2004

TORRINGTON -- Surrounded by friends, family, supporters and political contemporaries, former Litchfield Selectman Audrey Blondin announced Wednesday that she will run for Connecticut Secretary of State position in 2006 at a special luncheon meeting held in the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Torrington. Blondin’s decision comes in the wake of two-term Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz’s announcement earlier this fall that she will run for governor.

"It’s absolutely vital that we get good, hardworking people with integrity in Hartford.. said Litchfield Selectman Kevin Creed, who spoke first at the luncheon. "If I did not believe in Audrey Blondin I would not be here."

Following Creed, local politicians including Torrington Mayor Owen Quinn, Barkhamsted First Selectman Michael Fox, 64th District state Rep. Roberta Willis and former Litchfield First Selectman Linda Bongiolatti took turns singing Blondin’s praises.

"I think Audrey is going to be the best secretary of state we’ve ever had," said Bongiolatti. "She has the knowledge, she has the drive and she has the commitment to do the job right." Bongiolatti explained that she believes Blondin’s understanding of the little things that affect small town budgets is an asset for her as a candidate.

"This is not about me, this is about all of us," said Blondin, addressing the crowd of approximately 40 people. "Politics is a group effort."

Blondin explained that an issue she feels needs to be addressed in the state is a lack of voter participation, and said that, as secretary of state, she plans to highlight that as an issue.

"Our town meeting form of government is democracy in the truest sense of the word," she said. "It’s important for all voices, from our large cities to our small and rural towns, to be heard statewide on a fair and equal basis."

Blondin said she will focus on maintaining the integrity of Connecticut’s voting system, saying that Congress has mandated utilizing electronic machines for all voting and that the integrity of those machines is questionable.

"As the controversies over the past two presidential elections have shown, electronic voting machines are fallible in ways that are much more insidious than mechanical voting machines, which can just plain break," Blondin said. "As your secretary of state, we will continue to maintain the highest standards of voting possible, and no new or different type of voting machine will be certified for use until each and every one of our rigorous voting standards has been met and maintained."

Blondin spoke of her desire to support small businesses by adhering to protective policies for them, as well as for citizens of Connecticut.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," she said. "We must do everything we can to encourage, support and help our small business owners, as well as protect the public from unscrupulous and predatory business practices."

Blondin also spoke of her involvement with the Connecticut Chapter of the Voluntary Optometric Services to Humanity, which she founded in 2001 with her husband, Torrington optometrist Mathew Blondin. The Blondins, with the organization, travel annually to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, to set up an eyecare mission.

"The Nicaraguan people have not had the luxury of our freedoms of democracy and the value of our right to vote," Blondin said. "They can only look in our eyes and dream of what we so often take for granted in our everyday lives."

After making her announcement speech, Blondin, along with her husband and son Nicholas, a first-year medical student at UConn, dined with supporters on a catered buffet provided by LaMonica’s restaurant and answered questions from the press.

"I have known Audrey since she first came to Torrington," Quinn said after Blondin’s speech. "She is a hard-working, dedicated Democrat..I know the hard work and effort that Audrey is going to put into this campagn."

Quinn went on to say that Blondin’s small-town values would be an asset to her campaign and her bid for the Secretary seat would attract attention to the northwest corner.

"I’m surrounded by wonderful family, friends and supporters," Blondin said after her speech. "I’m confident because of my long involvement on the local, state and national level."

There is no announced opposition to Blondin yet, said Nick Paindiris, a member of the State Central Democratic Committee from Glastonbury and former chairman of the Connecticut John Kerry campaign. Possible candidates that might vie for the position in 2006 include 18th District Democratic state Rep. Andrew Fleischman and former 5th District Congressman Jim Maloney, Paindiris said.

"It’s still early," he said. "Until Christopher Dodd speaks, then we’ll sort that out."

Dodd is said to be considering a run for governor in 2006, which could set off a political musical chairs as candidates line up to run for his seat and lower seats that might be vacated by those decisions.

Blondin, a Litchfield resident who works as an attorney in Torrington, served on the Litchfield Board of Selectmen from 1993 to 2003 and as that town’s Democratic Committee chairman from 1988 to 1992. She held the treasurer’s seat of the committee from 1998 to 2004.

Karsten Strauss can be reached at litchfield@registercitizen.com.

©The Register Citizen 2004