The Fiction of Josh Elliott

As the primary season enters its final weeks, I’m struck by the utter fiction that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Elliott has created about himself. While it’s tempting to leave it alone given Josh’s 20-point deficit to Governor Lamont in the polls, I’m concerned that a runaway loss may never expose Josh Elliott’s truth before his next run for higher office.

For example, I don’t believe that voters outside of Hamden are aware that Josh is running for governor and for reelection to his own state representative seat at the same time. This is entirely legal in Connecticut, but it’s usually avoided by candidates because it conveys a lack of seriousness. In Josh’s case, it’s clear that this primary is really a vanity project that allows him to promote himself but still retain a platform for his future aspirations – just as he did in 2022 when he ran concurrently for Secretary of the State and reelection to his own House seat.

It may also be hard for folk to imagine that Josh has actually spent ten years in the General Assembly. That is probably because no one can point to any signature policy issue that he championed in all that time. Accomplishing real systemic change requires patience and persistence over multiple years of advocacy. Josh takes a different approach. He meticulously avoids assuming a leadership role - and the hard work it requires - on any of the issues in which he says he so passionately believes.

And despite his long and unspectacular tenure in the legislature, people unfamiliar with Josh may think of him as an outsider taking on the establishment. That would be understandable given his campaign’s carefully crafted messaging that leads with the claim that he began his political career by “pushing the sitting Speaker into early retirement.”

I am that former Speaker, and it’s time for me to call B.S. on Josh Elliott.

For the record, I served the customary two terms as Speaker of the House, so there was nothing early about my retirement. Despite the stress, I loved the job and always felt fortunate to have had the opportunity. However, continuing that full-time job on a part-time salary with a stepdaughter heading to college, my reality was that I simply could not afford to take the unusual step of running for a third term as speaker. And after 25 years of state and local service to the people of Hamden, a possible primary from an unknown guy named Josh Elliott was nowhere in my decision matrix.

Josh’s fictional narrative is personally galling, but I’ve avoided the temptation to publicly call this out. I’m doing so now because my example represents the duplicity of Josh’s entire campaign. He’s the outsider who is really an insider. He’s the advocate who has never actually fought for anything. He’s the intrepid crusader who hedges his bets to keep his options open. He’s the populist truth teller who distorts the truth for his own political gain.

For Democratic primary voters, don’t be fooled. Josh Elliott is a fiction.