The Connecticut AFL-CIO on Friday endorsed two-term incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont and a slate of other state-office seekers — including New Haven’s Gary Winfield, Pat Dillon, Steve Winter, and Leland Moore — following a two-day, closed-door convention held at the Omni Hotel. The state AFL-CIO announced those endorsements in an email press release sent out at around 5 p.m. Friday. The press release states that delegates representing nearly 230 union leaders from 87 local unions from across Connecticut voted at the Sixteenth Biennial Political Convention — which, for the first time, was closed to the press. The state’s largest labor federation wound up endorsing Lamont, a Greenwich businessman seeking a third four-year term in office, instead of progressive Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott, who is challenging Lamont in the Aug. 11 Democratic gubernatorial primary. The state AFL-CIO also endorsed incumbent State Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven’s 10th Senate District, incumbent State Rep. Pat Dillon of New Haven’s 92nd General Assembly District, incumbent State Rep. Steve Winter of New Haven’s and Hamden’s 94th General Assembly District, and Morris Cove Alder Leland Moore, who is the Democratic Party-endorsed candidate for New Haven’s 97th General Assembly District seat. While Winfield and Winter are running for reelection unopposed, Dillon is facing a primary challenge from fellow Democrats Eli Sabin and Justin Farmer, and Moore is facing a primary challenge from fellow Democrat Wildaliz Bermudez. “The Connecticut AFL-CIO represents the heart of our state’s working and middle class, and I am incredibly honored to earn their endorsement,” Lamont is quoted as saying in a separate email press release Friday. “For years, I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with union members at rallies, on picket lines, and at the bargaining table, because I believe Connecticut’s future is built on good-paying union jobs with good benefits. Together, we have passed the $15 minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, made sure our paid sick days law covered more workers, expanded collective bargaining rights for public employees, implemented strong health and safety protections for warehouse workers, and banned captive audience meetings. I am proud to keep fighting alongside the men and women of the AFL-CIO to ensure Connecticut remains a place where every worker can thrive.” Friday’s AFL-CIO endorsement came on the same day that Yale’s politically influential UNITE HERE Local 34 also endorsed Lamont’s reelection bid. The post AFL-CIO Endorses Lamont appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less