An unexpected storm in deep-blue New Haven wrecked the historic Lighthouse Park carousel building early Thursday morning — just hours before Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio was slated to host a campaign event there focused on “Connecticut’s future.” Good try! Fazio did q uickly regroup and find a new venue for his event — but across the border in East Haven. That was “one of the great coincidences of all time,” Fazio campaign Deputy Communications Manager Andrew Tammaro joked when asked if the venue-destroying storm might have been a Democratic conspiracy. But seriously, the carousel building’s wreckage is greatly concerning, said Tammaro, a 28-year-old Hamdenite with deep family roots in New Haven. That carousel building is “one of the city’s great cultural landmarks.” He said he felt “genuine sadness” when he heard that the building had been so badly damaged. But then, he and fellow Fazio campaign workers had to “spring into work mode” and try to find a new venue to host the event in 12 hours. He said that that scrambling may have actually “strengthened the program, [as it] allowed us to do a little bit more outreach.” He expects more than 200 people to show up. The event will now be held at the Silver Sands Beach Tennis Club in East Haven. The event itself is the second town hall that the Fazio campaign has held as the Greenwich state senator ramps up his general election campaign against two-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. The first town hall, held in Southington, had a “general affordability focus.” This second town hall — originally planned for the Lighthouse Park carousel building, now to be held in East Haven — is going to “focus on the issues most impacting the youngest voters in this election, the ones potentially casting their first ballots.” Tammaro anticipates the town hall to focus on affordability, housing, and workforce development. “We were especially excited to do this in New Haven. That was the whole point,” Tammaro said. “Ryan loves the city. It’s one of the epicenters of our state’s younger populations.” Maybe the next time Fazio plans a campaign event for New Haven, the venue won’t be destroyed last minute? “That’s all we ask for,” Tammaro said. The post Monster New Haven Storm Blasts Fazio To East Haven appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less