This evening, Democrats across the State of Connecticut will gather at conventions to select their nominees for State Senate. Some of these conventions will be small quiet affairs where old friends gather to nominate their current State Senators for another term.

State Senator Joe Crisco’s convention in the 17th State Senate District is likely to be like this. Other conventions, like the 36th State Senate Convention in Greenwich are likely to find delegates struggling to find a candidate to run in a heavily Republican district. The 36th State Senate District is an interesting example since State Senator Bill Nickerson is retiring, and although the candidate the Republicans are fielding is very well connected and considered a strong candidate, it is an open seat.

In addition, the new public financing of state campaigns should encourage people to run in districts where challengers have been less frequent. Martin A. Goldberg is taking on Senate Minority Leader John McKinney in the 28th State Senate District. His nominating convention will take place at the Roger Ludlow Middle School, Team Room in Fairfield and is expected to start at 7 PM. He has been having great fundraisers, but has not yet qualified for public financing. His fundraisers have drawn such notables as Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Stamford Mayor and former Gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy, Fourth Congressional candidate Jim Himes Fairfield First Selectman Ken Flatto, Fairfield Selectwoman Denise Dougiello State Representatives Kim Fawcett, Tom Christiano, and Tom Drew, and 26th State Senate District Candidate John Hartwell.

Selectman Flatto, along with Democratic Town Chair Mitch Fuchs will be joined by bloggers Neal Fink, Matt Waggner and others as delegates for the convention. Mr. Goldberg is currently working on fundraisers in Easton, and everyone is encouraged to contact him about these and other events through his website.

In the 8th State Senate District, where State Senator Thomas Herlihy is retiring, and which had one of the closest races in 2006, Republicans are facing a primary between State Representative Kevin Witkos of Canton and Simsbury Selectwoman Moira Wertheimer. Whomever wins the Republican primary is expected to face a very tough challenge by Art House. Mr. House’s background includes staff positions in Washington as chief of staff for Senator Ribicoff, chief of staff to the U.S. Senate Majority Leader and legislative assistant to Sen. Dodd. He’s worked on campaigns in Connecticut including Sen. Dodd’s, George Jepsen’s Gubernatorial campaign and Ned Lamont’s U.S. Senate campaign.

With this, his announcement rallies have drawn many notable figures including Congressman Chris Murphy, Democratic Party Chair Nancy DiNardo, Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams, State Representatives George Wilbur and Linda Schofield, former Senate Majority Leader and Party Chair George Jepsen and several First Selectmen: Mary Glassman of Simsbury, Don Stein of Barkhamsted, Frank Chiaramonte of Harwinton, State Central Committee members Mike Long and Myrna Watanabe and several town chairs and vice chairs.

Mr. House is focusing on the need for action to make Connecticut more competitive economically through regional solutions to control expenses and control property taxes and support for environmental issues such as protecting open spaces and the Farmington River. His convention will take place at the Simsbury Public Library on Hopmeadow Street in the center of town.

The 30th State Senate District has two candidates to chose from. Matt Brennan, who ran for this seat in 2006, announced at the Northwest Leadership Breakfast at Audrey Blondin’s, that he would run again this time. He will have a difficult challenge at the convention where Mike Renzullo is rumored to have gathered support from many of the delegates. Mr. Renzullo has been aggressively fundraising and pounding the streets focusing on key issues for his campaign where he focuses the need for increased economic development on two areas he is well versed in, renewable energy and energy efficiency and increased stem cell funding. Mr. Renzullo is a selectman in Winchester and works the Northeast Regional Manager for American Solar Roofs. The 30th State Senate District nominating convention will take place at La Cupola's Restaurant, Route 202, Litchfield and is expected to start at 7:30 PM.

The 26th State Senate District nominating convention, while lacking drama as to the who the candidate will be is expected to start off with a dramatic illustration of the issues that voters in that district face. John Hartwell, who has already race enough money to qualify for public financing, is using the convention to demonstrate his support for the region’s transportation issues. The nominating convention will take place at the Trackside Teen Center in Wilton, starting at 7:00 PM, assuming the trains are on time. Mr. Hartwell will be taking the train to Wilton to attend the convention.

Mr. Hartwell says of his run for State Senate and the train ride to Wilton, “I am running because I bring real world experience that I believe can make a difference in the lives of residents in the 26th District. This ride to the Wilton station illustrates the dramatic need this area has for better mass transit solutions, from better parking to working train stations to better accessibility and more travel options. It's time we had someone who knows how to take action and get things done."

Let me add a few personal notes here. I met Mr. Goldberg through John Edwards presidential campaign. I have done some work for Mr. House’s exploratory committee to set up his campaign website. I have corresponded extensively with Mr. Renzullo and think he will be a strong candidate this time around which will take a lot of people by surprise, and I have known Mr. Hartwell for several years through various campaigns in Connecticut and I’m very excited about his State Senate bid.