Lamont Requests Cabinet Resignations After Landslide Win
The governor retains Matt Brokman as chief of staff while signaling potential shifts in agency leadership ahead of his third term.
By Samuel Hayes ·
Gov. Ned Lamont requested the resignations of every member of his cabinet on Friday, the first step in a process that will determine which officials remain in his administration. The move follows his landslide reelection victory on Tuesday. Lamont will begin his third term on Jan. 6, and he said the new term offers a chance to inject more energy into several departments. He declined to identify which agencies would face the hardest scrutiny.
Matt Brokman, the governor’s chief of staff, will remain in his post. Brokman has served in that capacity since July 2004. He took a leave of absence from the Capitol to work on Lamont’s reelection campaign and has now returned. Lamont confirmed Brokman’s continued role during a brief interview on Friday.
Cathryn Vaulman, the communications director, noted that Lamont made the same request for resignations after winning his second term in 2022. She said the governor is evaluating agency leadership to ensure the administration is aligned on goals for the upcoming term. All commissioners must go through the nomination and approval process at the start of the next session, Vaulman said.
Education reform is expected to be a priority in the new term. Lamont has signaled that he may seek a new education commissioner. That appointment technically belongs to the state Board of Education, though the governor has input. Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, the current commissioner, made a strong case for staying four years ago when Lamont was considering a change then. In April, Lamont signed an executive order creating a Blue Ribbon Commission on K-12 Education Funding and Accountability. He chose his deputy chief of staff, Natalie Wagner, as chair, with Russell-Tucker serving as vice chair. The commission’s recommendations are due in January.
Lamont made his first cabinet changes 13 days after his 2022 reelection. He announced the departures of his then-chief of staff, Paul Mounds, and general counsel, Nora R. Dannehy. David Lehman, the economic development commissioner, also left to rejoin the private sector. A month later, Lamont appointed Andrea Barton Reeves as the new commissioner of social services.
The cabinet includes at least one official inherited from predecessor Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Jorge Perez has served as the banking commissioner since February 2015.
