Seventh-term state Rep. Terrie Wood, of Darien, has become the third Republican to announce their candidacy for the party’s nomination to run for Secretary of the State this fall.
Wood, who has earned a reputation as a consensus-building moderate on panels including the tax-writing Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee of the General Assembly, recently joined a field that includes two conservatives: Brock Weber, of Wolcott, an executive aide to the mayor of New Britain and Dominic Rapini, of Branford, who lost the 2018 GOP primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.
“After the last election, I thought it was about time for moving on,” Wood, 69, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “Everybody has to figure out what is a reasonable time to leave. The secretary of the state became an open office and that appealed to me on multiple levels.”
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, a former House majority leader, recently decided she would not seek a fourth four-year term as one of the state’s top constitutional officers, whose duties include administering elections and registering businesses.
As many as seven Democrats are either exploring the possibility of running for secretary of the state, or have established candidate committees, including Rep. Hilda Santiago, of Meriden, and first-term Rep. Stephanie Thomas, of Norwalk.
Wood, whose House district includes part of Norwalk, said if elected she would focus on simplifying the fees and mechanics of business registration and further modernize Connecticut’s election systems by cooperating with other officials from throughout the country. She also favors the early-voting proposal that will be on the statewide ballot in November, giving residents the first of two chances to change the state Constitution.
Opposition from conservative Republicans in the General Assembly last year killed an attempt to bring voters this November a related proposal to change the Constitution and allow no-excuse mail-in balloting. Now, the earliest voters can see the question on statewide ballots is the November 2024 election, if a simple majority of the next General Assembly approves it in 2023 or 2024.
But Wood said she will vote to approve a pending legislative proposal to allow all voters to cast ballots by mail this fall. Similar legislation allowed mail-in ballots in the 2020 and 2021 elections.
“I would like to ensure confidence integrity and security in elections,” Wood said. “I want to empower all individuals to vote and make sure the fundamentals are covered.”
She said voter fraud is rare. “It’s hard to cheat, and damn it, you better vote,” she said.
Prior to serving in the General Assembly, Wood, a graduate of Rollins College, worked in the advertising and photography fields and appeared in national TV ads. A southwestern Connecticut resident since 1975, Wood and her husband, Jay, are the parents of three adult children. She co-founded the Darien Environmental Group; was president of the Darien Land Trust; and served on the Representative Town Meeting.
Wood said Merrill has done a good job making the office more business-friendly, but stressed there is room for improvement in contact with the public. “Clarity around communications will be my focus,” she said. Wood said she supports Republican proposals to require picture IDs at the polls.
“Seventy percent of people support photo IDs,” Wood said, adding that she is “open to the conversation” around the issue. “You need photo identification for COVID tests. You need a photo ID for prescriptions at the drug store, you need a photo ID to get on a plane.”
Her strategy, as the calendar moves toward the May 7 state nominating convention, is to travel around Connecticut, meeting delegates and local Republican Town Committees, mayors and first selectmen.
“I have deep and broad support among my fellow legislators and strong support across the state,” Wood said.
Ben Proto, the Republican State Chairman, said Wood, Rapini and Weber are all good candidates.
“Any of them would be better than anything the Democrats have to offer,” Proto said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “They all would ensure the integrity of our voter rolls, the integrity of our elections and they understand what the role of the SOTS office is: to make sure the elections are held in a fair, nonpartisan manner and not to take another position one way or the other.”
Rapini, a sales executive for Apple, said he is also gaining support from Republicans throughout the state, and has visited more than 100 towns.
“As the only Republican in this race who is a state-certified elections moderator, I have seen and learned so many incredible and shocking things,” he said. “For example, did you know that a Costco membership card qualifies as a ‘valid form of identification’ to confirm who you are as a voter and resident in the State of Connecticut?”
Weber said his campaign for party support is also going well.
“To date we have been in 90-plus communities talking about our common-sense message of election integrity and support for small businesses,” Weber said. “We’ve raised over $60,000, making us the fundraising leader in this race.” Weber said he expects to win the party endorsement at the state convention. “I look forward to join the Connecticut GOP ticket and am excited about delivering a big win for the Connecticut GOP and the voters of Connecticut this fall.”
kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @Ken DixonCT
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Longtime Connecticut lawmaker Terrie Wood seeks GOP bid for secretary of state - Westport News
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