BY BRIAN LOCKHART
Hearst Connecticut Media
Days away from being sworn in on Jan. 7 to a second term in the state Senate, Democrat Andres Ayala will instead be running Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
“I had the opportunity to get to know him during my first term in office as governor, and I’ve consistently been impressed by his passion for public service and his commitment to finding new and efficient ways to improve government services,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “While I know the residents of his district won’t like to see him go, I am confident that his service as DMV commissioner will benefit residents of the entire state.”
Ayala, 45, works for Bridgeport’s adult education department and has spent years in politics, beginning with a seat on the City Council, then joining the state House of Representatives and Senate. He holds degrees in business administration and education.
Ayala, who in 2012 became the first Latino elected to the state Senate then handily won re-election in November, takes over the DMV as it moves ahead with issuing special driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
“He understands the issues of the immigrant community,” said Americo Santiago, a Bridgeport Democrat and a longtime confidant of Ayala’s. “He will be an excellent commissioner. He has an excellent record as a workhorse.”
Malloy also heavily courted the Latino vote during his re-election campaign in November.
Ayala, in a statement released by Malloy’s office, praised outgoing DMV Commissioner Melody Currey and pledged to continue her efforts to modernize the DMV.
A special election for Ayala’s state Senate seat will be held early next year.
Since ousting incumbent Ed Gomes in a three-way Democratic primary in 2012, Ayala has been a point man for Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch’s administration at the Capitol in Hartford.
Finch congratulated Ayala in a statement.
“I couldn’t be happier for my good friend,” Finch said.
Ayala’s rise coincides with the fall of his cousin, outgoing state Rep. Christina Ayala, who was arrested in September on charges of election fraud, including allegedly using a fake address when participating in the state’s public campaign finance program.
Andres Ayala has also been accused of living outside the Senate district in which he was elected, with his longtime girlfriend. He has denied the allegations, arguing that he, at the least, sleeps weeknights in a third-floor, in-district apartment shared with his girlfriend’s brother and owned by her parents. He could not be reached for further comment.
“I think he’ll do a great job,” said Tito Ayala, Christina Ayala’s father and uncle and godfather to Andres Ayala. “I’m very, very happy because the Latino community, we need more representation in higher levels of government.”
But Joel Gonzalez, a self-styled good-government watchdog in Bridgeport who has tried to pin elections violations on Andres Ayala, warned: “They better keep an eye on (the Department of) Motor Vehicles, that’s for sure.”
Former state Sen. Ernest Newton, of Bridgeport, who is facing elections-fraud charges of his own, wished Ayala well and said he is already being approached to run in a special election for the vacant Senate seat.
“My phone has been blowing off the hook,” Newton said. “I told them I’ve got to get through these (court) proceedings first.”
Hearst Connecticut Media includes four daily newspapers: Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, The Advocate (Stamford) and The News Times (Danbury). See ctpost.com for more from this reporter.
