Monte E. Frank joins Oz Griebel on independent gubernatorial ticket

Attorney Monte E. Frank has entered the Connecticut governor’s race as the candidate for lieutenant governor on a unique, newly formed bipartisan independent ticket.

monte E. frank oz griebel — Monte Frank and Oz Griebel.

Frank, a Democrat, is a member in the litigation practice in the Bridgeport office of Pullman & Comley. He was named as the running mate for Oz Griebel, a Republican, who is resigning as president and CEO of MetroHartford Alliance at the end of the month to prepare for the run for the state’s top office.

Griebel sought his party”™s nomination in the 2010 election, losing to Greenwich businessman Tom Foley. Frank is the immediate past president of both the Connecticut Bar Association and the New England Bar Association. He is also legal counsel to the Newtown Action Alliance and the founder of Team 26, an annual bike ride from Sandy Hook to Washington, D.C., that seeks to promote gun control.

Griebel and Frank will need to obtain 7,500 signatures to appear on the November ballot. Their campaign website plays up the bipartisan nature of their partnership with the slogan, “No parties. No politics. Just solutions.”

To date, there are nine declared candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, while Middletown Mayor Dan Drew is the only declared candidate for the Democratic nomination.