At The Center Of The Storm

The Late Ella Grasso and Governor Dannel Malloy

by Christine Stuart | Jan 12, 2011 2:51pm

CT News Junkie

Snowstorms are a part of life in Connecticut. As modern-era governors (and former mayors) like Dannel Malloy know, a storm can make or break a chief elected official.

It made former Gov. Ella Grasso’s reputation.

Grasso’s handling of the blizzard of 1978 helped her squelch political opposition from her then-Lt. Gov. Robert Killian, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Wednesday.

Bysiewicz, who documented Grasso’s life in a biography, said when the snow started falling the morning of Feb. 7, 1978, Grasso was anxious to get to the state armory. But due to the weather conditions Grasso and her state police detail got stuck in traffic on Farmington Avenue about a mile from the Capitol complex.

“In true Ella style, she got out of the car and decided to walk the rest of the way,“ Bysiewicz said. Once she got to the armory she held several news conferences and then went on a helicopter ride where she saw a message stamped out in the snow somewhere over Norwich that said “Ella Help.”