The name David Walker isn’t exactly a household name, yet he’s been attracting quite a bit of attention from Connecticut and national reporters this year.   The former U.S. Comptroller General moved to Bridgeport a few years ago and expressed interest earlier this year in running for the senate seat currently held by Joe Lieberman.  This week he decided not to run, and in his first Connecticut television interview outlined what he wants to do.   Walker also ruled out running for governor in 2014.

Walker is part of the political movement “No Labels,” made up of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, who are trying to build what they call “a sensible center,” the 60-70% of Americans are in the political center-left and center-right.    Walker, an independent,  says the goal of “No Labels” is to dilute the impact of what he calls the “wing nuts” on the far right and far left.   

Walker came to the Face the State studio armed with  plenty of ideas to reform the political system.  He favors term limits and changing the length of terms for some offices.   He also was very critical, in an analytical way, of the Connecticut economy.   During the taping he talked about the self-inflicted  problems facing our state, and he also raised concerns about the retroactive tax implemented by Governor Malloy this year, saying it should be  “unconstitutional.” 

Walker’s hope is that the “No Labels” movement will appeal to younger voters.   If it is any indication, one of our 20-something Face the State staffers told me after the taping, Walker’s message really resonated with him.    This particular staffer grew up in a state that never changed senators in the quarter century he lived there.     At a million supporters and growing, the “No Labels” movement may be a strong force in the 2012 campaign.

Here is the interview with David Walker:

http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6451463