Vaccinations, Hartford Whalers, James Bond and more: Invited to #AskNedAnything, here’s what people asked Connecticut Gov. Lamont on Twitter

Donald Trump used Twitter prolifically to consistently spread his message during four years as president with more than 88 million followers, but Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is trying to catch up with a fraction of the audience at more than 80,000 followers.

In a new move this week, Lamont announced that he would answer some random questions, which were posed by both supporters and detractors.

“I have a few free minutes before my next meeting, so let’s try something new,” Lamont wrote. “Reply to this tweet with your questions and the #AskNedAnything hashtag.”

Amid dozens of questions, Lamont was asked everything from state policy to personal preferences, including his favorite ice cream flavor and favorite Taylor Swift and Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. He did not answer those, as well as a majority of the questions.

But he did answer more than a dozen questions on a variety of topics.

A Twitter user with the name of “Slaughter Sausage” asked about online gambling, which finally started Tuesday after years of debates in the state legislature and detailed negotiations with the Native American tribes that operate Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Vaccinations remain one of the most talked-about issues at the state and national levels, ranging from booster shots for adults to vaccines for schoolchildren. Some Republicans and conservatives have blasted Lamont as “King Ned” because his emergency powers that started in March 2020 are scheduled to last at least until February 2022.

While Lamont’s high-profile plan for electronic highway tolls across the state failed in the Democratic-controlled legislature, he has still been pushing for transportation improvements that can be paid with state and federal funds.

Even 15 years later, the epic political battle between U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Lamont still comes up. Lamont defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary in August 2006, but then Lieberman won the general election in November.

Several tweets came back to the general theme of : “Can we bring the Whalers back?’'

Although Lamont did not answer various personal questions, he responded about his worst job. He has often said his best job was working as a reporter for a small weekly newspaper called the Black River Tribune in Vermont, his first job after graduating from college.

Concerning popular culture, Lamont said that he saw the latest James Bond movie.

Not answered

While Lamont answered questions on gambling, the Iraq War and other issues, Joseph Cuticelli said, “Ned chose to only answer “softball” questions. It is time to move on from “Executive Order” and back to legislative behavior. In general, the Gov did a good job managing COVID, but the emergency is over and ridiculous mitigation steps show no evidence of working.’’

Lamont did not answer questions on lowering property taxes, high rates by landlords, and the state debt, among other issues.

Nate asked, “How much of a role do you and the state government expect to play in fixing UConn football? Next head coach, schedule, etc? You’ve made comments in the past that you want UConn football to be competitive on the national scale, but how do you plan to take action?”

Mark Giacona asked, “Hi Ned, we love CT, is there a plan/strategy for lowering property taxes across CT? We’re fairly new here, and I haven’t seen anything official.”

Jennifer McPadden asked, “Is there anything you can do about the sky rocketing rentals in our state? Landlords are increasing rents by $400+ for existing tenants.”

Marc asked, “Why is my 4 year old forced still forced to wear a mask at daycare?”

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com