Lamont creating campaign team

I received word of Tom Swan taking a leave of absence from the Connecticut Citizen Action Group in order to work for Ned Lamont earlier today and now the story is hitting the press.

From the Hartford Courant

Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont has hired the beginnings of a campaign staff and is about to create a candidate committee as he moves closer to challenging U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman for the Democratic nomination.

Effective today, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group has granted its executive director, Tom Swan, a leave so he can work full-time on what is still being called Lamont's exploratory campaign for U.S. Senate.

[...]

CCAG's political director, John Murphy, also will join the campaign.

"We are taking this leave because we believe that Ned Lamont's potential candidacy for United States Senate presents a historical opportunity to challenge the status quo in Washington DC and to help turn Connecticut's congressional delegation truly blue in 2006. This is a race that can be won!!!" Swan said in an e-mail.

In an interview, Swan said Lamont is ready to create a candidate committee, a step that will allow him to raise and expend money to further his candidacy. The committee papers could be filed this afternoon, Swan said.

This is an important first step for Lamont and hopefully things are getting in gear to challenge Lieberman because time is of the essence. You can read Swan's leave of absence letter by clicking here.