Early this month, after New York lawmakers endorsed a plan to levy a carried-interest tax on hedge funds, Connecticut governor Jodi Rell let it be known that she would be more than happy to have hedge funds move up there. Apparently no one has jumped at the offer, because shameless Rell has now stepped up her game. According to the Post, last week New York Hedge Fund Roundtable president Timothy Selby received a wheedling letter from the governor. “My invitation to move your business here is not only still open — it is in earnest,” the note said. She went on to invite him and his colleagues to dinner at a restaurant called Water’s Edge in Darien, “a lovely place where we can talk further about Connecticut’s advantages and the needs of your industry.”
And in case that wasn’t explicit enough:
“The meeting will be intimate, direct and private,” she confided.
Um, desperate much? Apparently even Selby kind of thinks so: He told the Post he’s “not sure” if he’ll accept the invite.
