UPDATE: Cardona's $250,000 No-Bid Contract Raises New Questions About Company Structure
Connecticut records list Miguel Cardona as the only principal, managing member and registered agent of Cardona Solutions LLC. But the filing does not establish whether the company has employees or contractors.
By Isabel Calione|The New England Voice
The controversy is primarily about procurement, disclosure, value for taxpayers and public confidence — not criminal wrongdoing.
Connecticut government records show that the state entered into a consulting agreement worth up to $250,000 with Cardona Solutions LLC, a company owned by former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
The agreement calls for Cardona's firm to support the Connecticut Career Pathways Commission — the same commission Cardona was appointed to chair. The arrangement raises legitimate questions about competitive procurement, company staffing, oversight and what taxpayers will receive in exchange for the money.
This report is based on government documents and public records, including the governor's executive order, the contract and ethics correspondence, Connecticut's business registry, state procurement law and the commission's official website.
What the state created
Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 26-2 on April 2, 2026, establishing the Connecticut Career Pathways Commission and naming Cardona as its chair.
The order directs the commission to evaluate Connecticut's education and career-pathways system, engage the public, recommend reforms and develop a five-year strategic plan. It sets a December 31 deadline for a draft report and February 15, 2027, for the final report.
The executive order also says the Office of Workforce Strategy will provide staff support and coordinate the commission's work.
What the contract provides
The public contract and ethics records show that the Office of Workforce Strategy entered into a one-year agreement with Cardona Solutions LLC. The contract sets a maximum value of $250,000 and divides the work into three phases:
$70,000
First phase
$70,000
Second phase
$110,000
Final phase
Contract ceiling: $250,000 total
The payments are connected to the completion and acceptance of contract deliverables. The $250,000 figure is therefore the contract ceiling; it does not, by itself, establish how much has already been paid.
The procurement records describe the agreement as a sole-source contract rather than a competitively bid award. Connecticut law generally requires competitive solicitation for state purchases, while also allowing certain exceptions. The public-interest question is whether the state sufficiently documented why this particular exception and price were justified.
What the company record shows
An official Connecticut business filing for Cardona Solutions LLC lists Miguel Cardona as the company's only principal, its managing member and its registered agent. No other principals appear in the public record.
That makes the firm appear, from the filing, to be a one-principal company. However, the state business registry is not an employee database. It does not report how many employees a company has, and it does not establish whether the LLC uses staff members, independent contractors or subcontractors.
For that reason, it would be inaccurate to state as a confirmed fact that the firm has "no employees" based on the business filing alone. What can be confirmed is that Cardona is the only company principal identified in the official record.
The distinction matters because the public still does not have a clear picture of who will perform the work covered by the contract, whether Cardona will do it personally, or whether other people or businesses will be engaged.
What the ethics records say
Before the contract was finalized, the Office of Workforce Strategy requested guidance from the Connecticut Office of State Ethics about Cardona's simultaneous roles as commission chair and owner of the contracted company.
The written guidance concluded that the arrangement did not appear to violate the provisions of the state ethics code within the agency's jurisdiction. It also explained that the Office of State Ethics does not have authority to decide questions involving only the appearance or public perception of a conflict.
The records also state that the Office of Workforce Strategy — not Cardona in his role as commission chair — would oversee the consulting work and determine whether contract deliverables were met.
No criminal wrongdoing has been established, and the available ethics review did not find an apparent violation within its jurisdiction. The controversy is therefore primarily about procurement, disclosure, value for taxpayers and public confidence.
Questions that still need answers
The company filing and the terms of the contract leave several reasonable questions for the Lamont administration and Cardona Solutions LLC:
- Who, besides Cardona, will perform work under the agreement, if anyone?
- Will the company use employees, independent contractors or subcontractors?
- What estimated hours, staffing and expenses support the $250,000 maximum?
- What alternatives or price comparisons did the state consider before waiving competition?
- Will invoices, completed work products and payment approvals be released publicly?
- How will the Office of Workforce Strategy independently evaluate work produced by the company owned by the commission chair?
The public record does not prove that Cardona Solutions LLC has no employees. It does, however, show that Cardona is the only listed principal — and that is enough to justify a clearer accounting of who will do the work, what taxpayers will receive and how the state determined that the price was reasonable.
Primary Sources
- Connecticut Business Records Search
- Governor's Executive Order No. 26-2
- Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy: About the Career Pathways Commission
- Connecticut government contract and ethics records
- Connecticut General Statutes, Section 4a-57
Editor's Note
This report distinguishes between the principals disclosed in a corporate filing and a company's employee count. Connecticut's business registry identifies principals and agents but does not provide employee-headcount data.