The New York Times and the New Haven Register endorsed different candidates in the race for governor of Connecticut this week.

The Times backed former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, a Democrat, in today’s paper. His opponent, Republican former ambassador to Ireland Thomas Foley, picked up the Register’s endorsement on Sunday.

The Times editorial said Malloy’s tenure as mayor of Stamford “brought growth and prosperity to the once bedraggled city.” While recognizing Malloy’s success in Stamford, however, the Register editorial criticized Malloy for a number of his positions, including his opposition to the death penalty. A measure abolishing the death penalty would have been enacted in May 2009 if Governor M. Jodi Rell had not vetoed it, the editorial noted. The editorial also praised Foley for his “business skills in increasing productivity while keeping an eye on costs.”

Malloy and Foley are in a three-way race with the first-selectman of Chester, Conn., Thomas Marsh, who is running as an Independent.