Jarjura Objects to Lembo Campaign Funding.
Michael Jarjura, the challenger in the August 10th Democratic primary for state comptroller, challenged rival Kevin Lembo’s request for $375,000 in public funding for his campaign on Friday. The Jarjura campaign objects to Lembo including in his accounting of $75,000 in contributions of $100 or less funds raised when Lembo was running for lieutenant governor. That was an exploratory committee, which can be transferred to a candidate committee, with certain restrictions.
The Jarjura campaign claims that Lembo at some point ceases exploring and was a candidate for lieutenant governor and is not eligible to count those funds (perhaps around $14,000) in his comptroller campaign account.
The administration of a government election program has become far too big a factor in Connecticut politics. A state agency with knots of regulations has become the most powerful single actor in state elections. This is bad for freedom and democracy.
UPDATE: Kevin Lembo keeps an eye out for Saturday morning Ructions. His campaign responds with this unambiguous declaration: “This complaint is without merit from someone who is trying to talk about anything but his own record. I am proud of our support and I am confident that we abided by state election law throughout this campaign.”
22 comments
That’s exactly right, Kevin – but it is the inevitable result of government trying to regulate every facet of elections (and health care, and business, and…)
Fergus Cullen, fergus@yankeeinstitute.org
Cheers Kevin. For further proof of your point, one needs only look at the race for Attorney General. Unless Ross Garber or Martha Dean suddenly come up with a few hundred thousand dollars in private donations to compete with the $700,000 + that George Jepsen received from the taxpayers, the SEEC may play kingmaker.
Agreed! They will give it to him, too — They let Fedele have Boughton’s duplicate contribution money. and they’re giving Fedele top off money, too, even though it’s been ruled unconstitutional. If Fedele was a true conservative, he wouldn’t be using taxpayer money to fund his campaigns.
Lembo played by the rules, all money in an exploratory committee may be rolled into a candidate committee. This isn’t even a Chapter 157 (CEP) issue, this is in the regular old election law (Chapter 155) that’s been around since the 1970s. Jarjura’s complaint has no basis or merit.
Lembo had an exploratory committee which he terminated on June 4th and transferred the balance to his candidate committee for Comptroller. I couldn’t find one contribution to that exploratory committee that was received after the convention started. He was never an official candidate for Lt. Governor, he wasn’t party endorsed for that position. Jarjura should talk, how many different offices did he express an interest in over the past couple of years? At least three if I’m not mistaken (Governor, Lt. Governor and now Comptroller).
I believe that the SEEC already ruled that Boughton could NOT count the money he raised while running for another office (Governor), only that he raised once becoming a candidate for Lt. Governor. If that is the standard, Lembo may have a problem.
Langley, once again you’re an idiot. Boughton had a CANDIDATE COMMITTEE for Governor. You can’t move money from one candidate committee to another. Lembo had an exploratory committee. I’d give you the statutes but you have a proven record of not being able to read so that won’t do any good.
God, you’re stupid.
Ed, so far judges on three courts have said that I am right and you are wrong.
You’re not “right” about anything yet Langley.
And the supreme court hasn’t ruled yet so you have yet another chance to be wrong.
That has nothing to do with the absolute stupidity and ignorance you showed here where you don’t know what you’re talking about regarding Lembo’s exploratory committee vs. Boughton’s CANDIDATE committee for another office.
Go look it up and get back to us, okay? If you can’t figure out how to look it up, post back and I’ll point you in the right direction you idiot.
Ken, if you read Judge Underhill’s entire opinion, he says that Foley would almost certainly win on the merits. He couldn’t issue the injunction for a variety of reasons, among them the fact that he has yet to receive the actual order from the Second Circuit to do so. He makes it fairly clear, that as soon as he does receive the order, he will issue a permanent injunction preventing anyone, including Fedele, from receiving the top off funds.
So don’t worry. You’re candidate’s supplemental funds are just as unconstitutional as they were yesterday.
I don’t dispute any of that. But, he also said, repreatedly, that Foley waited until the 11th hour to file a lawsuit he could have filed months ago.
Ken,
With all due respect to Judge Underhill, I found his reasoning regarding the timing of the suit a little bit, well, off. Tom Foley wasn’t “injured” until Fedele actually qualified for the money. Foley isn’t filing a suit on behalf of the public, he’s doing so on behalf of himself. So until Fedele “qualified,” it was purely speculative as to whether Foley would be injured or not. A lawsuit earlier would have been a complete waste of resources.
Moreover, it is actually to Fedele’s advantage that Foley didn’t file sooner. Lawyers are expensive (just ask Chris Healy… Elliot Gersten got a handsome 140,000 pay day from the Bysiewicz affair). Had a suit been filed earlier, Fedele would have either been forced to allow the SEEC defend CEP for him, or deplete what little cash he had on hand (well below 250,000, since he hadn’t joined up with Boughton yet).
Then there’s the matter of the stay. Underhill had already rendered CEP unconstitutional, but a stay was issued until the Second Circuit could resolve the matter. What would the point of a lawsuit been with the stay in place?
It was enough to say that the mandate had not been received from the Second Circuit yet. The discussion of timing seemed superfluous and poorly reasoned. Judge Underhill basically said that Foley should have filed a suit when he had no idea whether Fedele would ever even qualify for public financing.
Ken, what’s with this “months ago” crap? The unenforceable “Advisory Opinon” came out the second week of June. No one knew why it came out or what it was issued in response to. I saw it when it first came out and I never in my wildest imaginations figured the SEEC would use it to break the law and allow a party endorsed candidate for LG to campaign jointly with a non party endorsed candidate. The minute that ANYONE other than the insiders of the Fedele campaign knew anything was amiss was on July 1st when Fedele filed his CEP Form 18. Foley filed his complaint the next day.
Once again you are either an idiot or a $hit stirrer. Either way you have no credibility.
“e” said:
“If Fedele was a true conservative, he wouldn’t be using taxpayer money to fund his campaigns.”
How about someone that receives MILLIONS in black-budget government contracts? How conservative is that?
Doug, you’re funny when you’re grasping at straws. And they PAY you for this? LOL!
How’s your Democrat-turned-Republican candidate Jim Sargent in the 30th doing? Does he pass your “conservative” litmus test like your boy Fedele? Didn’t Sargent run as a write in candidate for State Rep in 2006? He got two votes. You think he’ll get more this time, or not?
I didn’t see your name as a contributor to his campaign, what’s up with that? He’s only raised a little over $1,100.00 and you can’t even give him five bucks?
How about spending less time blogging and more time getting Republicans elected from your own district?
Foley’s only “injury” is that it will cost him more money to try and buy the Governorship. I wonder if he will ever talk about an issue.
What’s the matter Ken the $hit stirrer, why are you afraid to answer questions?
1. How could Tom Foley have filed his complaint “months ago?”
2. Can a person with a committee for an undetermined office (exploratory committee) transfer ALL of those funds to their subsequent candidate committee?
You’re wrong so you keep changing the subject and stirring the $hit. I wonder if you’ll ever talk about the fact that you’re wrong?
ACR — companies which receive payments under black-budget government contracts provide products or services that have VALUE in exchange for the payments they receive.
There is nothing of value that Fedele will give to us taxpayers for the millions of taxpayer dollars the CEP is giving him.
We’ll get robo-calls, lawn signs, bumper stickers and TV advertising. PLUS, we get to read rants from his paid consultants such as you.
There is no exchange of value here; in fact, these are negative-value.
Sorry Ed, Lembo’s committee stopped being exploratory the moment that he announced that he was running for Lieutenant Governor.
When did he do that Ken?
Last April….it was in all the papers
No Ken, what was in “all the papers” was speculation that he was thinking about running for Lieutenant Governor, he never made a formal, public declaration therefore he never had to terminate his exploratory committee. Go read 9-604(c).
Many candidates do this when it’s pretty clear what they’re running for but they never made a formal, public declaration that they’re running for a specific office. Chris Coutu, Greg Haddad, Themis Klarides and a host of others did the same thing this year. It was pretty clear they were running for State Rep in their respective districts but they formed exploratory committees just in case on the outside chance an opportunity came up for something else and they wouldn’t have to start over again with their fund raising. Again, it happens all the time so this is nothing new.
Lembo claims that he never made a public declaration. If you can find evidence that he did Ken, then please post it here because he claims it never happened.
Isn’t it quiet in Ken Langley land tonight!