Not Right: Flexer, Phipps, and Lesser Solicit Lobbyist Donations for Bartolotta as Session Reaches Climax.

Nothing subtle here. The legislative calendar is crowded with bills as the session nears an end and legislators Mae Flexer, Matt Lesser and Quentin Phipps have decided it’s the right time to solicit donations from lobbyists for Middletown Democratic mayoral candidate Mary Bartolotta. Flexer and Phipps are the hosts, Lesser the “special guest.”

They could not have waited a week until the legislative session ended? The unseemly scheduling of the event for Bartolotta, whose campaign for her party’s nomination appears to be in distress, finds the trio of Democratic legislators trying to deploy their maximum influence on behalf of Bartolotta. It’s a reminder that the state’s campaign finance laws need to be amended to address legislators soliciting lobbyists for their friends during the legislative session.

Suggested donations are $100, $250, and $500. The event is at The Officer’s Club in Hartford, a short walk from the Capitol complex for the army of lobbyists at their posts.