The Ethics Pendulum Swings Back

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by Paul Bass | Dec 21, 2005 4:47 pm

(1) Comment | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Politics

John DeStefano’s Rell-bashing odometer hit a limit Wednesday when his own campaign was slapped with a $4,000 ethics fine.

DeStefano, New Haven’s mayor, is seeking the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. At an unrelated press conference Wednesday, he encountered questions about the State Elections Enforcement Commission’s decision to fine his campaign for failing to report the jobs and employers of 32 people who were shaken down for — er, who contributed — more than $1,000 each. (The commission acted on a story broken by the Manchester Journal-Inquirer.)

The fine came days after revelations of a much more serious transgression by Gov. Jodi Rell’s chief of staff, who was caught distributing campaign fund-raising tickets to department heads in state offices. Rell promised not to do that. Now the Elections Enforcement Commission and the chief state’s attorney are investigating whether the aide broke any laws.

DeStefano has ridden the episode for campaign mileage. Rell previously enjoyed a pristine reputation on ethics, especially after passage of a ground-breaking campaign finance reform law, even though for 11 years she served as lieutenant governor for a criminally corrupt administration. So DeStefano has made a point of continuing to point out Rell’s misstep here.

On Wednesday, a TV reporter changed the subject to the $4,000 campaign fine at a press conference about economic development on River Street.

How’s this different from what Gov. Rell’s aide did? the reporter asked.

“My treasurer assures me that she will not make that mistake again,” DeStefano responded.

Well, didn’t Rell’s aide make a mistake? the reporter pressed. Doesn’t everyone make mistakes?

Yes, DeStefano said. Everyone makes mistakes. But some mistakes are different from other mistakes.

“There’s a distinction between unintentionally filing 31 cards,” he said, and violating rules about distributing campaign fund-raising tickets to government underlings as part of the course of government business.

(Click here to read about how one of DeStefano’s aides, still on the job despite a continuing pattern of unethical behavior, did that with government contractors.)

Comment

posted by: truebluect on December 21, 2005 8:02pm

Ouch! Can’t say you aren’t right in your angle of attack….. There is plenty of reform left to be done in New Haven. Are we going to get any in 2006? (besides the public financing of mayoral contests.).............

Altieri shouldn’t get a pass. You are right to bring it up in this context. Even if the Mayor can make an argument for the special “arrangement” it still raises eyebrows…............

I’m glad you pointed out that what Lisa Moody, (Rell’s chief of staff), did was more serious than the DeStefano staff’s mistake. According to this article “A Big Smudge on the Rell Record” Rachel Rubin, Rell’s ethics counsel, had previously warned Moody that what she was doing was wrong. She did it anyway!

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