Ingraham, Facing SEEC Inquiry, Withdraws from State Rep Race

Saying he made a ​“serious error in judgment” when he falsely signed donor forms when applying for state public campaign financing, Ray Ingraham, chair of Branford’s Republican Town Committee and a leader of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), withdrew from the race for state representative yesterday.

“This is my fault, and was avoidable,” he said in admitting that he failed to follow the rules. According to State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) minutes, his request for state campaign financing was still pending when he announced his withdrawal from the race yesterday.

Because of the SEEC inquiry, Ingraham had not yet qualified for the campaign financing program and as a result has received no state funds to run a campaign for an election that is three months away. The SEEC has questioned four Ingraham online donations. He says he signed the signatures on forms for others, all of whom confirmed their donations. He said in a statement yesterday that the reason he signed the financial statements was ​“to speed up” the process. He faces possible penalties that may include fines and or a jail sentence. 

Ingraham said, ​“I made a mistake with filing information on a few online donations that were made by supporters early on….. It has delayed our funding. In those cases, to speed up the process, I signed personally for four donors where it was missing with the donation forms. All have confirmed their donations, but this was a serious error in judgement on my part. This is my fault, and was avoidable. At this point, with this and the sudden issues going on personally, I feel it would be best to withdraw from the race.”

Ingraham said he faced two personal issues that contributed to his decision to leave the race. He said due to layoffs he had recently lost his job of 15 years at Anthem and now found himself looking for a job. Second, he said, ​“a major medical issue with my sister now has her hospitalized, which is has taken up a significant amount of my time and energy.”

Ingraham, who also has served as the majority leader of the RTM since 2013, announced in April that he would run against incumbent State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D‑102nd). He then applied for campaign financing through the Connecticut Citizen Election Program (CEP), which enables candidates to raise small donations in order to receive a public grant to fund their campaign. 

Reached yesterday, Reed said she was sorry ​“that Ray is having some troubles. Our interactions have always been friendly. He has a wonderful family and I wish them all the best.”

Reed qualified for her election grant in March when she raised a minimum of 150 small donations of under $100 totaling $5,000 in order to receive a public grant of $25,000 to fund her campaign for re-election. She is seeking a fifth term in office.

According to state law, the Republicans may put up another candidate to run against Reed. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.

Penalties for False Statements

In his statement to the press, Ingraham admits he falsely signed contributor forms for his first state race. As a result of that admission, he also admits to falsely signing off on his application seeking state funding. The CEP requires scrupulous attention to detail. The program imposes penalties for failing to do so, but those penalties may vary and typically a hearing is held. 

Ingraham campaign financing forms state that the penalty for a false statement is punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both. On the civil side, a person who is found to have knowingly and willfully violated any provision of the campaign finance statutes faces a civil penalty of up to $25,000 unless a fine of a larger amount is otherwise provided for as a maximum fine under statute.

Ingraham said in his statement that he loved the town of Branford and intended ​“to work hard for it as a member of the RTM.” What impact the state inquiry will have on his ability to serve as a leader on the RTM, also remains to be seen.

In taking full responsibility for his actions, Ingraham seemed to saying that his campaign treasurer, Donald Conklin, who also serves with Ingraham on the RTM, was not responsible for what occurred. 

Ingraham was required to sign an affidavit to apply for the Citizens Elections Program, an affidavit that requires a candidate to comply with all CEP rules and regulations. In his application for the public financing grant, Ingraham was required to certify that he understood that ​“intentionally making a false written statement … which I do not believe to be true and which is intended to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official function is a Class A misdemeanor” and ​“may subject me to criminal penalties….” 

As of the July 10 filing, the most recent one on record, the Ingraham for Branford campaign had a balance of $1,397.67. Overall the campaign shows virtually no activity since April. The campaign must return what little remains to either his contributors or to a political party or to a charity.
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