To the Editor:
Yesterday I filed a formal elections complaint against Republican candidate Pam Staneski.
While I have always held Mrs. Staneski in high regard, knowing her to be a thoughtful and willing volunteer within the community, I was disappointed that she and her campaign showed complete disregard for an unambiguous directive from the State Election Enforcement Commission prohibiting using public funds to promote a candidate outside your own race unless, and only, if the candidate contributes to the cost of such advertisement and is noted as such on the advertisement.
This past week, Staneski’s campaign mailed out an illegal negative attack piece of mail. Immediately thereafter, the State Elections Enforcement documented it as illegal.
Staneski’s disregard for campaign laws is troubling. This, however, is not the first campaign violation complaint filed against Staneski. In 2004, when she was seeking this same office for the first of three times, she distributed campaign literature without an attribution – which is required by law. She explained it as an oversight.
This behavior is a serious and blatant flouting of our election laws and begs the question: Why would you seek to be a lawmaker if you choose not to follow the law?
Finally, not only is her campaign mailer illegal, it is factually incorrect. She charges her opponent of partnering with the governor and raising state taxes. If Staneski bothered to spend time researching issues she would know that James Maroney voted for no tax increases during his time in Hartford and I challenge her to defend her claim.
Rich Smith
Democratic Town Committee chairman
Click here to read Republican Town Committee Chairman Paul Beckwith’s response to Smith’s letter