Did you see the unscheduled fireworks at town hall earlier this week? Members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation put on quite a display for all to see. The normally staid members put on a performance better suited for kindergarten then our town’s most important elected board.
The contentious remarks and raised voices concerned democratic member’s election two years ago which earned them enough votes to be able to choose the chairman of the board. They were successful in very large part because of the astronomical amount of money that former democratic town chair and BET candidate Tony Turner pumped into his campaign. It also directly benefited the five other democratic candidates.
The state of Connecticut has worked very hard to ensure political campaigns are transparent, so that we know how money is raised and how it is spent. And there are laws on how you can raise money, how much you can raise and how it is spent.
Mr. Turner’s campaign spent $213,294.56 on BBQ’s and mailings which explicitly supported and said they were paid for by all six democratic candidates. As a result, Mr. Turner was fined by the State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC). His Treasurer was also fined and in an unprecedented step, his 5 fellow democratic BET candidates were each fined $1,000.00.
Immediately, the 5 now elected democratic BET members claimed complete lack of knowledge and blamed everything on Mr. Turner. It was hard not to witness the excessiveness of the democratic BET campaign two years ago. We feel claiming lack of knowledge or being misled rings hollow. Apparently, Mr. Turner feels so as well and claims to have emails that prove otherwise.
As far as the state is concerned this issue had been adjudicated and fines paid. However, we are still left with a “he said she said” and lack of transparency about what collusion may have occurred. The republican members of the BET felt the same and wanted an investigation to clear up the ambiguity. As the most powerful elected board in town it is vital that we, the voters, have faith that they are acting professionally and with complete transparency.
The republicans proposed a resolution establishing a bipartisan committee to investigate the campaign malfeasance to ensure transparency and restore faith in the BET and all its members. Initially we were pleased that Jill Oberlander (BET Chair and democratic candidate for First Selectman) supported bringing the resolution forward.
Prior to Monday’s meeting Ms. Oberlander allegedly threatened a female republican member of the board for bringing the resolution forward. Ms. Oberlander disputes this, however, the person she spoke to felt threatened. The meeting itself was marked by yelling, threats and accusations of lying prior to voting on the proposed resolution. This is not appropriate for this board and is embarrassing.
The finale 7-5 vote in favor of the resolution and investigation was made possible when democratic member Tony Turner votes with all six republicans. And well he should have. Since the SEEC rulings Mr. Turner has been painted as the scapegoat by Ms. Oberlander and the others. Mr. Turner deserves the opportunity to have the facts fully known and presented for all to see. That will end the “he said she said” once and for all.
Ms. Oberlander claims there is nothing more to uncover and does not want to politicize the board. If that is the case then she should not fear the investigate, but welcome it to clear her own name as well and remove the political stench that currently exist. In the end it will create transparency where currently it does not exist.
Finally, we would like to thank democratic BET member Beth Krumeich for publicly apologizing at Monday’s meeting. She was the only one to do so and that shows character and professionalism. Thank you.
