Nystrom files election complaint in Norwich mayoral race

Candidate says Oldfield used his own show to promote his candidacy

Norwich — Republican mayoral candidate Peter Nystrom has filed an election complaint against petitioning candidate Jon Oldfield for using his public access TV show to promote his candidacy without giving campaign disclaimers and without reporting the advertising value.

Nystrom said he filed his complaint Friday with the state Elections Enforcement Commission on Oldfield’s Oct. 3 broadcast of his weekly show “What’s Your Gripe.” The same episode repeated on Oct. 10.

Commission staff attorney and spokesman Josh Foley said he could not confirm whether a complaint has been filed and could not comment on any complaint until it is brought to the commission.

The commission meets today, but Nystrom’s complaint is not on the agenda. Foley said the complaint likely wouldn’t be discussed until well after the Nov. 7 election.

Oldfield said Tuesday he was unaware of Nystrom’s complaint and called it “malarkey.”

The two are among five candidates vying for the Norwich mayoral seat. Democrat Derell Wilson, Libertarian William Russell and petitioning candidate Joseph Radecki also are in the race.

Oldfield’s Oct. 3 show opened with a full-screen close-up of a “Jon Oldfield for Mayor” sign. Later, co-host Will Zinavage endorsed Oldfield. At about the midway point, Oldfield aired a 2 ½-minute video campaign speech given at his Norwich home.

A form showing Norwich registrars’ office hours and the state voter registration website address also had “vote Jon Oldfield for Mayor” box in the top right corner.

Nystrom said the campaign portions of the show should have included statements from Oldfield saying he approved the message, and campaign material should have a statement on how the material was paid for.

“I filed a complaint, and requesting that he follow the statutes that require that when you advertise in any medium, you include a disclaimer in the ad,” Nystrom said. “The quirky thing is it’s an in-kind contribution. And you’re supposed to declare a value to that. I’m not saying he can’t do it. I’m just saying follow the law.”

Oldfield filed documents with the state Elections Enforcement Commission stating he does not plan to raise or spend more than $1,000 during the campaign and is exempt from filing detailed campaign finance reports.

Oldfield said the Comcast Public Access studio manager said it was OK to promote his campaign on the show. He said Nystrom should attend a public access advisory board meeting to discuss the issue.

A station representative could not be reached immediately for comment.

“If we’ve got to stop, we’ll stop,” Oldfield said.