SEEC clears Indivisible Greenwich
Dismisses complaint filed by state Republican chairman
GREENWICH — The State Elections Enforcement Commission has cleared Indivisible Greenwich of all wrongdoing in relation to a complaint filed against the group’s work in 2017.
In a decision released Thursday, the SEEC dismissed a complaint filed by state Republican Party Chair JR Romano in October 2017 that alleged the group, which he said is supposed to be nonpartisan, was operating outside state
election laws, particularly when it came to spending money in the election. Romano claimed the group was working as a political committee for Democrats without registering as one.
But the SEEC found there was no basis for the complaint and said Indivisible Greenwich acted within state law during the election. In a statement Thursday, Indivisible Greenwich called Romano’s complaint “spurious” and said the “sham use of legal process to advance a partisan view or stifle legitimate grass roots efforts, which is what this complaint was, is unacceptable.”
Romano said he had not read the decision late Thursday afternoon. He could not be reached for further comment.
Indivisible Greenwich, which is part of a national network of activist groups, was formed after the 2016 election of President Donald Trump. It is registered as a 501C4 CT stock corporation that is permitted to engage in political activity.
“We believed from the beginning the allegations had no merit and that this was merely calculated to harass us and force us to spend time and substantial legal fees defending our actions, and to try to learn more about our organization through an enforcement proceeding,” Indivisible Greenwich co-founder Joanna Swomley said. “The SEEC’s methodical and lengthy decision refuting Mr. Romano’s claims vindicates our conclusion that this complaint was without merit.”
It was a “complete exoneration” for the group, Indivisible Greenwich co-founder Nerlyn Pierson said.
“It is unfortunate that so much time and money had to be spent defending against what can only be characterized as harassment by (Connecticut) Republicans,” Pierson said. “We will continue to exert our constitutional rights, within the parameters of our state statutes to advocate for those causes and people that need protection most in these times.”
The SEEC determined that a group such as Indivisible Greenwich, which has tax exempt status under IRS code, is not required to register as a separate political committee as long as it does raise money specifically to engage in Connecticut elections. As long as its activities remain outside of “contribution” or “expenditure,” the SEEC said Indivisible can spend and raise money “free of any registration, reporting or attribution obligations under Connecticut’s campaign finance statutes.”
The SEEC decision also cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent that a tax exempt entity may “spend unlimited money to promote candidates or parties in the form of independent expenditures as long as those expenditures are not coordinated with candidates or party committees.”
The decision dismisses several instances that Romano claimed were examples of improper actions by Indivisible during the 2017 election cycle, when the group acted as a vocal force backing a group of candidates who fared well in the election.
Also, the decision said a Sept. 10, 2017, event held by Indivisible Greenwich that was attended by U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, both Democrats, and at which Sandy Litvack, then a Democratic first selectman candidate, spoke was not improper. Litvack, who subsequently lost his race but got enough votes to become selectman, is married to Swomley. But the SEEC found that he did not promote his candidacy, seek contributions or encourage those present to vote for him.
Litvack also was not on the promotional materials for the event, and the SEEC said it did not promote his candidacy or amount to an in-kind contribution to his campaign.
In looking at Indivisible’s candidate endorsements in 2017, the SEEC said the endorsement email clearly identified Indivisible Greenwich as the source, and it also included contact information and a copyright.
Additionally, the October 2017 email listed the endorsed candidates by name but not by political party. The email also said that the endorsements were made on the basis of the candidates’ positions on Trump and on the proposed Greenwich Board of Education charter change to increase the size of the board, which Indivisible strongly opposed.
“The messages that the group disseminated through electronic means reflect clearly that Indivisible Greenwich has paid for those messages meaning it ‘substantially complied’ with the attribution requirements,” the SEEC wrote in its decision.
Another SEEC investigation into a Romano complaint about the 2017 election is ongoing. That complaint alleges that Democratic BET candidate Tony Turner violated campaign disclosure laws and improperly spent money for the full Democratic BET slate that he could only legally have been spent on his own candidacy.
Turner has called Romano’s claims “clearly politically motivated” and said they “had no merit.”