BET GOP calls for probe of Dems
Seeks motion to be heard Sept. 23 into SEEC decision on Dem Tony Turner
GREENWICH — Republican members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation will attempt to open an investigation into their Democratic colleagues and whether they broke state election law during the 2017 campaign.
The Republican half of the 12member board, which has six members from each party, has requested that a motion be heard on Sept. 23 calling for an investigation into decisions by the State Elections Enforcement Commission about BET Democrat Tony Turner and the campaign committee he created in 2017.
The SEEC determined that Turner’s committee had spent money on other Democratic candidates when it should have spent money only on his campaign.
Under the motion, the BET Republicans will request that a special committee be formed to investigate the SEEC’s decisions regarding Turner and his campaign treasurer, Mark Miller, as well as ongoing SEEC investigations into the other members of the Democratic caucus.
The SEEC fined Turner and Miller after determining that rules
were broken during the 2017 campaign, when Democrats won control of the BET for the first time in recorded town history.
The seats on the BET are once again on the ballot in November. The party that wins the most collective votes among its candidates wins the majority.
Under BET rules, four members of the board can call for a motion to be put on the meeting’s agenda within 10 days of a meeting. Last Friday, Republicans Michael Mason, who serves as caucus leader, William Drake, Debra Hess and Andy Duus made the motion by the deadline.
However, the town’s legal department is reviewing the motion to determine whether the BET can legally consider the issue.
In interviews Tuesday, BET Republicans were confident that the motion could and should be heard.
“My understanding ... is that the SEEC has not closed the matter and more action by them may be coming,” Mason said. Under the town Charter, the BET policy and procedures manual and Roberts Rules of Order, BET members can form a committee to investigate complaints, he said.
“We believe there needs to be transparency in government and that it is in the best interest of the town, as well as the integrity of the BET, to address this using the process that is available to us,” Mason said.
Drake agreed. “The motion is not partisan politics. BET members are held to a standard of accuracy and public integrity,” he said.
“Every one of us 12 would affirm that our actions must comply with law, and our financial disclosures must be accurate,” Drake said. “Our duty requires all of us to recognize when we have not lived up to these standards which we share. At the present, this public duty requires a selfexamination, which all 12 members should support.”
BET Chairwoman Jill Oberlander, who would be one of the Democrats targeted for investigation, said she would be inclined to put the issue on the agenda for a BET meeting if it is found in legal order.
“It’s a sad day for the town of Greenwich when political partisanship seeks to hijack the important work of the BET,” Oberlander said. “As a bipartisan board, and town, we must work together to find solutions to our challenges. The Democratic members of the BET continue to do so and will remain focused on the important issues facing our town.”
Oberlander said she was awaiting the decision from the town’s legal department, which she will take into consideration in setting the agenda. “Notwithstanding, the people of Greenwich deserve better than this type of divisive tactic that has lasting deleterious impact on the relationships among board members,” she said.
Oberlander, a Democrat, is running for first selectman against Republican state Rep. Fred Camillo.
Turner, who is not running for reelection, reached a settlement with the commission. But Oberlander and her Democratic colleagues Leslie Moriarty, David Weisbrod, Jeff Ramer and Beth Krumeich remain under SEEC investigation.
Under BET rules, the chair makes the decision to form a special committee. But a debate over the issue could split down party lines.
And although Mason is concerned this could bring partisan politics front and center to the BET, he said he believed the motion was needed for full government transparency.
“The BET has to operate as a check and balance in town government,” Mason said. “The people of this town should know if members of the BET are not following election laws. If we don’t do this, it will look bad for us.”
Last month, Turner paid a $52,000 fine but did not admit or deny wrongdoing in settling the issue with the SEEC. He has said he believed he was acting within SEEC guidelines after consulting with the commission about his plans for campaign spending on candidates for the 2017 election.
Turner has also said he worked closely with his fellow Democratic BET candidates and sought their approval on photos and bios for voter information cards as well as on details on barbecues he held to promote their candidacies.
A claim by any of them that they didn’t know of his actions would be a lie, he said.
While Turner informed them “of some of his activities,” he had also indicated he was in communication with the SEEC to ensure compliance, Oberlander has said.
Last week, Oberlander said she hoped the SEEC investigation would be resolved soon.
The special committee’s would be to have findings by October, before the municipal election, Mason said.
If a special committee is formed, Mason said he believed it should have four members. Minority representation rules mandate that any committee must be bipartisan.