RTC candidates sue GOP registrar
Court asked to invalidate primary election
GREENWICH — The Republican party in Greenwich has devolved into factional fighting this year, which was epitomized in a primary election on Tuesday for membership in the Republican Town Committee.
Susan Schiefflein, an RTC candidate in District 2 endorsed by party leadership, said on Election Day that regardless of the outcome, she believed that it was time for the party to come together.
“I think everybody has to kind of bury the hatchet and we just have to look forward because this is stupid,” she said under a rain-soaked tent outside Town Hall on Tuesday. “What upsets me is we should be working now towards November.”
What Schiefflein did not say was that her attorney had filed a lawsuit on her behalf the day before, asking the court to invalidate the election results in her district before the votes were even counted.
Schiefflein, as well as her fellow RTC candidates George Hritz, Michael DeVita and Gail Lauridsen, filed a lawsuit in Stamford Superior Court alleging that Greenwich Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro failed to do his mandated duty by refusing to reject “improperly circulated petition pages” in Districts 2 and 8.
The petitions triggered the election in Districts 2 and 8, but Schiefflein’s attorney, Deborah Stevenson, argued in the filing that the petitions were invalid and thus the results in those districts should also be invalid.
DeCaro said citizens have a right to seek relief in court, but in this case the plaintiffs are mistaken.
“The complainants have disregarded the plain meaning of the law, the legislative history associated with the law, and the existing interpretations of the law by the Office of the Secretary of the State,” he said in a statement. “I’m 100 percent confident in complete vindication for our process, which is the same process followed by my
colleagues throughout the state.”
Stevenson, who is based in Southbury, said she and her clients did not have a comment for this story.
Through the suit, Stevenson asked that the court immediately compel DeCaro to invalidate the election results, but Judge Robert Genuario denied the request on Monday. The court did, however, order the parties to participate in a conference on March 11.
Schiefflein and Hritz ran in District 2 and lost, but DeVita and Lauridsen ran in District 8 and won, according to unofficial election results. Lauridsen is the secretary of the party.
The suit claims that several RTC candidates violated state law by circulating petitions on behalf of other candidates in the same race. For example, the suit points out that D2 candidate Jill Kelly circulated petitions with her name and the names of her three running mates on the same document.
The suit claims that
what Kelly and others in D8 did is a violation of state election law and that DeCaro failed in his duty to reject those petitions.
DeCaro, a Republican, is being represented by the Greenwich Town Attorney. Greenwich has two elected registrars of voters, but Democrat Mary Hegarty is not named in the suit.
DeCaro, Hegarty and the people who work in their office earned national recognition in 2022 for running safe and secure elections.
DeCaro said he has a duty to withhold comment so
as to not influence elections, but since the primary contest has already been decided, he wanted to make it clear that his office did nothing wrong.
“These formal complaints and lawsuit directed at the Registrars of Voters are part of a disturbing trend, which apparently has moved from the national stage and is now hitting Greenwich,” he said in a statement.
“Using limited facts and without a complete understanding of law and process, statements are shouted with such authority and fervor that they could
make one question the very solid bedrock of safe, secure and accurate elections which choose our leaders. I cannot stand back and let legitimate, time-tested, well-documented practices be cast into doubt because someone is blasting out incorrect information.”
DeCaro said the suit filed this week mirrors a complaint that two RTC members have filed with the State Election Enforcement Commission. SEEC has not yet voted to open an investigation on that complaint.
Decaro said all voters
should be confident in the processes followed in his office.
“I believe the courts and the SEEC should opine on these matters quickly, because leaving lingering doubts in the mind of the public only serves the purpose of those who want to tear down our system. Too often, the resolution of a case does not get the same coverage as the initial allegations. When the findings of this case and the SEEC complaint come out, whether it be days, weeks or months, I hope they are trumpeted with the same volume.”