Bergstein pays Capitol aide out of own pocket

State senator raises eyebrows in Hartford

Alex Bergstein disrupted the status quo at the ballot box and now the first Democratic state senator from Greenwich in 90 years is doing the same at the Capitol — paying one of her top aides out of her own pocket.

In addition to a legislative aide provided to her by Senate Democrats and shared press aide, Bergstein is personally funding a position filled by Nichola Samponaro, who volunteered as Bergstein’s co-campaign manager last year.

That arrangement has raised eyebrows under the golden dome, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle characterized it as highly unusual. No other member of the Senate or House supplements their taxpayer-funded legislative staff, not even caucus leaders.

Some government watchdogs say the setup creates a grey area of compliance with Connecticut’s open records law and ethics rules for state employees since Samponaro is not employed by the state.

“It does sound like a compliance problem to me,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause in Connecticut.

Bergstein, a corporate lawyer and nonprofit consumer advocate, is quickly becoming a key voice in the legislature on major policy initiatives, from her support for installing highway tolls to economic development. She is co-chair of the Banking Committee and vice chair of the Transportation and Judiciary committees. The district she represents includes Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan.

“My team and my operations is my business,” Bergstein told The Courant.

She said Samponaro, 31, a former field worker for the Obama campaign, was part of a group of dedicated women who worked on her campaign as unpaid volunteers.

“We share a mission and share a passion for making a positive change,” Bergstein said. “We don’t feel bound by the status quo of how things have operated.”

A request for comment was left Thursday for Samponaro, whose LinkedIn profile said she also served as field and data director for Bergstein.

It’s unclear how much Samponaro is being paid, what her job title is and what her responsibilities are at Berg- stein’s office, where she has a desk. She has a intern badge that was issued by the Capitol Police that gives her access to the Legislative Office Building and Capitol during normal business hours.

“I can assure you she’s not being paid by the state,” Bergstein said. “The fact that no one’s done it before doesn’t mean it’s a barrier.”

In contrast to legislative aides, who make a starting salary of $45,000 a year, she does not have access to caucus meetings of the Senate Democrats. She also does not have a state email account, which some watchdogs say goes against best practice.

“Anything she creates in the conduct of state business would still be a public record,” said Thomas Hennick, the public education officer for the state Freedom of Information Commission. “It would be best practice if everybody who did municipal or state work had their own address with that municipality or the state. The more stuff that’s captured by a state or municipal server, we would all be better off that way.”

While there’s a code of ethics for public officials and state employees, including strict rules about accepting gifts, it’s murky in this unusual circumstance.

“Because the individual is not a state employee, the rules don’t apply,” said Nancy Nicolescu, a spokeswoman for the State Office of Ethics.

Democrats control 21 of 36 Senate seats, with two vacancies that will be filled after the Feb. 26 special election. Bergstein was part of a trio of challengers in Fairfield County, an area once dominated by Republicans, that ousted entrenched incumbents in last November’s election. The others were Will Haskell and Julie Kushner.

Bergstein defeated 10-year incumbent L. Scott Frantz, spending $320,000 in her first run for public office — $285,000 of the sum were personal funds.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, downplayed Bergstein’s unusual staff arrangement.

“It’s a non-issue, as far as I’m concerned,” Duff said.

Senate GOP Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, didn’t make an issue of it, either.

“It’s her money, so I guess she can do what she wants to do,” Fasano said.