SEEC probe clears Fazio campaign and state GOP
GREENWICH — The State Elections Enforcement Commission has unanimously ended its investigation into last year’s state Senate campaign of Republican Ryan Fazio without taking any action against him or the state Republican Party.
Fazio, a Greenwich resident and member of the Representative Town Meeting, unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Alex Kasser, the incumbent Democrat, in 2020 in the 36th Senate District, which covers all
of Greenwich as well as portions of Stamford and New Canaan.
In late March, town resident Robert Brady, a member of the Democratic Town Committee, alleged that the state Republican Party had improperly spent money to aid the Fazio campaign and that it did improper negative advertising against Kasser in violation of state rules.
The SEEC agreed to investigate the complaint and in less than a month ruled that the state GOP’s contributions to the Fazio campaign “violate neither limits on the amount that the party committee could spend nor the type of communications it could create in the form of organizational expenditures.”
On Monday, Fazio said the quick finding, with no citing of any wrongdoing, was proof that the complaint was “baseless and specious.” He said he did not have to provide any statement or testimony to the SEEC.
Fazio said he remains proud of his campaign and its “great volunteers,” and he criticized Democrats for filing the complaint.
In its April 7 finding, the SEEC said the state law for campaign spending places limits only on how much a town committee can spend on a candidate, not a state party.
The SEEC also cited the state’s general statutes, which were revised in 2013, that covered communications “made to promote the success or defeat of any candidate” and therefore could include negative advertising, such as that done by the Fazio campaign.
On Monday, Brady said he was not aware of the 2013 change, which he called “a loophole” in the law, and he said he was not advised about it by
members of the state Democratic Party.
“Had I known about it, I would not have filed (the complaint),” Brady said. “I look upon it as a learning experience. As I learned in gunnery school, you take your ranging shots, you adjust your fire and you fire for effect. We haven’t gotten there yet. We’re still taking our ranging shots.”
Brady’s complaint not only included Fazio but it also named town resident Joseph Romano, who served as the Fazio campaign treasurer, former state Republican Party Chair JR Romano and Warner Pyne III, the state party treasurer.
JR Romano, who left the position of party chair in January, said he had fully expected the complaint to be dismissed.
“I think it’s unfortunate the Greenwich Democrats are trying to weaponize and waste taxpayer resources by filing frivolous claims,” Romano said, adding that he, like Fazio, was not asked to provide statements or testimony to the SEEC.
Pyne did not offer a comment about the matter.
Joseph Romano, through Fazio, said he had no comment. Fazio said he wanted an apology from Greenwich Democrats not for himself but for Romano.
“I want an apology for my treasurer and his family and the volunteers on my team,” Fazio said on Monday. “They’re the ones who don’t sign up for that treatment and they did nothing wrong. If I’m hit, it’s fine. I don’t care. I’m a big boy, but I’m offended that they have to go through these sorts of things.”
Brady said the complaint was “primarily against the state Republican Party” and added he “hadn’t seen any apologies” for language used in the ads against Kasser.
In his complaint, Brady claimed the negative ads did not include the image and voice of Fazio, although they did say “Paid for by the Connecticut Republican Party. Approved by Ryan Fazio.”
The SEEC said while that was improper, it had no jurisdiction to penalize the state Republican Party for what it called a “minor attribution violation.” Pursuing that further, the SEEC said, would only have delayed resolution of the matter.
Another complaint filed by a Greenwich Democrat in another matter is still pending before the SEEC.
Local Democrat Lucy von Brachel filed a complaint against state Rep. Harry Arora in March, alleging that the campaign, during its successful special election and general election wins in 2020, misused campaign money.
That matter remains under investigation.