Levy: Klarides staff used state computer for campaign purpose
State officials are looking into whether a campaignoriented letter may have been drafted by a Themis Klarides campaign staffer using a state-owned computer. The inquiry comes after Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Leora Levy, who faces Klarides and Peter Lumaj in an Aug. 9 primary, questioned where the letter originated from.
The letter in question calls for Levy to resign her role on the Republican National Committee, claiming her candidacy and opposition to Klarides puts her in a conflict of interest, ultimately damaging the party.
“While we acknowledge her right to primary under Connecticut law, her increasingly negative and personal campaign against the party-endorsed candidate is unbecoming of her office and damaging to the party,” the letter says. “If a party officer is competing for elected office, they must also be willing and able to fulfill their duties to the party. If conduct or performance becomes antithetical to the party's mission, the officer must make a choice.”
The letter was sent by three Republican town committee chairs to both the state central committee and the RNC, though Ben Proto, head of the state party, said he had not received it.
Levy's campaign claims the letter was in fact drafted by Klarides' campaign manager, Brian Werstler, on a state-owned computer. Werstler also works for Connecticut House Republicans, though he said he has been on leave from that position since May.
A campaign spokesperson claims a search of electronic metadata showed that the letter had been written by Werstler on a state-owned computer. The campaign later filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for emails from Werstler, who is now the campaign spokesman, mentioning either the words “Themis” or “TK” dating from Jan. 7, 2021 to the day the FOIA request was filed.
Werstler confirmed that the state Office of Legislative Management was looking into the matter and said he was cooperating fully.
“I have been notified by legislative management of the Levy campaign's records request. Although I have been on leave from the Capitol since May, I am fully cooperating and have every confidence the nonpartisan staff will handle this appropriately,” Werstler said in a prepared statement. “I am proud of my work on behalf of Connecticut Republicans through the years, and I'm saddened that, as a party official, Mrs. Levy is opting to attack fellow Republicans and their staff to distract from her record of failed campaigns and donating to Dick Blumenthal.”
“It's in process,” Werstler said during an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. “They're handling it the way they have to. I'm sure they will do it in a thorough and timely way. I think that will tell us what we need to know.”
Klarides, who served as minority leader in the state House of Representatives from 2015 through 2021, is thought to be the Republican frontrunner in a race to unseat U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Levy's campaign manager, Christopher Velazco, said it is the Klarides campaign's “prerogative” to attack her opponents, “but they cannot do it at taxpayers' expense.”
“This is about transparency, government ethics and a sincerely held belief that Connecticut is worth fighting for,” Velazco said in a prepared statement. “That is why we filed the FOIA."