Blumenthal Nabs Bysiewicz. Secretary of the State Awaits Locusts.
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz engaged in several varieties of inappropriate conduct when she used her office staff to compile and maintain a database for political purposes. The Courant’s Jon Lender, who broke the story and went several rounds with the evasive Bysiewicz early this year, has the story. Blumenthal finds that the extensive database was “also maintained to assist in election campaigns by Susan Bysiewicz.” Blumenthal, whose office interviewed 22 people over the course of the investigation, also concluded that “heading titles based on religion, race and ethnicity are not proper or appropriate for this type of state database.” Bysiewicz making note of Jews in her extensive database was among the most jarring revelation of her secret, in-house political operation.
Blumethal referred his report to the Chief State’s Attorney and the State Elections Enforcement Commission for their review, adding to a political year that’s included every disaster but locust for Bysiewicz, once the frontrunner in the race for governor. The Middletown Democrat dropped out of that competition in January and into the race for attorney general when Blumenthal dropped his re-election plans to make a bid for the United States Senate.
The State Supreme Court overruled a lower court ruling in May and held Bysiewicz did not meet the requirement of 10 years of “active practice” as a lawyer to qualify to serve as attorney general. Her campaign collapsed on the eve of the Democratic convention. The three term secretary of the state was relegated to a minor speaking spot at the convention a few days later, and failed to wangle a more prominent place on the lively convention’s agenda.
Bysiewicz has been on a long farewell tour of parties for supporters that is also under scrutiny by the elections agency.
7 comments
She continues to write the book on how NOT to serve the public interest, and how TO destroy a political career. The slow motion car wreck continues. Hopefully, younger and wiser politicians will learn something from this lesson in incompetence and arrogance.
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Don’t mind the bumps!
HA HA!
Blumenthal kicked Bysiewicz when she’s down and makes himself look like a bipartisan guy since his lead is shrinking over opponent Linda McMahon. Isn’t it ironic AT ALL that he releases this report a day after the Q Poll shows he is losing independent support in his race for Senate? Don’t think the report would be so hard on Bysiewicz if he was ahead in his own senate race.
>>kicked Bysiewicz when she’s down
Bullies can’t help themselves, Blumenthal is Spitzer without the prostitution.
Bysiewicz using a database for political gain… soo what about Blumenthal using his entire office for political gain for 20 yrs? It’s sad, but this is just how politics works.
“Bysiewicz’s database has been controversial since The Courant began writing about it in February. Disclosures about it have included the fact that it not only includes people’s addresses, phone numbers and e-mails, but also notations about their political leanings and even their race. For example, it contains a category headed “Ethnicity,” identifying more than 2,400 people as either Polish, Greek, African American, Hispanic, Native American or Jewish. Blumenthal said Thursday: “While certain data entered into the database may have had a legitimate state purpose, data heading titles based on religion, race and ethnicity are not proper or appropriate for this type of state database.””
That’s got jail time written all over it.
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