What They Are Saying: Connecticut Dem Gov Candidate Dan Drew’s Campaign Solicitation Sparks Outrage

Connecticut Democrat Gubernatorial candidate and Middletown Mayor Dan Drew’s attempt to shake down city employees for campaign contributions has become an increasingly growing scandal, even after Drew was forced to apologize for his unethical and potentially illegal actions. While Drew continues to receive heavy criticism from across Connecticut, his campaign finds itself in a state of crisis as this new scandal threatens to derail his bid for governor. Here are some highlights of recent coverage:

Dan Drew’s hometown paper, The Middletown Press first broke the story that Drew sent letters to city workers, including police officers and firefighters, soliciting campaign donations:

“The Press has obtained a letter that Drew sent last week to city workers, including police officers and other first responders, requesting $100 donations toward his campaign.

The letters were sent to employees at their home addresses, raising questions among city councilors about how the mayor obtained the home addresses of police officers which, by law, are supposed to be confidential. .. 

‘I want to do for Connecticut what we’ve accomplished together for Middletown. That’s why I decided to run for governor and why I would be so honored if you would make a $100 contribution to my campaign. I know that, with your support — and a lot of hard work — we can do for our state what we’ve done for our community.’”

The scandal quickly made its way on to TV news broadcasts around the state with CBS Hartford covering the controversy:

The next day, amid a growing outcry against his actions, the CT Mirror reported that Drew was forced to apologize for sending the solicitation letter, calling it an “error in judgement:”

“In an early stumble in his campaign for governor, Middletown Mayor Dan Drew admitted “an error in judgment” Thursday and apologized to city employees for obtaining a residential mailing list from the city that his campaign used to solicit contributions. 

Drew, 37, a declared candidate for the open Democratic nomination in 2018, promised refunds of any contributions from city employees since the solicitation to the homes of municipal workers, including police officers whose home addresses were not public information.

‘I apologize for the letter you received over the weekend from my campaign,’ Drew said in his new letter. ‘It was an error in judgment, and it should not have been sent. I had requested a list from HR. It was used to make mailing labels and then was destroyed. The information was not retained in any database. It was an error in judgment and I apologize.’”

In his apology, Drew admitted that he requested the list of home addresses for his letter from his city’s HR office, a fact that was emphasized by NBC Connecticut:

The Hartford Courant reported that Drew’s scandal drew the ire from union leaders, including Middletown’s own police union president, who blasted the letter, calling it “unacceptable” while noting that the union had yet to decide on whether it would file an election complaint against Drew:

“Mayor Daniel Drew used a list of city employees he obtained from the city human resources office to send out a request for donations last week in his campaign for governor, infuriating union leaders who say their members felt obligated to contribute… 

Sgt. David Fuchs, Middletown police officers’ union president, said several police officers contacted the city attorney’s office, and Drew called him directly to apologize. He said the union has not determined yet whether to file an election complaint.

“The Union’s position has always been on the side of protecting our members’ interests and the safety to them and their families. In this regard we are united that it is unacceptable for our home addresses to be released for reasons like this,’ Fuchs said in a statement.”

CT News Junkie published an op-ed describing Drew’s letter as one of “the most boneheaded moves ever pulled by a candidate for statewide office,” saying he “managed to torpedo his own gubernatorial campaign before it even got off the ground:”

“You’ve got to hand it to Middletown Mayor Dan Drew. He just managed to torpedo his own gubernatorial campaign before it even got off the ground. In one of the most boneheaded moves ever pulled by a candidate for statewide office — the state’s highest, no less — Drew sent out a letter soliciting city employees for a donations to his campaign.

There are so many things wrong with this tactic that I scarcely know where to start. I have no idea whether this runs afoul of the law. But I’m sure the State Elections Enforcement Commission will make a determination after receiving the inevitable barrage of complaints…

Will Drew’s campaign survive this? At this point, it probably doesn’t matter. On the issues that confront us, Drew has boldly called for exactly the kinds of measures that have helped to run the state into the ground: higher spending and higher taxes. In the unlikely event that Drew is the nominee, his Republican counterpart will eat him for lunch.”