Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Drew apologizes, promises campaign refunds to city employees

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • September 21, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

ctmirror.org

Dan Drew at a recent press conference when he named Rep. Liz Lineman as his running mate.

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.”

Drew’s solicitation, which was first reported by the Middletown Press, drew criticism from Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor in public corruption cases who is exploring a run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

“What Dan Drew did was wrong – plain and simple,” Mattei said. “As the elected mayor of Middletown, he used the authority of his office to obtain the confidential information of his subordinates, and then used that authority and information to urge city workers to give money to his campaign. It’s not unreasonable for those workers to think that they now have to donate to his campaign in order to continue or advance their careers.”

Mattei, who is considering his first run for elective office, used Drew’s campaign solicitations to suggest that the young mayor is the worst kind of old-school politician.

“The question for Connecticut is whether we will finally choose a new kind of politics for our state,” Mattei said in an emailed statement. “A politics free from shakedowns, insider deals and cynicism. I will leave the legal determinations to the Middletown Council Clerk and State Elections Enforcement Commission, but we don’t need to know whether something is illegal to know that it is wrong.”

Told of Drew’s apology and promised refunds, Mattei said, “I think it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know why this wasn’t his initial reaction when this came out yesterday.”

In a telephone interview, Drew declined to respond to Mattei. Instead, he provided a copy of his new letter to employees.

“That letter says it all,” Drew said.

He told employees he would never coerce them.

“Serving as your mayor is a wonderful experience every day, and I am proud of the work you do for the City of Middletown,” Drew wrote. “I would not ever want for you or anyone else to believe the letter was meant to coerce anyone. I respect the work you do far too greatly for that to be permitted. I am refunding any contributions received from city personnel since the letter was sent.”

Drew is participating in the state’s voluntary system of publicly financed campaigns in which he is limited to maximum contributions of $100 as he tries to reach the qualifying threshold of $250,000 for a public grant.

The solicitation is not the first time he has mingled city business and politics. He recently placed his former campaign consultant, Geof Luxenberg, on the city payroll as his chief of staff.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
CT legislature poised to make early budget pledge to help cities and towns
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state House is expected to approve more than $100 million in new, annual PILOT grants to municipalities.

Connecticut GOP picks Susan Hatfield as state chair
by Mark Pazniokas

Susan Hatfield, vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, will complete the term of the former chair, J.R. Romano.

Senator alleges voter fraud, but no complaint was filed
by Mark Pazniokas

Rob Sampson said a voter in his district was told an absentee ballot already had been cast in her name.

Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A strong economic rebound also depends on states helping those hit hardest by COVID-19, a federal reserve official said.

A pledge to share sales tax receipts with towns still goes unfulfilled. Was it a case of fiscal bait-and-switch?
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Hundreds of millions of dollars have yet to arrive, leaving municipal leaders wary of new proposed aid.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Better rail service will boost Naugatuck Valley economy
by Kara Rochelle

For residents of the Naugatuck Valley, whether you ride the train or not, increased rail service will directly and positively affect your life. Increased and reliable rail service means increases in property values.

Opinion Why a Connecticut family foundation is funding the national movement for Black lives
by William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. Board and Staff

The last several years have thrust racial injustice against Black people not only into the media spotlight, but also into our emerging public consciousness about the continued consequences of our nation’s legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.

Opinion Statewide standardized testing this Spring: To what end?
by Christopher E. Trombly

Despite many challenges, Congressional committees in both houses remain steadfast in their belief that state standardized testing should be administered this spring.  They cite the recent announcement that NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) testing will not be conducted this year as adding to this “moral imperative.” Better would be for state departments of education to use the myriad data that administrators and teachers have naturally collected since March to allocate resources that will allow for student learning to be recovered, and for historic structural inequities to be addressed at long last.

Opinion Felons and non-citizens on Connecticut juries? Not a good idea
by Steven Wilf

A move is afoot to extend the privilege of sitting on a jury to released felons and non-citizen long-term residents. According to a recent report, supported by Connecticut Chief Justice Richard Robinson, making this change would increase Black and Latinx representation. This is a laudatory goal. But it undermines the very foundations of jury participation as a key aspect of citizenship.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO