Erin Stewart served as mayor of New Britain for 12 years. After her term came to an end in November, she announced her intention to run for Connecticut governor on the Republican ticket. 

Democrat Bobby Sanchez, elected to replace Stewart, took over the mayor’s office in November. This spring, his office and an outside law firm have made public several investigative reports on Stewart’s conduct as mayor — including her spending on a city-issued credit card and the financial benefits she sought at the end of her term, among other things. 

In May, Stewart suspended her campaign for governor and promised to make restitution to the city. But that wasn’t the end of the story. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

How did the inquiry begin? 

This April, the city released an investigative report — conducted by an outside law firm — alleging carelessness by the New Britain tax collector’s office during Stewart’s tenure.

This report concluded that tax collector Cheryl Blogoslawski regularly backdated tax payments for herself and others, allegedly to avoid interest penalties. Stewart denied she’d directed any backdating, but she acknowledged her involvement in the negotiation of tax delinquency payments plans.

“This happens frequently in a city where the goal is to get people current on their taxes,” Stewart said. 

The report also mentioned a failure by the mayor’s office to secure cash in the office safe, citing an incident where “over $246,000 was left unsecured on top of the safe.” Blogoslawski was fired that month. 

How did Stewart allegedly misuse the city credit card? 

In early May, several news outlets reported that Stewart used the city credit card for a number of personal expenditures, according to documents assembled for an internal investigation that were made public. 

About $22,000 of that was spent on deliveries to her home including women’s clothing, makeup, an ice maker, diapers and baby formula, the documents showed. The P-card was also used to finance $19,260 in membership fees, food and drink at the Hartford Club, a private social club. 

Stewart, who earned her masters degree in public administration during her tenure as mayor, also used the card to pay for textbooks and sought reimbursement from the city for $31,561 in tuition payments.

How much was Stewart seeking in pension and other benefits?

In October 2025, Stewart sought a “deferred partial retirement pension” during her final term as mayor, according to records reviewed by the Connecticut Mirror. However, this is a benefit that does not exist in the city’s charter. 

The city’s charter states that any elected official who has served for 20 years (continuously or cumulatively) can be entitled to an annual pension at half their salary. Since Stewart only served for 14 years — two on the school board, 12 as mayor — she didn’t appear to be eligible. 

But according to the records, Stewart calculated her own eligibility for the pension benefit as approximately 35% of her $112,475 salary, which would be paid once she reached 55. And the city’s benefits administrator, Wilbert Vazquez, approved an annual pension benefit of $39,366, a document reviewed by CT Mirror showed. 

Last July, as her mayoral term approached its final months, Stewart demanded what she believed the city owed her for unused vacation, holiday, sick and personal days as elected mayor: more than $205,000. Her calculation was detailed in a report from Crumbie Law Group to Sanchez which was released to the public on June 4.

Almost none of it was allowed under the city’s payout policies, according to the report. But the city’s human resources director — claiming she feared dismissal — set up a payment plan for Stewart, the lawyers found.

Stewart had received $121,978 in separation payments before they were cut off in February. The appropriate amount, the city calculated, would have been $14,275.  

Now what?

Earlier this month, New Britain demanded $241,560 back from Stewart to recover the tuition reimbursements, severance payments and legal costs related to the investigation. 

And last week, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena demanding New Britain produce documents related to Stewart’s city credit card use — official confirmation that federal authorities have opened an investigation.

The Connecticut attorney general and commissioner of consumer protection are also investigating Stewart’s connections to a charity fund.