08/05/10 POLITICS: Greenwich Resident Dick Blumenthal Cites Fellow Democrat Susan Bysiewicz’ ‘Inappropriate’ Use Of Database

BREAKING NEWS: Blumenthal Cites Bysiewicz' 'Inappropriate' Use Of Database

The state attorney general said Thursday that he has found "inappropriate" political use of taxpayer-funded resources in the office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz -- and has referred the matter to the state's top prosecutor, Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane, to determine if criminal laws were broken.....

....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.".....

....Bysiewicz's database also had heading for "holiday cards," which she said was used to keep a record of those who had sent such cards to her office. Blumenthal said Thursday: "Collecting and maintaining a list of holiday cards received by the Office of the Secretary of the State is not illegal, but that information was transmitted to [Bysiewicz's campaign committee] in February 2009," and the committee "sent out 11,850 holiday cards in December 2009." He discussed the holiday cards immediately after noting that certain information, "even if properly included in such a state database, reasonably raises the perception that the database was also maintained to assist in election campaigns by Susan Bysiewicz."

Meanwhile, even though Bysiewicz's candidacy for attorney general ended abruptly May 18 when the state Supreme Court ruled her ineligible for the office, she still has continued to spend thousands of leftover dollars from her campaign committee in the 2½ months since then.

She kept her campaign headquarters open in a Rocky Hill office building as least through last week - and she held a series of at least seven "thank-you" parties around the state for her supporters and other active Democrats from June 14 to 30 at restaurants, churches, ethnic clubs and a vineyard. Bysiewicz, who will leave office next January, has already been putting out feelers among Democrats about whether they will support her for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012 - and some wonder if the recent parties were intended to help set her up for that.

Bysiewicz had $278,000 left in her campaign's account as of June 30. State election laws permit candidates to dispose of surplus campaign funds by returning them to donors, or by giving them to charities or to the state's public-financing fund for elections, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. The commission also says it's permissible to throw "a 'thank-you' party for campaign workers.".....

....The state's Republican Party chairman, Chris Healy, said Blumenthal's Thursday actions "while long overdue, are appropriate given the seriousness of the charge - that Secretary Bysiewicz improperly used state resources to promote her political career. It seems Secretary Bysiewicz never follows the rules, which is unfortunate considering she the chief elected official of our elections system.".....

Read more at courant.com

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