Gov. M. Jodi Rell's budget director has suspended a government efficiency study after allegations surfaced that it was used to help Rell politically.
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management Robert Genuario notified University of Connecticut Prof. Ken Dautrich, who oversaw the project, and the school on Oct. 16 of the suspension.
The two-year, $220,000 study came under fire news reports of e-mails that appear to indicate Rell knew about discussions between Dautrich and her chief of staff about conducting an opinion poll as part of the project.
The attorney general and state auditors are investigating the project, as well as the state's elections commission and UConn.
Rell said on Wednesday that it's not appropriate to draw conclusions from random e-mails and says the poll was not conducted.
