Tom Foley, who the Republican party has endorsed for governor, filed papers in court on Friday to try and stop a GOP opponent from receiving more than $2 million in public financing. On Monday, the case will go to a judge for a hearing.
The papers Foley and his campaign filed in Hartford Superior Court on Friday seek an injunction against Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and his running mate, Mark Boughton.
Christopher Cooper, a spokesman for Fedele, called the move a campaign tactic and said the court did not grant Foley's request for an injunction, but a hearing is scheduled for Monday.
On Thursday, the state elections enforcement commission approved the Fedele-Boughton ticket for a $1.25 million grant and a $937,500 supplemental allotment to finance their joint campaign.
Oz Griebel said he agrees with fellow Republican Tom Foley that Fedele and his running mate illegally double-counted contributions needed to qualify for the public funds. Election officials already approved the funding. A hearing is set for 2 p.m. Monday at Hartford Superior Court.
The money has not yet been handed over but Cooper said the money is in the pipeline and is scheduled to reach the candidates' campaigns on Monday.
Foley, who is not participating in the program, disagrees with the commission's decision that his opponents are qualified under state law to received public money as a joint committee. He said that, should Fedele get the money, it violates the public financing lawsuit.
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"The Fedele campaign received $100 contributions from individuals, then told those people to donate $100 to the Boughton campaign and then merged those two campaigns together," Justin Clark, Foley’s campaign manager, said.
Boughton needed to raise $75,000 in small contributions to receive $375,000 in public funds for the lieutenant governor primary.
The pair received supplemental funds based on Foley's spending and fund raising.
Cooper says the Fedele-Boughton campaign has already stated it would not spend the money until it was received.
Given the primary is Aug. 10, Fedele said it made sense to pool their funds.
Cooper said Foley's request for an injunction is merely a campaign tactic. If the matter does get tied up in the courts, it would mean that Fedele could not buy television time until the matter is cleared up.
