Hartford, CT — The State Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) against Tom Foley for CT for his clear coordination with the Connecticut Policy Institute (CPI) and egregious violations of state elections law.

The CPI has become an illegal arm of the Foley campaign aimed at circumventing campaign finance law. Tom Foley founded and funded CPI, as well as previously appeared at press conferences.

Last week, with his wholesale adoption of CPI policies and recommendations — and clear use of CPI language verbatim — Tom Foley has effectively self-financed major components of his campaign policy platform. In doing so, his adoption of a pre-packaged policy platform by CPI constitutes a prohibited contribution.

In responding to questions regarding plagiarism, a Foley campaign spokesperson said:

“The urban policy agenda released today is largely drawn from the work of the Connecticut Policy Institute, a think tank Tom Foley founded and he has said from start would be the foundation of his urban policy agenda.”

The Foley campaign’s own response to questions about its plagiarism only illustrates the illegal contribution.

Further, CPI is not listed either with SEEC or the Federal Election Commission, but is registered as a business entity with the Secretary of the State’s Office. Candidates are prohibited from taking contributions from business entities.

Moreover, illegal coordination exists. CPI has clear connections to the Foley campaign and Grow Connecticut, the independent expenditure organization running negative advertisements against Dan Malloy. Tom Foley’s wife, Leslie Fahrenkopf Foley, is listed as the current Director of CPI on its business registration forms filed with the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s Office. Craig Stapleton, a donor who contributed $25,000 to Grow Connecticut — the outside pro-Foley super PAC — serves on the CPI advisory board, in what is no doubt coordinated and in violation of the Citizens’ Election Program.

These facts constitute clear coordination in violation of SEEC rules.

“Tom Foley’s plagiarism goes beyond lifting sentences and ideas word-for-word — they constitute clear election law violations. Through copying CPI’s work, the Foley campaign has made it an illegal arm of its political operation, effectively illegally self-financing and funneling contributions in violation of the law. What’s worse, the links to Grow CT only further highlight these very clear violations. Tom Foley is a risk Connecticut cannot afford, and SEEC needs to move quickly on these matters. Connecticut cannot afford to go backwards,” said Devon Puglia, Democratic Party spokesman.

Click here for the full complaint: CPI-FOLEY SEEC Complaint

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