Whether it be revisionist history, fuzzy numbers, or straight up lies, Connecticut Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano has a shaky relationship with the truth. Here is a selection of Romano’s untruths from his first weeks on the job.

Claim:

Throughout the month of August – before the jobs numbers were released, Romano repeatedly made the claim the Connecticut had lost 1,000 jobs in July.

“Romano said Democrats are trying to distract from their abysmal record of managing the state, from the loss of 1,000 jobs during July to a preliminary discussion about using GPS for highway toll tracking. ‘They got nothing,’ Romano said. ‘So they’re going to talk about nonsense like we have Trump Republicans.’” [CT Post, 08/04/15]

Facts:

Nope. Wrong. The most recent jobs report, released yesterday, showed that Connecticut gained 4,100 jobs and the unemployment dropped to 5.4% in July. [Stamford Advocate, 8/20/15]
Claim:

“Reporters appreciate the ability of sources to give good, succinct, pithy quotes like that on demand. So the new chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, J.R. Romano, has good potential in replacing Jerry Labriola. But the other afternoon, when asked to comment on Malloy’s charges that Republican-run states have been making it harder for blacks and Hispanics to register to vote, Romano offered up some revisionist history. Speaking from the Republican National Committee meeting in Cleveland prior to the party’s presidential throwdown on Fox TV, he recalled that it was Republican majorities in Congress that approved 1965 act. Wrong. The 89th Congress had Democratic majorities of 68-32 in the Senate and 295 to 140 in the House. In fact, Democrats held Senate majorities from 1955 until 1981 and ran the House from 1957 until 1995. Rather than Google around for the fact check, I went all analog on Romano and looked it up in ‘The World Almanac and Book of Facts.’” [CT Post, 8/8/15]

Facts:

Ken Dixon pretty much covered it.

Claim:

“When he worked on New Britain Mayor Erin Stewert’s successful campaign, they got out and talked about how Democratic policies are hurting families, Romano said. ‘We were telling the story about how their property taxes were high because Democrats couldn’t get their spending in control,’ he said. ‘The gas tax is high because they raise taxes. And as long as we go out there and are honest and have a sense of integrity, it makes my job very easy, and I know when I go out across the state and I talk about the Republican Party, when you have candidates like Bob, it makes my job a lot easier.’” [New Haven Register,07/20/15]

Facts: 

Romano conveniently neglected to mention that as mayor, Erin Stewart raised taxes by 11%.

Claim:

“Romano said the populist policies championed by DeLauro, such as paid sick leave for employees and a higher minimum wage, will harm middle-class families. ‘There’s a disconnect in how these policies are impacting the economy,’ he said. ‘We’re seeing it play out in Connecticut under Dan Malloy.’” [Hartford Courant,07/13/15]

Facts:

Since the enactment of guaranteed earned sick time, the unemployment rate has dropped from 8.8% to 5.4%. Since Governor Malloy’s signature made Connecticut the first state to adopt a $10.10 minimum wage, the unemployment rate has dropped from 7.0% to 5.4%.

Nationally, studies have shown that raising the minimum wage would improve the economy and increase upward mobility.

Claim:

“His command of recent Capitol history could use a little honing. He described a recently passed law, ‘An Act Concerning Excessive Use of Force,’ which encourages and sets guidelines for the use of police body cameras, as an unfunded mandate. It actually provides funding and encourages but does not require the cameras.” [CT Mirror, 07/06/15]

Facts:

Mark Pazniokas pretty much covered it.

Connecticut Democratic Party spokesman Leigh Appleby said, “When the facts don’t support his argument, J.R. Romano’s tactic is to simply make up his own. It’s unfortunate that he can’t represent his party by telling the truth and sticking to the facts.”