Since I started this blog, I have had a lot of people come to me with information. Some of it I use, some of it I don't. Some I pass on to other media sources who have better resources to do something with the information. Some I pass on to the proper authorities for further scrutiny.
I have to weigh the importance and the value of all the information, and try to verify its authenticity. And then there is some that just gets filed away for use when I think it becomes appropriate.
This post is just such a case.
I woke this morning to someone calling to tell me to read Steve Goode's article in the Hartford Courant. According to the article, Hartford Democratic Town Chairperson Sean Arena has filed four complaints with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC).
The complaints in their entirety are below.
Arena SEEC Complaints
Essentially, in one complaint,Arena is claiming that Bruce Rubenstein is "making unreported corporate donations to the 4th District challenge slate". Although Arena makes the claim, there is virtually no evidence submitted to substantiate the claim, other than Rubenstein's own complaint to the SEEC where he names four individuals he is representing.
Rubenstein claims that the rights of the people he is representing had been violated, as well as possible violations of state and federal laws.
This is where it comes to the point I mentioned earlier about getting information that sometimes I just save for future use .In November I was given documents by a source. I chose not to do anything with the documents because although they were credible, I felt that they were just more mud slinging and more of Hartford's gutter politics.
After reading the Courant this morning, I felt that it was time for Mr. Arena to maybe get a refresher course that the rules also applied to him, not just Rubenstein. Although a source at the SEEC that I spoke with today, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that there didn't appear to be much validity to the above allegation against Rubenstein. The source also stated that private practice attorneys are often encouraged to provide "pro-bono" services to individuals that may not have the resources to pay for such services.
On the other hand, a clear cut example of someone making "unreported corporate donations" is Sean Arena himself.
In a mailing sent out in advance of the November Board of Education election, Arena used his employers resources for political purposes. The mailing, attached below, is on Prudential Real Estate stationery, using a Prudential Real Estate mailing permit. The postcard clearly identifies both Prudential Real Estate and bears photographs of Sean Arena on the front and back.
Arena goes on to mention the election and urges people to get out to vote. But when he mentioned the Democratic Slate "Row B" and identified himself as the Democratic Town Committee Chairperson he crossed the line and apparently broke the law.
Urging people to vote can be percieved as a public service, no matter how self serving. Identifying candidates and a specific party makes it a political mailer and is where Arena crossed the line.
Arena+Dems+Prudential+Postcard[1]
Another time both Sean Arena and Hartford Democratic Town Committee Secretary Kathy Evans crossed the line when they used the e-mail resources from Evans' employer, a 501(c)3 nonprofit for political purposes. The e-mail, sent from "kathy.evans@opmad.org" was purely used for political purposes announcing a special convention of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee. The email was purported to be sent by "Sean Arena, Chair, Hartford Democratic Town Committee"
The e-mail using OPMAD's resources is below. OPMAD is an acronym for Organized Parents Make A Difference. A major portion of OPMAD's funding comes from the City of Hartford.As a non-profit 501c-3 organization, OPMAD is prohibited from endorsing or advocating for political purposes. Using their resources for Democratic Town Committee purposes could potentially result in their non-profit status being revoked.
At the risk of being accused of falling to Mr. Arena's level of gutter politics, I think it is fair to say that a look in the mirror might be the first step before slinging accusations. Based upon the facts and evidence, I feel confident that if someone filed these complaints against Sean Arena, they would stand a much better chance of prevailing in their SEEC complaints than Arena stands in his against Rubenstein.
Neither Sean Arena or the President or CEO of Prudential Connecticut Realty have responded to my requests for comment on the matter.
Arena Evans OPMAD Email
3 comments:
Sean is a lying hypocrite who is just a puppet of Corrupt Mayor Eddie Perez.
Kevin: You need to inform the local U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)Office of Inspector General that OPMAD is using its e-mail for political purposes. The city gives OPMAD HUD grant funds (Community Development Block Grant). Paragraph 13 ("COMPLIANCE WITH LAW") of the city's boilerplate grant funding agreements with sub-recipients such as OPMAD mention the Hatch Act (Title 5 USCS Chapter 15), which says in part "Neither the Community Development Block Grant Program, nor funds provided thereof, nor the personnel employed in the administration of the program shall be in any way or to any extent engaged in the conduct of political activities in contravention of this Act."
Mr. Arena, do some back ground work on Mr. Rubenstein, he has a bad rep. as an attorney and doubt anyone would vote for him to walk their dog. I would not doubt Mr. Rubenstein wrote the comments here, since he has nothing to do with his time but chat in chat rooms and try to be some Politician.
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