Report by Paula Antolini, December 27, 2018, 10:43AM EDT
It has been confirmed that the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) has determined they will move forward with the investigation of former Democratic candidate, now CT State Representative-Elect Raghib Allie-Brennan, on the complaint filed by former Republican State Representative and U.S. Senate Candidate Dan Carter on November 5, 2018. The complaint against Allie-Brennan, signed under oath and administered by town clerk Lisa Bergh on Nov. 5, 2018, was submitted by certified mail to arrive at the SEEC on November 7th.
Joshua Foley, Staff Attorney for the SEEC, stated in an email on Nov 26, 2018, “File # 2018-102 was determined to be necessary to investigate on 11/14/18,” (the Raghib Allie-Brennan SEEC file number).
The following information is also shown in the SEEC meeting minutes of their regular meeting on November 14, 2018, page 5 (showing Allie-Brennan’s case number included):
Carter’s complaint states, “A candidate for State Representative in the 2nd Assembly District, has been using a vacant home owned by his parents as his residence for the purpose of his campaign and voting.” and also, “The reason for the complaint is his use of the vacant address on his SEEC filing on 12/27/17 and his voting address for the 2018 primary and general elections would be a violation of law.”
A Carter press release on Nov. 5, 2018, states, “If Allie-Brennan willfully used a vacant residence owned by relatives as his address for his campaign and his voting residence, he may have violated the law,” Carter said. “Living in another town is immaterial, but being deceptive on a form that results in the receipt of taxpayer dollars and voting from an address that is not actually your residence is worth looking into by an agency with the resources to conduct a fair investigation.”
“While I wish this issue had surfaced sooner, since Allie-Brennan is campaigning for change in Hartford, having an investigation without the pressure of a campaign is probably best in these situations,” remarked Carter. “Allie-Brennan deserves a fair opportunity to explain his actions.”
There is also a second (separate) investigation shown in the December 19, 2018 SEEC regular meeting minutes under V. 10. “Consideration of Draft Audit Reports, ‘Raghib for Connecticut,’ Raghib Allie-Brennan” with Examiner Karen Walauskas that is a separate investigation of all candidate campaign finances after an election.
No other information can be revealed at this time in an ongoing investigation, and the investigation could take months, Foley said.
We will update this story as more information is received.
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