The Chairman and CEO of Northeast Utilities didn’t violate campaign finance laws when he urged his employees to give money to help re-elect Governor Dannel Malloy. That was the judgment this week of the State Election Enforcement Commission.
But the Commission did have strong opinions about Thomas May’s actions. “The content of the solicitation by Mr May is both offensive and disturbing, and violates the spirit and the intent of the Connecticut state contractor ban,” said the judgment.
May wrote to senior managers at Northeast Utilities last September, asking them to give money to the federal Democratic party, as a way of supporting Malloy’s re-election. More than $50,000 was donated as a result of the email.
The Commission says that because it does not have jurisdiction over federal accounts, the solicitation managed to avoid violation of the state’s campaign finance laws. But the judgment goes on: “The Commission cautions the respondent to avoid possible violations of state campaign finance laws, or even the mere appearance of such possible violations in the future, and in the strongest terms cautions and urges against the use of or reference to Connecticut candidates or campaigns when fundraising or making solicitations for its federal accounts.”
The judgment is the result of an eight-month investigation into May’s actions.
