Foley Slaps Back at Fedele

Stamford, Conn., — Breaking a recent campaign promise made in an article in the Connecticut Mirror, Mike Fedele is using taxpayers’ dollars from the Citizens Election Fund to pay for negative attack ads against Tom Foley, the candidate for governor endorsed by the state Republican Party.

 

This is not surprising since Lieutenant Governor Fedele has offered few solutions to any of the problems facing the state during his campaign. It appears the only way he can try to build himself up is by tearing others down.

 

Fedele’s latest attack ad makes several false claims:

 

False Claim #1: Tom Foley “bankrupted Bibb Inc. and people lost jobs.”

 

Fact: Bibb went through a financial restructuring in 1996 using a section of the bankruptcy code to allow an exchange of debt for equity. The operations of the company were unaffected. No one lost a job or lost any benefits as a result of the restructuring.

 

False Claim #2: Tom Foley “made $20 million” by putting Bibb out of business.

 

Fact: Tom Foley did not make $20 million from Bibb, and the company did not go out of business. Tom left Bibb in 1996. The Bibb Company was merged into Dan River Corporation in 1998 and the operations of the two companies were combined.

 

Bibb paid fees to NTC Group in exchange for management services. NTC is a Connecticut based company. To supply these services, NTC employed ten or more people in Connecticut and was contributing to the Connecticut economy.

 

When Tom bought the Bibb Company it was a shrinking and failing business, losing over $14 million a year. Within three years, Bibb had more than doubled in size and was solidly profitable. The combined effects of the recession in 1990 and the domestic textile industry moving offshore during the 1990s took its toll on Bibb’s business. People familiar with Bibb’s history credit Tom with saving the company in the mid-1980s and holding on as long as possible against impossible odds in the 1990s.

 

Over the last 25 years, Tom has owned and operated many companies. The performance of every one of them improved significantly after Tom purchased them. Bibb is the only one that went through a financial restructuring. Combined these companies employed over 6,000 people. 

 

“As Lieutenant Governor, Mike Fedele supported a proposed half billion increase in the state income tax and stood by while we went from surpluses to deficits and Connecticut lost 100,000 jobs. Now, 35 points behind in the polls and nowhere else to go, he is using taxpayer money to pay for attack ads. The citizens of Connecticut expect and deserve a substantive dialogue on the issues facing our state. Mike Fedele doesn’t want to go there,” said Justin Clark, Tom Foley’s campaign manager.”