Responding to a report we published in our Hearst newspapers, Mark Greenberg, Republican contender for the GOP’s 5th District Congressional nomination, called on Democrat Chris Donovan to return cash his own 5th District campaign accepted from lobbyists.
Donovan – a veteran state legislator and current House Speaker – has received at least $25,000 from lobbyists whose job it is to convince lawmakers like himself to raise, amend, pass and kill bills in Hartford. Some observers say it is closer to $40,000.
Although legislators can only accept maximum $100 campaign donations from lobbyists and nothing during the months the General Assembly is in session, there are no such restrictions in federal races.
Donovan is among a handful of sitting state lawmakers pursuing a congressional seat and is certainly the most powerful and has certainly enjoyed the most lobbyist financial support.
Greenberg also believes the latter and today called on Donovan to make up for what the Republican considers an ethical conflict: “He has found a backdoor way of continuing to shake down lobbyists for campaign contributions. If ever the line between the appearance of impropriety and actual impropriety was blurred, this is it. Do lobbyists ever give something without expecting something in return? Not if they want to stay in business. Donovan knows how to play the game but it’s a game where he wins and open, transparent government loses. The Speaker should return the lobbyists’ contributions immediately and pledge that he will not accept them in the future.”
Donovan’s campaign declined to comment.
(Not all Republicans are mad at Donovan. Some – like Rep. Livvy Floren, R-Greenwich – appeared to enjoy the “Donovan masks” government news site CT Capitol Report distributed today in Hartford to members of both parties to playfully mark the popular Speaker’s final session. I didn’t see any lobbyists holding them in front of their faces.)
Another Republican vying for the GOP’s 5th District nomination – one who appears to have a better shot than Greenberg – is state Sen. Andrew Roraback. Roraback is also critical of Donovan’s lobbyist ties but in a recent interview did not go as far as Greenberg.
Roraback agreed it is appropriate for sitting legislators running for Congress to turn down lobbyist donations once the legislature convenes and plans to do so. But Roraback stopped short of saying Donovan should never have accepted the cash prior to the 2012 session.
“It’s fair of the public to ask questions about connections between contributions made by lobbyists to individuals who run the show at the capitol,” Roraback said.
And he plans on taking that money once the General Assembly adjourns.
“I’ve been in the capitol for 18 years. I’ve made a lot of friends. And there are lobbyists who believe in me and would like to see the values I represent in Congress,” Roraback said.
Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, a legislator running for U.S. Senate, today declined to match Donovan’s and Roraback’s “no lobbyist cash during the session” vows.
“Frankly today I’m just focused on the start of the session,” Tong said.