Esty focus of negative attacks

Democratic congressional candidate and former state Rep.  Elizabeth Esty has been the subject of several attacks in recent days with less than three weeks to go before the Aug. 14 primary.

In a mailer distributed in the district this week, Kent resident Dan Roberti claims Esty is “another Hartford politician with an ethics problem.”

Roberti, Esty and House Speaker Chris Donovan are seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 5th Congressional District race.

The mailer states Esty has been taking campaign contributions from “some of the worst polluters and energy companies including Duke Energy and NRG Energy” while her husband, Dan Esty, serves as commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

While he didn’t do the dirty work himself, one of Donovan’s biggest supporters, the state chapter of the AFL-CIO, organized a press conference Monday morning in New Britain attacking Esty’s support from Emily’s List – a politican action committee with the mission of helping to elect pro-choice Democratic women to office.

Several women spoke at the news conference including Julie Kushner, a Danbury resident and director of UAW Region 9A, who said Esty’s record on women’s issues falls short “and doesn’t compare to Chris Donovan’s steller support of issues important to women.”

Officials with Esty’s campaign said meanwhile the negative attacks are a result of the momentum the Democrat is building with voters in the district.

“Enough is enough,” said Esty campaign spokesman Jeb Fain. “It’s disgusting that both of Elizabeth’s opponents are engaging in swift boat tactics to distort Elizabeth’s record and distract from serious problems in their own campaigns.”

Dirk Perrefort