Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has checked out of the Hotel California.
And now that the first-term Democrat is back in his home state of Connecticut from a hush-hush weekend of fundraising on the left coast, Republican State Sen. Toni Boucher is seeking an itemized list of the expenses incurred by Malloy’s security detail on the political trip.
Boucher, who is exploring a run for governor next year, filed a Freedom of Information request Tuesday with Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Reuben Bradford to try to get an accounting of the cost to Connecticut taxpayers of protecting Malloy during his stay in California.
The state Democratic Party has said it is picking up the tab for Malloy’s travel expenses, excluding those incurred by the state troopers who accompanied the governor on the trip.
Boucher contends that Democrats should go one step further since the trip was political in nature, however.
“While it is common practice for statewide officeholders to raise money for political parties, it is not enough for the state Democratic party to say that it is paying the governor’s expenses,” Boucher said in a statement. “In the interest of transparency, taxpayers need more information. The governor is entitled to be accompanied on trips by state troopers, drivers, and security personnel. If he uses their services in relation to political fundraising activities, then his party should also be paying for their airfare, wages, overtime pay, car rentals, or hotel rooms. That’s why it’s important to find out whether any state staff accompanied the governor on this trip. If they did, then taxpayers also need to know whether any state resources were used to pay for their expenses. I look forward to receiving the information.”
Malloy spokesman Andrew Doba issued the following statement to Hearst Connecticut Newspapers:
“Like any other FOI request that is filed, the relevant agency will look for responsive documents and be in communication with the requester,” Doba said.