Republican gubernatorial candidate Erin Stewart promised supporters at a campaign rally Tuesday night she will make a substantive response to reports about her use of a city credit card for personal purchases while mayor of New Britain — but not until after this weekend’s nominating convention.
“I will address everything directly, thoroughly and transparently once I have all of the facts in front of me, because that is what responsible leadership looks like,” Stewart said. “Not panic, not hysteria, not political theater — truth, accountability and transparency.”
Stewart intends to make a freedom of information request Wednesday to the administration of her Democratic successor, Bobby Sanchez, for records of the purchases made with her city credit card over the final nine years of her 12 years as mayor, said her senior campaign adviser, John Healey.
The documents are available in a digital format that should allow the city to provide them as soon as they are requested. Healey said reviewing the documents will not be completed before the two-day nominating convention opens Friday at Mohegan Sun but soon after, Healey said.
“It will not linger,” he said.
About $22,000 of the $207,076 in purchases made with Stewart’s city card were for purchases delivered to her home, including women’s clothing, makeup, a compact ice maker, thank-you notes for a baby shower, diapers and $129.60 for Similac baby formula.
“Until today, the only people who possess the records in question were the Democrats, the media and my Republican opponents,” Stewart said. “So I want you to know that I am in the process of personally engaging a team to obtain and review all of these records myself.”
Stewart took no questions from reporters.
Her speech Tuesday night was much like the written statement issued Monday afternoon, a day after publication of the first report by The Hartford Courant. It was defiant and angry, a populist call to arms portraying herself and her supporters as one — all blue-collar victims of wealthy elites.
“Unlike every one of my opponents, I don’t come from wealth. I’m a blue collar girl from New Britain who pinches every single penny. My husband and I work really hard, and we work so hard every single day to provide for our families, just like each and every one of you in this room right now, and just like the families across the state of Connecticut,” Stewart said. “The people of this state deserve leaders who reflect the people that they represent, not leaders who placate them with handouts from their mansions in Greenwich."
The audience roared.
“I have always taken accountability, and if mistakes were made, they will be addressed, they will be remedied, and we will move forward honestly and responsibly,” Stewart said. “Leadership is about having the courage to face challenges head on, and while others will choose to obsess over distractions, I remain focused on the people that we are actually here to serve.”
Her competitors for the Republican nomination, Sen. Ryan Fazio and Newsmax host Betsy McCaughey, are from Greenwich, as is the Democratic governor they are trying to unseat, Ned Lamont.
The rally was planned prior to the story about Stewart’s use of the city’s credit cards, meant at least in part to reintroduce her and her chosen running mate, Rep. Tim Ackert of Coventry, as a team. Her supporters filled a mid-sized function room at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bristol, not far from the ESPN campus.
They applauded, chanted her name and lined up to hug Stewart and pose for photographs.
“I feel comforted,” she told them.
Erin Stewart told supporters she felt comforted by them. Credit: mark pazniokas / ctmirror
Gayle Dennehy, the Republican town committee chair in Plainville, said Stewart’s promise to go through the records and deliver a detailed response was more than enough to get her through the GOP convention.
“We trust her,” Dennehy said. “She’s the real deal.”
Stewart, 38, entered with her husband, Domenic Mutone, and their daughter and son, ages 5 and 2. By turns, she playful and angry.
“Public service comes with scrutiny, and I have always accepted that. Anyone who knows me from my years of serving in the city of New Britain, working alongside colleagues, or anybody who knows me simply as a friend, a daughter, a wife, a mother — you know the kind of leader that I have tried to be,” Stewart said. “I lead with integrity. I lead with accountability.”
Stewart said she takes any accusation involving the public’s trust seriously, especially when it involves taxpayers’ dollars.
“Why?” she said. “Because I’m one of those taxpayers, too.”
She said nothing about a previous story, a report in the Connecticut Mirror about her filing paperwork in her last week as mayor to seek a partial pension benefit that is not authorized by the city’s charter or ordinances. She said the Democrats who now control city hall are trying to destroy her campaign.
Stewart, who is campaigning for governor for the second time in eight years, said her campaign is a cause, bigger than her.
“This whole campaign is not about me. It’s about you. It’s about us. It’s about the state of Connecticut,” Stewart said. “I grew up in hard-hittin’ New Britain. I went to public schools. I went to public schools there. Today we’re raising our family there. I’ve never been handed anything, not once.”
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
