Accusations Fly Between Fairfield Party Heads Amid CT GOP Tumult

FAIRFIELD, CT — Political controversy at the state level has trickled down to Fairfield, with local officials exchanging denunciations about a congressional candidate who was accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in an attack recorded on video and the state party chair who declined to act when informed of the recording.

Prominent Republican leaders have called for the head of their party, Chair J.R. Romano, to resign after he declined to view the 2017 video of 2nd Congressional District candidate Thomas Gilmer, which was offered to him by Gilmer’s opponent, Justin Anderson, before Gilmer secured the party’s nomination, according to the Connecticut Mirror. Gilmer lost to Anderson in last week's primary after a recount.

“Almost a week has passed since this story came to light, and yet silence from the Fairfield RTC and all of Fairfield’s elected Republican officials. What are they waiting for?” the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee said Monday in a Facebook post.

Republican Town Committee Chair Jack Testani fired back Tuesday with a prepared statement.

“The Fairfield Republican Town Committee joins many other Republican leaders from around the State in expressing our concerns about reports of domestic violence by a candidate for U.S. Congress in the 2nd District,” Testani said. “We are incensed that the victim of this incident was allowed to be used as a political tactic and we are confident the justice system will prevail. Domestic violence is never acceptable no matter who perpetrated the crime and there are never mitigating circumstances to justify it.”

Testani also said his committee would make a donation to a local charity for domestic abuse victims, before pivoting to directly target Democratic committee Chair Steve Sheinberg. Testani accused Sheinberg of politicizing domestic violence and said Sheinberg failed to speak out after Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty ignored allegations of domestic violence and sexual harassment against her chief of staff.

“The failure to address domestic violence consistently makes it clear that Mr. Sheinberg is seeking to use this situation for political gain based on the perpetrator’s political affiliation,” Testani said. “Mr. Sheinberg can now add victims of domestic violence to a list of people that he is willing to exploit in an attempt to win an election.”

Testani also said Sheinberg “failed to take a stand” at a protest last month when demonstrators “hurled vulgarities” at local elected officials. In addition, Testani mentioned Sheinberg’s support for former first selectman Mike Tetreau in the wake of a public corruption scandal involving illegal dumping at the town fill pile, which came to light at the end of Tetreau’s time in office.

“They are clearly trying to deflect from the fact that they and all of their Republican elected officials remained silent for a week on this,” Sheinberg responded in an email. “He is only speaking up now because they got called out. And, in fact, he still does not call out Romano for any wrongdoing in protecting and moving forward with a candidate who was credibly accused of domestic abuse, but instead blames the guy who came forward with the evidence!”

Anderson gave the video to law enforcement, and Wethersfield police charged Gilmer last week with first-degree unlawful restraint and second-degree strangulation, the Mirror reported, noting that news of the arrest broke as voters were at the polls. After a recount, Anderson was declared the winner, although some have said his attempt to use the video to keep Gilmer from running should disqualify him, according to the Mirror.