Opinion: The RTC Misinforms Fairfield about Ms. Kupchick’s Improper $18.7K Unemployment Claim

Fairfield Friends,

On Wednesday, June 4th, the Fairfield Republican Town Committee (RTC) submitted a post to the local Patch that was both inflammatory, and ripe with incorrect hyperbole. It was written as if guided by a page out of Trump’s playbook. For several years, I’ve tried to stay out of the fray and avoid the toxicity that sadly both national and local politics has devolved into, but after having been called out by name with false accusations, I am compelled to respond.

My first draft for this response was scorched earth because I was angry. However, I recognize that Fairfield deserves better. I want to reach across the aisle with an extended hand and respectfully ask Laura Devlin, the current head of the RTC, to turn down the political rhetoric. Fairfield doesn’t need the toxic political drama that otherwise plagues our nation. Fairfield is better than this. We are Fairfield. We are better than this.

Now for the facts… The Fairfield RTC stated that “Democrat [sic] members turned a straightforward issue, HR errors related to unemployment compensation, into a political spectacle, weaponizing a Town mistake against the former First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, essentially accusing her of fraud.”

This is categorically incorrect, and I would invite anybody interested in the truth to watch the rebroadcast of the last two Board of Finance meetings to see what actually transpired for yourself. I have cataloged key moments with timestamps below for your convenience.

The truth is that at no point in either the May 20th meeting or the June 3rd meeting did I, any of my Democratic colleagues, or First Selectman Gerber accuse Ms. Kupchick of fraud. To the contrary, FS Gerber went out of his way to differentiate between fraudulent claims and “improper” claims. FS Gerber was clear that Ms. Kupchick’s claim for unemployment fell into the latter category – improper, not fraudulent. My colleagues and I were careful to characterize Ms. Kupchick’s claim as either improper or inappropriate, never fraudulent – despite what the RTC has written.

If you watch the meetings, you’ll consistently see myself and my Democratic colleagues focus on “process”. We wanted to uncover whether there was a process breakdown, and how the Town can avoid mistakes like this in the future.

The truth is that the RTC is obfuscating the issue, hoping Fairfield residents don’t focus on the fact that Ms. Kupchick inappropriately collected $18,700 in unemployment claims from the Town. The truth is that all elected officials in the State of CT are simply not eligible for unemployment. That’s the law.

• Was Ms. Kupchick told this by the Town’s HR department? It does not appear so.
• Did the Town HR department make mistakes in this situation? I personally believe so.
• As a former State Legislator and former First Selectwoman, should Ms. Kupchick have known that she was ineligible for unemployment? Probably.
• Should Ms. Kupchick return to the Town the $18,700 that she erroneously received? Absolutely.

Near the end of the June 3rd BOF meeting, my colleague, Mr. Walsh implied that Ms. Kupchick may not repay the Town the $18,700 she erroneously received because the Town HR department and the Town’s third-party administrator made mistakes. In my opinion, it would be a really sad day, and exhibit really poor judgment, if that were the case.

Let’s see if Ms. Kupchick does the right thing and return the money to the Town.

Let’s see if Ms. Devlin and the RTC turn down the political rhetoric going forward.

The Town would be better off if both were to occur.

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Timestamps:

May 20th BOF Meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/live/qdUITtMnnoE?si=IdQGBlRUTBm_3vYn

• Discussion lasts roughly 20 minutes starting at the 0:50:00 mark
• 0:50:30 Start of unemployment compensation discussion
• 0:52:35 Gerber introduces “fraudulent claims” topic
• 0:55:40 Gerber introduces “improper claims” topic
• 0:58:00 Gerber clarifies that fraudulent and improper claims are different
• 0:59:40 Charlton discusses focusing on “process”
• 1:04:30 Curley asks for more detail on both fraudulent and improper claims – focuses on reimbursement process

June 3rd BOF Meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/live/FcA66oROiFw?si=Ju6NRPuAo5ZdtrZi

• Discussion lasts roughly 45 minutes starting at the 2:50:00 mark
• 2:50:00 Start of unemployment compensation discussion
• 2:57:50 Curley asks process questions
• 3:06:00 Charlton clarifies that we need to determine if the Town has a process problem
• 3:09:30 Walsh shares email exchanges between Ms. Kupchick and HR
• 3:18:10 Ruggiero expresses concern about claims of fraud against Ms. Kupchick
• 3:19:05 Charlton reiterates the need to refocus on process and controls
• 3:21:25 Ruggiero reiterates her concern about claims of fraud against Ms. Kupchick
• 3:21:35 Curley/Charlton repeatedly clarifies that claims of fraud were never made against Ms. Kupchick
• 3:23:30 Walsh implies that Ms. Kupchick may not repay the Town

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— The above opinion essay was written by Fairfield Board of Finance Secretary Craig Curley