Southington Dems, GOP Fight Over Republicans' Legal Fees

SOUTHINGTON, CT — While many towns boast of Democratic and Republican parties not at odds in the same vein as on the national level, Southington doesn't appear to be one of them.

With the 2024 election season coming down its home stretch, a controversy from the 2022 state House race in Southington is still fueling bad blood between the Southington Democratic and Republican town committees.

Both sides this month have fired proverbial shots at each other regarding a State Elections Enforcement Commission complaint the Dems filed regarding an anonymous letter sent two years ago to voters about state Rep. Christopher Poulos, D-Southington.

During the 2022 election for the 81st House seat, Democrat Poulos narrowly defeated Republican Tony Morrison, 5,297-5,296.

The one-vote margin became the official tally following a recount in the heavily GOP Southington district, which initially showed a Poulos win by a few votes.

And, although Morrison conceded the race and the 81st seat was flipped from red to blue, the division hasn't gone away.

Now, Poulos is in a spirited battle for re-election against Republican James Morelli Jr. for the 81st seat, which represents most of Southington, the lone town in the district.

And, like in 2022, both parties are still at odds.

Following the heated 2022 election of Poulos, the Southington Democratic Town Committee filed a complaint with the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission about an anonymous letter sent out prior to the vote.

The complaint, filed in March 2023, is still active at the state level and the commission is still investigating.

"Just prior to the 2022 election, many Southington voters received an unattributed letter attacking candidate Chris Poulos, aiming to sway voters with divisive language," wrote Southington Democrats in a statement earlier this month.

The Democrats claim public financial records of the Southington RTC "show that they have recently used donor money to pay for unusual legal expenses."

According to the Dems, "their financial report described this expense as 'legal fee for help with SEEC.'"

Democrats expressed concern about whether this campaign financial listing is regarding the complaint filed about the anti-Poulos letter or "another reason."

"In light of the ongoing SEEC investigation, this warrants public clarity," wrote Democrats.

"The Southington Democratic Town Committee believes transparency is essential in maintaining the integrity of our electoral process and urges the Southington Republican Party to shed light on these questions."

When reached by Patch late last week, the Southington Republican Town Committee fired back, accusing Democrats of "historically" using a "misinformation strategy in every election."

The GOP response sent to Patch last week was posted on the Republicans' social media page Monday morning.

"Southington Democrats have consistently filed unwarranted complaints against the Southington Republican Town Committee," wrote the local GOP.

Southington Republicans said those fees referenced have nothing to do with the Democrats' complaint about the 2022 letter.

"The legal fees in question are unrelated to their claims in this press release and represent their latest effort to mislead and misdirect the citizens of Southington."

According to Republicans, the Southington Democrats "lied to voters" about so-called "secret meetings," the selling of school property, and "accusing town employees and elected officials of illegal land deals."

The Republicans said those allegations resulted in lengthy town investigations that resulted in all accused being exonerated, to the tune of $25,000 paid for by the town to hire an investigator to look into the dispute.

"It is unfortunate that during a time when Southington citizens and specifically our seniors are struggling with outrageous electric costs, paying the highest fuel prices ever, as well as out-of-control inflation at our grocery stores, Chris Poulos and the Southington Democrats are focused on filing unwarranted complaints instead of working on policies that help the residents of Southington," wrote the GOP.

"Clearly the Democrats are out of touch with the needs of our citizens and have no plan to fix the issues. The people of Southington deserve better."

According to the Southington Republican Town Committee Chairman Mark Jajoie on Monday, the legal fees were a "routine" matter in which the party is consulting with an attorney "due to a fundraising event."

From Oct. 2: 'Patch Candidate Profile: Christopher Poulos For 81st State House'

From Oct. 15: 'Patch Candidate Profile: James Morelli Jr. For 81st State House'

From Nov. 15, 2022: '1 Vote Decides Southington State Representative Race'