Republicans Question Leadership

Amid Recent Setbacks

HARTFORD (AP) — Recent setbacks for the state Republican Party, including losses in the Legislature and defections to US Sen John McCain during the presidential primary, have some members questioning the leadership.

Party Chairman Chris DePino defended his work and continues to get support from the most influential Republican of all – Gov John G. Rowland.

In anonymous letters to Republican leaders, one party member has criticized the way Mr DePino handled financial matters, the New Haven Register reported Monday.

Mr DePino said the letters are “personal slander.”

“It’s a personal attack on me from an anonymous nutcase,” he said.

Still, Republicans who talked to the Register raised questions about Mr DePino’s leadership.

Sources told the Register that the party’s legal bills from last year are expected to top $100,000, mostly to deal with a federal probe of fundraising by former state Treasurer Paul Silvester, a Republican.

The US Attorney’s Office recently issued statements that neither Mr DePino, Gov Rowland, nor other state Republican leaders are targets of the probe. Mr DePino said the result was worth the money.

Other Republicans are questioning how the party lost legislative races, including Mr DePino’s own reelection attempt as state representative from New Haven, despite record campaign spending.

Financial reports filed with the state show that the party raised $736,000 last year. That money is on top of $445,000 in surplus campaign cash that Gov Rowland gave the party after his 1998 reelection.

A new campaign finance filing is due this week, but Mr DePino told the Register the party ended the year with about $175,000 in cash on hand.

Mr DePino had said he wanted to use Gov Rowland’s campaign surplus to buy a headquarters for the party, to replace the leased offices that are a block from the state Capitol. No new offices have been purchased.

Mr DePino would not discuss specifics about how the money was spent, but he said a key accomplishment of the past year was compiling a database of Republican donors.

Some Republicans also criticize Mr DePino for failing to deliver Connecticut to President George W. Bush, both in the general and primary election.

Supporters of McCain, R-Arizona, who won the state’s presidential primary, said they are not behind the letters attacking Mr DePino.

Mr DePino pointed out Republican successes: getting Gov Rowland reelected and putting a Republican in the 2nd Congressional District after 20 years of Democrat Sam Gejdenson.

Mr DePino said he is definitely going to run for another two years as party chairman when his term is up in June.