LaRocque Quits 106th District Race And Council

By John Voket

Two weeks after an announcement that his campaign had been rejected “with prejudice” from participation in a publicly funded state campaign finance program, Republican Chris LaRocque has called it quits, announcing Thursday, September 2, his withdrawal from the legislative race. He has also tendered his resignation from the seat he won on the Legislative Council last November.

“After much personal reflection I have decided to withdraw as a candidate for the 106th District State Representative race effective today,” Mr LaRocque wrote in a brief statement that was sent to The Newtown Bee. “In addition, I have submitted my resignation from the Legislative Council to the Council Chairman, Jeff Capeci.”

Mr LaRocque said these decisions “were extremely difficult to make, but I believe they are in the best interest of the Republican Party and the residents of Newtown.”

Without any mention of specifics, Mr LaRocque closed by saying he is “confident the major issues impacting our community can be solved through hard work and bipartisan support from the collective knowledge that exists here in Newtown.” He also thanked all of his supporters and the Republican Party of Newtown for “all the hard work that has been devoted to this campaign.”

Concurrently, local Republican Town Committee Chairman Dennis Bloom told The Bee that the RTC’s executive board, having been apprised Monday of the potential of Mr LaRocque’s withdrawal from the race, had met to discuss a possible replacement on the GOP’s 2010 ticket.

Mr Bloom said the RTC was planning to meet Thursday, September 2, at the Senior Center to discuss the half-dozen names that came up as possible replacements. He refused to speculate about the candidate who might emerge from Thursday’s meeting, which occurred after The Bee went to print, but before the paper was delivered to subscribers. (Watch for updates on NewtownBee.com.)

“We look forward to choosing the strongest possible candidate to speak to the fiscal issues facing the state and show how poorly our current state representative is representing the interests of Newtown,” Mr Bloom said in a written statement.

Contacted via email, Mr LaRocque said he had nothing further to offer than his previous statement.

On August 18, a spokesperson for Connecticut’s State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) told The Bee that a “material impropriety” was discovered during an audit of donors to Mr LaRocque’s campaign.

The agency initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint from Newtown resident Sarah Hemingway August 8. This is the second complaint filed against Mr LaRocque with the SEEC by Ms Hemingway, a Newtown resident who is a close friend and campaign manager for Mr LaRocque’s former opponent, Representative Christopher Lyddy.

As a result of that August 8 complaint, Mr LaRocque’s application for public campaign financing was rejected “with prejudice,” according to the SEEC. This means Mr LaRocque cannot reapply for funds under the program.

The SEEC spokesperson, Nancy S. Nicolescu, said a “substantial number of straw contributions were made as part of the qualification process.” She said straw contributions are those not actually made by individuals.

Mr LaRocque said the 18 donations found to be in violation were made along with more than 180 others as part of the process for qualifying for taxpayer-funded election financing. To meet the threshold and qualify for public financing, candidates must raise at least $5,000, and have 150 individual donors represented from their district.

He explained at the time that a “solicitor” for his campaign “provided some of his friends with cash to make $5 contributions.” That solicitor was identified as Phil Lombardo in Ms Hemingway’s August 8 complaint.

“But regardless of how it happened, it was my business to know about it,” Mr LaRocque said.

Saying the situation was “unfortunate,” he explained that in the course of soliciting $5 donations as part of the criteria to amass enough individual contributions from district residents, the unnamed solicitor “covered,” or provided, the $5 contributions represented in the application as coming from the individuals named as the actual donors.

Council Chairman Capeci said that he was disappointed about what had happened to his colleague, but that “Chris made a personal decision and we will fill his seat in a similar manner to the way we handled the departure of John Aurelia last month.”

He was referring to the resignation of the second-term Republican who resigned due to health complications. Mr Aurelia was replaced by Robert Merola, who was confirmed by a unanimous vote.

Referring to the short-lived tenure of Mr LaRocque on the council, Mr Capeci said the young councilman “hit the ground running.”

“Chris participated actively during his first budget process, and made some strong contributions to the education committee on which he served,” Mr Capecia said. “He will be missed.”

Representative Chris Lyddy told The Newtown Bee that looking forward, his focus will be to continue talking to Newtown voters about issues that affect the town and stage.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Newtown in Hartford this November and wish Mr LaRocque well in his future endeavors,” Mr Murphy said.