Jon Lender reports:
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that the office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz maintained “inappropriate” personal and political information in a taxpayer-funded office database – creating “the reasonable perception that the state database was developed as a useful tool for political campaign purposes.”
Blumenthal made those findings in an investigative report. He said he was was referring the report to the state’s top prosecutor, Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane, as well as the State Elections Enforcement Commission and legislative leaders in hopes of closing a longstanding loophole in state law that permits political activity in state offices by elected officials and their appointed aides.
The referral to Kane also will allow the prosecutor to review whether any criminal laws were violated, Blumenthal’s office confirmed Thursday.
Blumenthal also said in his report that it was “not proper” for his fellow Democrat, Bysiewicz, to use its 36,000-name database to identify the “religion, race and ethnicity” of more than 2,400 citizens, and to keep “special notes” records of some citizens’ political leanings and personal characteristics. In a few cases, those notes included “descriptions of [citizens’] medical issues, choice of clothing, and favored political candidates,” the report said.
Read more in the Hartford Courant.