Blame game continues: Haymond (left); Carchia.
(Updated with Paca formal response.) The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) will investigate two fraudulent petitions that upended this year’s Democratic primaries in New Haven.
At its monthly meeting in Hartford on Wednesday morning, the SEEC voted to launch the investigations in the two complaints of suspect petitions in New Haven by campaigns in last week’s Democratic primaries: the outright forgeries on Americo Carchia’s since-suspended bid for probate judge, and multiple endorsements from the same signer on Marcus Paca’s petitions for mayor.
Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans filed a complaint against Carchia’s campaign after she noticed irregularities on his sheets, including three individuals she knows didn’t sign the petition, lots of crossed-out mistakes, and pages of Yale students who wouldn’t be living on campus during the summer. The Independent confirmed that students no only never signed the petitions; they hadn’t been in town, in some cases for years. (Read about that here.)
After that revelation, Carchia withdrew from the race. While he’s still torn up about what happened, Carchia said Wednesday that he was “glad” and “not surprised” that an investigation is underway.
“The gentlemen that I hired to do this has done some seriously bad things. What I’d like to see as the end result is that, at some point, they’re able to clear my name, so that I don’t feel that I did anything inappropriately and that we bring these guys to some sort of justice — I know justice is a large word — to at least ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” Carchia also said that he hoped his exposure helps educate other “novice[s] to politics” about the possibility of fraud.
Cole Haymond, one of the principals behind Yellow Dog Strategies, the firm that Carchia hired to collect the signatures, said much the same thing Wednesday, welcoming the investigation to also clear his name.
Haymond said he preemptively submitted “various documents and affidavits” to the SEEC, “many of which clear me and my involvement in this matter.” They establish that “I was not in the City of New Haven for the petition-gathering process, let alone in the State of Connecticut for the bulk of the process,” Haymond said.
He said that his involvement was limited to sending out walk lists of registered voters, verifying signer’s party registration by phone and interfacing with Carchia, and he said that he was not involved in hiring the team on the ground. He said he couldn’t comment on who might be responsible.
Haymond concluded, “I can’t wait for this to be over and for my name to be cleared of any wrongdoing. I look forward to it.”
In the SEEC’s other inquiry, Enrico Melita, Mayor Toni Harp’s campaign manager, filed a complaint after collecting a sworn affidavit from a Paca campaign circulator, Priscilla Knox, who said that she asked individuals to sign for others in their household. The Independent substantiated at least one of her claims. (Read more about that here.)
Despite Harp’s decisive victory over Paca in the primary, Melita said that an investigation is necessary. “Serious allegations were made, and they deserve to be investigated,” he said. “Our democratic process is very important, and there are rules that need to be followed. There’s a process that needs to be adhered to.”
Paca said his opponent is being “a sore winner.” In an email, he wrote, “The fact that she is continuing an investigation that is largely predicated around a confessed perjurer and extortionist is appalling. How much longer will New Haveners tolerate this type of petty behavior?” His campaign plans to release a counterclaim today, a response “that will speak for itself and provide details and evidence of illegal voter intimidation and retaliation that has unfortunately become the hallmark of this administration and the Harp campaign,” his email said. “I look forward to going to the SEEC with this evidence.”
If a violation is found, the commission has the power to issue sanctions, ranging from a $200 fine per offense to a referral to the state’s attorney for criminal prosecution, said Joshua Foley, the commission’s spokesperson.
Paca subsequently released a formal response he sent to the SEEC rebutting all the allegations, accusing the Harp campaign of participating in extortion with Knox and of applying pressure to city employees and a contractor for signing his petitions. Click here to read the response.