A Superior Court judge will decide Tuesday whether Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele will receive more than $2.1 million in public funding in an increasingly bitter battle against Greenwich multi-millionaire Tom Foley, the Republican front runner in the governor's race.
The two sides argued Monday in state Superior Court in Hartford, but the judge did not issue any rulings. Fedele agreed not to spend any of the public money until the judge rules.
Judge Julia Aurigemma this afternoon granted legal standing to longtime business executive Oz Griebel of Simsbury, who is battling with Foley and Fedele in the increasingly nasty gubernatorial primary. Voters will go to the polls on August 10.
Griebel and Foley argue strongly that Fedele and his running mate, Mark Boughton, are not entitled to $2.1 million in public financing through the state's Citizen's Election Program. The money was approved Thursday by a state commission, and then Foley immediately filed a court challenge Friday morning.
The first two witnesses Monday, called by Foley's attorney, were Foley campaign manager Justin Clark, and Beth Rotman, director of the state Citizen's Election Program.
Foley is leading the three-way race by more than 25 percentage points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. If Fedele loses in court, he would be severely cash-strapped in the crucial final weeks of the campaign.
The courtroom was filled with some of the top legal firepower in the state. The Fedele campaign has hired Bart Halloran, one of the best-known attorneys in Hartford. The Foley campaign has hired the firm of Wesley Horton, one of the top appellate attorneys in the state.
Foley and his campaign say the Fedele-Boughton team and the State Elections Enforcement Commission have misinterpreted the state's landmark campaign finance law in a way that differs sharply from the statute itself. But Rotman has rejected Foley's arguments and says that the Fedele and Boughton campaign have "absolutely'' followed the law.
The Fedele and Boughton campaigns have been strongly defended by Rotman, who oversees the program. She said that their campaigns followed the law "to the letter'' in making their filings.