Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele has won the court case that will allow him to spend more than $2 million against Greenwich multimillionaire Tom Foley in an increasingly bitter race for governor.
The nine-page ruling by Judge Julia Aurigemma marks a watershed in the Republican primary as Fedele will now be able to compete with Foley. Longtime business executive Oz Griebel of Simsbury joined with Foley in opposing the "double counting'' provision of the law, saying that Fedele and his running mate, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, were essentially allowed to double count their contributions and thus reach the minimum threshold of $250,000 to qualify for public financing.
But Beth Rotman, an attorney who serves as director of the Citizen's Election Program, said flatly that it was not double-counting and that both Fedele and Boughton had followed the law "to the letter.''
Fedele will be talking to reporters soon at the state Capitol in Hartford.