In an increasingly nasty race for governor, the three Republicans battled Wednesday night over the public financing of political campaigns - a key issue for many Republican primary voters who question it on principle.
Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele this week became the first Republican statewide candidate in state history to receive money from public financing.
"I'm very proud to be participating in that program,'' Fedele said.
But both Greenwich multimillionaire Tom Foley and longtime business executive Oz Griebel of Simsbury had a sharply different perspective, saying that public funds should never be used for campaign bumper stickers and political commercials.
"For the taxpayers to be paying for Michael Fedele's campaign, I think, is ridiculous,'' said Foley, who is largely self-financing his campaign. "I don't know why he's asking for the taxpayers of Connecticut to pay for his election. We can't afford it.''
Griebel, who like Foley is not accepting any public money, said, "This whole concept of public financing is an inappropriate use of taxpayers' dollars.''
The televised debate Wednesday came on the day that the State Supreme Court rejected Foley's request for an immediate injunction that would have prevented Fedele from receiving more than $2 million in public funds for his campaign. Both Foley and Griebel have charged that the State Elections Enforcement Commission has misinterpreted the state's landmark campaign finance law and improperly awarded public funds to Fedele. A Superior Court judge, however, rejected those arguments, and Foley has appealed the case to the State Supreme Court.
Foley's appeal will proceed on the merits, and oral arguments will be held in Hartford at the state's highest court next Tuesday.
The financing issue and the debate are important issues as Republican voters make their decisions in the final weeks before the August 10 primary. The most recent Quinnipiac University poll showed the front-running Foley leading Fedele by 27 points and Griebel by 37 points. A new poll is scheduled to be released Thursday morning.