Opponents Martha Dean and Ross Garber traded more blows Tuesday in their contentious Republican primary contest for Attorney General.
Dean announced that she has scheduled "an important news conference" Wednesday at 1 p.m. to discuss unspecified "legal action being undertaken against Ross Garber."
Garber responded with a press release of his own, accusing Dean of chilling vigorous political discussion and inviting her to debate issues in the attorney general race before the August 10 primary election.
The Dean campaign would not elaborate on the nature of their planned legal action. Garber's response, in the form of an open letter to Dean, assumes he will be accused of misrepresenting one or more of her positions.
"If you believe I have mischaracterized your position on an issue, I urge you to tell me how," Garber wrote.
He suggested that a debate "would be more fruitful than burdening the resources of our already taxed court system."
Last week, Garber mass-mailed a glossy campaign flyer that may have taken liberties with at last one of Dean's positions. The headline screams: "Martha Dean wants to decriminalize heroin and cocaine use." The art is a mélange of pills, a syringe and other drug paraphernalia. Elsewhere in the flyer, there is a photograph of a lost soul with an empty liquor bottle.
In a recent interview with The Courant, Dean denied advocating the decriminalization of drug offenses. But she said the subject was worthy of discussion, particularly if thin law enforcement resources are needed elsewhere, such as anti-terrorism efforts.