Democratic legislative candidate Matt Ritter of Hartford sent out a campaign e-mail on April 30 touting a community group's endorsement of him in his Aug. 10 primary contest with incumbent state Rep. Ken Green, D-Hartford -- but it turns out that the group is a for-profit corporation that Ritter is paying $4,000 to help him get elected.
The glowing announcement by Ritter, a Hartford councilman, left out both the financial connection and the fact that the group is a for-profit corporation, for which incorporation papers were only filed in March.
The campaign e-mail included a color picture of Ritter, who is white, with a number of African American and Latino women involved in the group, and their children. Many residents of the 1st House District, which includes parts of Hartford and Bloomfield, are members of racial or ethnic minorities.
"Matt is pleased to announce that he has received a major endorsement: The Voices of Women of Color (VOWC) has unanimously voted as an organization to support Matt for State Representative," went Ritter's announcement. "The Voices of Women of Color is a diverse group of over 35 women dedicated to improving the lives of Hartford residents through outreach, social programming and leadership training. Matt is honored and excited to have their support. Janice Flemming, President of VOWC, said the organization decided to endorse Matt because 'he works, he listens and he responds.' "
However, the announcement didn't mention that on April 29 -- the day before the endorsement was announced -- Ritter's election committee treasurer signed a contract starting May 1 with the Voices of Women of Color to do campaign work such as distributing literature, phone-calling, door-knocking and organizing community events. The contract ran to June 30, paying $2,000, a recent campaign finance report shows. Another $2,000 is to be paid for July and August, Flemming and Ritter said when contacted during the week by The Courant.