Martha Dean, the Republican candidate endorsed by her party at the convention, will be filing a lawsuit against her opponent, Ross Garber, in the race for attorney general. However, her campaign won’t be talking about the contents or type of lawsuit she plans on filing until tomorrow afternoon.
Paul Pacelli, spokesman for the Dean campaign, said they are still finalizing the details and “copious” amounts of information will be available at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The press conference will be held at Dean’s Avon headquarters.
Garber responded to the lawsuit threat by sending Dean the letter below:
Dear Martha:
It has come to my attention that you issued a press release announcing that you intend to commence “legal action” against me and my campaign for attorney general. This comes as a surprise. You have emphasized your commitment to our state and federal constitutions, both of which embody the principles of free speech – principles that are perhaps most importantly applied in the context of popular elections, where candidates highlight and discuss their views and the views of their opponents. You and I also seemed to agree that our current attorney general is too litigious, holds too many press conferences, and often neglects to explore alternatives to costly and time-consuming lawsuits.
If you believe I have mischaracterized your position on an issue, I urge you to tell me how. I also offer to have a public debate with you on the issues in the Attorney General’s race. I think such a debate would be more fruitful than burdening the resources of our already taxed court system. Such healthy and vigorous discussions of the issues are what elections are about.
I hope you will consider this offer, which I think will better serve the voters of Connecticut than filing a lawsuit.
Sincerely,
Ross H. Garber