Citing fundraising difficulties, Middletown Mayor Dan Drew and his running mate, Cheshire state Rep. Liz Linehan, ended their campaign for governor and lieutenant governor.
“Ultimately it became very difficult to raise the required funds to qualify for public financing,” Drew and Linehan said in an emailed statement. “Other campaigns are on their way, and we look forward to supporting the Democratic team.”
Drew who switched over to a candidate committee this past summer has raised $91,111 and over the past quarter and received $37,581 in individual donations, but most of that money has already been spent. During the most recent quarter he paid $49,692 to consultants and only has $7,877 cash on hand. However, that’s less than the $16,079 in unpaid expenses he reported.
Linehan was using the same consulting company — The Vinci Group — and was able to raise $9,661 and had $3,237 cash on hand, which was less than her $6,300 in unpaid bills, according to records from the latest reporting period.
Drew, one of the first candidates to announce last year before Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he wasn’t seeking a third term, struggled from the very start.
Last September, he was criticized when it was revealed that he had sent letters to the homes of town employees, including the legally protected addresses of police officers, requesting donations for his campaign. The state Election Enforcement Commission is investigating that matter.
The Middletown Common Council approved a $20,000 investigation into a gender discrimination complaint and he recently lost his seat on the local Democratic Town Committee.
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