Bashing governor in publicly funded campaign ads is OK in Connecticut legislative races, court rules

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled that state elections officials violated the constitutional free speech rights of two Republicans running for the state legislature when it fined them thousands of dollars for criticizing the Democratic governor in ads paid for by their publicly funded campaigns in 2014.

In a 5-0 decision, the justices overturned the $5,000 civil fine against now-Sen. Rob Sampson and the $2,000 penalty against former Sen. Joe Markley imposed by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

The commission had ruled that Sampson and Markley violated the rules of the state’s Citizens’ Election Program, which provides public funds to campaigns for statewide office and the legislature, when they sent out campaign materials touting how they would fight what they called the bad policies of then-Gov. Dannel Malloy.

While the program bars a candidate from spending their public funds on the campaigns of others not in their race, the Supreme Court said the commission went too far when it interpreted the law to mean Sampson and Markley couldn’t criticize Malloy, who was running for reelection.

“None of the communications at issue in this appeal could reasonably be construed as anything more than a rhetorical device intended to communicate the merits of the plaintiffs’ candidacies as bulwarks against the policies endorsed by Governor Malloy and the Democratic Party,” Chief Justice Richard Robinson wrote in the opinion.

Robinson added the commission “imposed an unconstitutional condition in violation of the first amendment to the extent that it penalized the mention of Governor Malloy’s name in a manner that was not the functional equivalent of speech squarely directed at his reelection campaign.”

The ruling cited several decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts on what limits can be placed on free speech in publicly funded campaigns. Thirteen states provide some form of public funding to candidates for state offices, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A spokesperson for the commission did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday. The state attorney general’s office, which represented the commission in the case, said it was reviewing the court ruling before deciding its next steps.

Markley, of Southington, won reelection as a senator in 2014 and left the legislature in 2019 after losing his bid for lieutenant governor. He said the commission’s interpretation of the law was “ludicrous” and he had believed it would be overturned by the courts.

“I think that what they were trying to do here in Connecticut was sufficiently outrageous that I doubt that such actions have even been contemplated in other states, because who would push for bans on what I think is such reasonable political communication?” he said.

Sampson, from Wolcott, won reelection to the House in 2014 and won the Senate seat vacated by Markley four years later. He did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

During the 2014 campaign, Sampson and Markley sent out postcards and flyers touting their fiscally conservative positions and saying they were key players in the legislature in fighting what they called Malloy’s “reckless” tax and spending policies. That year, Markley received about $57,000 in public funds for his campaign and Sampson got about $28,000.

Sampson’s Democratic opponent that year, John Mazurek, filed a complaint with the commission over the two Republicans’ campaign materials and their references to Malloy.

In 2018, the commission found that Sampson and Markley had violated the public campaign funding law by attacking Malloy, saying they were essentially spending the public funds on another 2014 campaign — Republican Tom Foley’s challenge against Malloy, who won reelection and later did not seek another term in 2018.

Sampson and Markley appealed to Superior Court, which upheld the commission’s decision in 2022. Judge Joseph Shortall said that Sampson and Markley did not prove that their constitutional rights were violated by the commission, and that they had voluntarily agreed to accept public funding for their campaigns and the conditions that came along with the money.

They next appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court on Monday.

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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh contributed to this report.