M. Jodi Rell: Democrats 'Greedy For Campaign Cash'

Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell is lashing out at Connecticut’s current governor and his Democratic allies in the legislature, saying they have destroyed many of the campaign finance laws her administration enacted.

In a letter she sent to the state’s newspapers and which was published today, Rell rips Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature’s Democratic leaders, saying they are  “so greedy for campaign cash that they would so willingly destroy what we so proudly enacted just a few short years ago.”

Rell and her administration enacted new campaign finance laws in 2005 after former Gov. John Rowland resigned amid a campaign corruption scandal. Rowland eventually was convicted of corruption and spent nearly a year in federal prison. Rell was Rowland’s lieutenant governor.

Last week the Democratic-controlled legislature approved revisions to the campaign finance reforms, changes Malloy signed into law and which Rell says essentially guts the reforms her administration enacted in an effort to safeguard against political corruption.

“The Democratic dismantling of ethics, contracting and campaign reforms is the height of arrogance and shows a total disrespect for the people of Connecticut,” Rell says in her letter. She adds that it is particularly galling given that just two weeks ago a campaign staffer for former House Speaker Chris Donovan, of Meriden, was convicted in a campaign contributions corruption case.