Bolinsky Files Complaint Regarding IPN Endorsement

By John Voket

Newtown attorney Robert Hall has  filed a complaint with Connecticut’s State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) on behalf of Republican 106th District candidate Mitchell Bolinsky. The September 19 document contends that Mr Bolinsky sought and received the cross-endorsement for that office by the state Independent Party after submitting 112 qualified signatures on a petition to that end.

The complaint notes that only 98 signatures were required to become eligible for the endorsement, and that the petition was filed on or before August 8. The complaint further states that the endorsement was initially approved by the Secretary of the State.

Mr Bolinsky’s complaint recognizes there is an ongoing “dispute as to what the rules and bylaws of the Independent Party are, and who is the chairman, and what his powers are.”

A September 14 report in The Newtown Bee outlined the issues of that lawsuit.

Mr Bolinsky and Independent Party of Newtown Chairman Bruce Walczak are both named in that action. The new complaint to the SEEC contends that the (IPN) “supposedly held a caucus to endorse a candidate for the 106th Assembly District on August 31,” operating under rules established by Michael Telesca, one of two individuals claiming leadership of the state Independent Party in the state lawsuit.

The complaint also notes that Mr Walczak acted as the chairman of the caucus during which he was nominated to run for the legislative seat on the Independent line. Mr Hall included in the complaint previous reports from The Bee, and states in a cover letter that no legal notice of the Independent Party caucus was posted about the caucus in any newspaper of general circulation in the community as required by state statutes.

The Bee previously published a calendar notice of the caucus, as well as a brief press release announcing the caucus, but never published a paid legal notice about the IPN activity. The complaint also contends that the IPN caucus was not held before August 1, as it should have been under rules reportedly drafted by Mr Telesca, and accepted by the state Independent Party.

When contacted by The Bee for a comment about the September 19 SEEC complaint, Mr Walczak replied in a written e-mailed response, “Have no idea what you are talking about.”

Mr Hall, speaking on behalf of Mr Bolinsky, stated that the SEEC complaint seeks to have Mr Walczak’s name removed from contention as a 106 District candidate of the state Independent Party, and that the resolution of this complaint may be influenced by the outcome of the state lawsuit.