2010 Dickinson dinner would have been illegal

State agency issues ruling on canceled event

As published in the Record Journal, Monday December 19, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The State Elections Enforcement Commission has ruled that a $40-per-ticket dinner planned for February 2010 in honor of Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. would have been a violation of state election laws, but because the event was ultimately canceled, no action will be taken.

In a decision dated Dec. 14, commission Chairman Stephen F. Cashman wrote that “as planned, the event, had it occurred, would have violated General Statute 9-609(b) as a ‘testimonial event.’ ” Because the event was ultimately postponed indefinitely, the commission ruled that no laws had been violated.

According to state statute: “No testimonial affair shall be held for a candidate, or for an individual who holds any such office during the term of such office, except to raise funds on his behalf for purposes authorized in this chapter. A testimonial affair which is held by an organization duly organized for charitable purposes shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.”

The issue was brought to the SEEC by Democratic Town Committee Chairman Vincent Avallone, who said Tuesday, “The Republican Party should be grateful to me for filing the complaint because they would have been guilty of breaking the law if they held the party.” Avallone said that, before he filed the complaint, he sent a copy of the statute to Republican Town Committee Chairman Robert Prentice as a courtesy.

Prentice could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Dickinson said Tuesday he was aware of the decision, and that while he understood the rationale for the state’s wanting to keep track of money raised, he questioned its ability to say who can and cannot hold a social function.

“To say people can’t plan an event, there are bigger issues there,” he said. “You can tell people what they need to do with the money, but to tell them an event can’t be held seems to be overreaching.”

The statute was amended in the past legislative session to allow testimonials to raise money for “party committees” as of January 2012, but Cashman wrote, “The event planned for February of 2010, however, preceded this change in the law, so the law as previously written would apply to the testimonial that was the subject of this complaint.”

The event was scheduled to be held at Villa Capri on North Colony Road and was to include a buffet dinner , music by the Johnny Bass Band, speeches and dancing.

Republican organizers of the event said the money was to go the Wallingford Center for the Arts. Mary Ellen Kingsland-Eckels, director of the Wallingford Center for the Arts, has said that organizers of the event had contacted the organization about receiving profits from the dinner, but that the organization was still in the process of obtaining nonprofit status and would not have been eligible to receive the funds.

Republican Councilor Rosemary Rascati, who helped organize the aborted event, said she wasn’t aware of the recent SEEC ruling, but said the event had been canceled because organizers hadn’t gotten a clear answer as to its legality.

“We made the decision since we did not get an answer,” she said. “We thought it was best to cancel the party and return the money.”

Rascati said they had offers from other charitable organizations to participate in the event, “but we thought the best thing was to cancel it.”

Avallone said Tuesday that his decision to file a complaint was based on his belief that the mayor and his supporters should abide by the law as written.

“The purpose of the complaint was to emphasize the fact that no one is above the law, not even a sitting mayor in office for 28 years,” he said.

The complaint was originally filed Jan. 26, 2010, and Avallone said that he didn’t receive the ruling until Monday.

Rascati said there are no plans for any other events to honor Dickinson while he remains in office. “If and when [the mayor] retires, and we’re still around, we’ll have a party,” she said.

Vincent Avallone defends record as Democratic town chairman

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday December 18, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — Since Vincent Avallone was named chairman of the Democratic Town Committee in 2008, municipal elections have not gone in the party’s favor, but Avallone says he’s the man to lead the town’s Democrats for the next two years and is optimistic about the future.

“I think it’s going in the right direction,” he said. “The core is as together as I’ve ever seen it on the town committee.”

Avallone will seek re-election as chairman in March and, so far, nobody has come forward to challenge the local attorney. He had thoughts about stepping down from his time consuming role, noting that his daughter, Joy, recently joined his law practice, but Avallone still he feels there is work that needs to be done.

The Democrats had a 5-4 majority on the Town Council after municipal elections in 2007, but Republicans regained a 6-3 advantage in 2009 and held the same majority in November’s election.

Republican William W. Dickinson Jr. has held the mayor’s seat since 1983.

While people can judge him on the outcomes of the last two municipal elections, Avallone said that there’s more to the role of chairman than simply being a campaign manager. Avallone said that more work needs to be done to get the Democrats out to vote.

In the most recent election, 3,314 Democrats came out to vote, 45.8 percent of the 7,232 registered in town. By comparison, 49.4 percent of registered Republicans came to the polls. Unaffiliated voters, the largest segment of the electorate in town at 13,025, came out at a rate of 32.8 percent. Vincent Testa Jr., the Democratic candidate for mayor, garnered 3,551 votes to Dickinson’s 6,210. Avallone admits that there was a divide in the party in the 1980s and 1990s — following a 1983 primary, in which Democratic then-Mayor Rocco J. Vumbaco lost to Pat DeBaise, who lost handily in the general election to Dickinson — but said that no such rift exists today.

File photo – courtesy of the Record Journal.

“Since those days, the makeup of the town committee has changed,” he said. “We’ve turned it around. There’s been about 60 or 65 percent turnover.”

Avallone acknowledges that it’s tough to campaign against the longtime mayor, but pointed to the election in 1989, when Democrat Peter Gouveia lost by only 31 votes, as an example of how close the party has come. With the council and school board, Avallone said that having Dickinson at the top of the ticket is a boost.

“The biggest difference in the parties is Bill Dickinson,” he said. “There’s a coat-tail effect running on a ticket with Bill Dickinson.”

But Stephen Alexander, a Democrat who moved to town a couple years ago and is not a member of the Democratic Town Committee, said he thinks the local party needs to do better.

In a letter to the editor published in the Record-Journal on Dec. 11, Alexander contended that “Democrats in Wallingford deserve a new leader who can win elections.” “There are a lot of new people in town,” Alexander said in an interview. “We’re a lot more Hispanic today than we were before. We have more renters in town. These are people that traditionally vote Democratic.” John Sullivan, a Democrat councilor, defended Avallone and said that it’s up to candidates to win elections, and that Avallone, and the town committee, are just there to offer support.

“You can’t judge a person by their record,” he said. “The candidates need to do it; it shouldn’t fall on the chairman’s shoulders.” Sullivan said he knows of nobody on the town committee who has come forward to challenge Avallone, and lauded the chairman’s fundraising efforts.

Avallone says the party is making an effort to reach out to new members while strengthening its base. He used the example of Jason Zandri, who ran as an independent for Town Council in 2007, but was convinced to join the Democrats. He also mentioned Christian DeCarlo, who planned an independent run for mayor this year before folding his campaign and joining the Democrats.

Samuel Carmody, the Democratic registrar of voters and a district leader on the Democratic Town Committee, said he thinks Avallone has helped bring the party together in his years as chairman.

Carmody, 25, has been involved with the party for nine years.

“We are unified, the party internally has become more unified,” he said. “There’s more momentum building within the party. I have hopes for the future as well.”

Carmody said that Avallone has also made efforts to reach out to young Democrats, and used the example of David Leonardo, a 24-year-old who ran in November for Board of Education and is expected to take a seat on the town committee.

The Democrats will caucus next month to elect new committee members. Avallone said he has a good group together that he hopes to build on, and wants the party to be in good position for the day when the mayor’s seat becomes vacant.

“You can’t give up, you have to keep trying,” he said. “You keep pushing. It’s difficult to beat the incumbent.”