I had gotten wind of this a few days ago, but didn’t write anything about it, as unlike some Republicans I could name, I like to get some verification before making factual assertions. This was in this morning’s Day, our local paper of record:
A complaint has been filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission alleging that a Groton Town Council candidate with a Mystic address actually lives in Waterford.
Town Clerk Betsy Moukawsher said her office received an anonymous phone call last week from an individual alleging that Town Council candidate David Preka lives at 16 Susan Terrace in Waterford, not 61 W. Main St. in Mystic as listed on election forms. She said she forwarded the complaint to the State Elections Enforcement Commission in accordance with state statutes.
61 Main Street is office space in a bank building in which Preka conducts his business. No one “lives” there. There are two explanations for why someone would put their work address down when they registered to vote:
- They were lying.
- They were an idiot.
There is also the possibility that both 1 and 2 apply.
Apparently the man owns a lot of property, so it is remotely possible that he actually does reside somewhere in Groton, but the fact is that one is supposed to register at one’s residence address. One does not have the option of voting in the town in which one works. It also seems highly suspicious (the Day does not mention this) that the 2019 filing for his corporation that does business at the Mystic address lists his residence address as 16 Susan Terrace.. Some might say that’s pretty strong evidence, but I’m a retired lawyer now, so what would I know?
To step back a bit. It was not that long ago that there were reasonable people in the Groton Republican Party, but my impression (not confirmed scientifically, but confirmed by some with knowledge) is that the whackjobs have slowly pushed the reasonable folks aside, and it is steadily becoming just like the national party, as their response to this incident demonstrates.
To digress a bit, isn’t it interesting that the party that accuses others of engaging in voter fraud seems to be the prime actual culprit when it comes to the real thing. This doesn’t approach the fraud in North Carolina, but it’s of a piece with the Republican attitude that the rules don’t apply to them.
The response from the Groton Republicans has been totally in line with the modus operandi of the national Republicans. Preka himself has this to say, which makes no sense:
“I’m sorry that my residency has become such an issue, I have been registered to vote in Groton for several years,” Preka said in an emailed statement. “I feel that this issue was a partisan attack, and I’m working to resolve it at this time.>
I checked his voting record on line, by the way, and he hasn’t cast a vote in a municipal election during the time he’s been registered at that address, but he has voted in federal election years. In any event, the fact that he has been registered at his business address for years does not, as he seems to imply, excuse the fact that he has been registered at his business address for years.
The response of the party chair is classic Republican entitlement, i.e., how dare you expose our corruption and we are the real victims here:
RTC Chairman Ken Richards said in an emailed statement on Wednesday: “We are deeply troubled that the Democratic Town Clerk would pursue such a glaringly political objective to undermine an endorsed candidate of an opposing party on Town of Groton time and using Town of Groton resources. For this reason, the Republican Town Committee has filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Town Clerk to determine whether the impetus for this action taken on town time was politically motivated.” Richards is running for Groton Town Council but said he was speaking in his capacity as RTC chairman.
“This unfortunate episode underscores the concerns of many residents about the hyper-partisan nature of the current all-Democratic council,” he added. “Once again the Town Clerk and the council have put their party and politics before results for the people of Groton.”
Betsy was doing her job, but hey, if the Republican President of the United States can shoot someone without consequences, not to mention extort favorable action from a foreign country, it’s a no-brainer that a local Republican politician can submit a phony voter registration form and run for office in a town in which he might not reside. Of course, as Scalia told us years ago, this is not a precedent for future cases that may involve Democrats.
Unfortunately for both Preka and Richards, the law in Connecticut still applies equally to Republicans and Democrats alike. That may not be the case forever, if Republicans have anything to say about it, but it is now.
UPDATE: The link to the Secretary of State’s website doesn’t go directly to the page with the information on Advanced Group, Preka’s company, even though I copied the link at the page. If you fill in “Advanced Group” on the form you reach at the link, you can find your way to the correct page. Sorry about that.
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