Bethel First Selectman Fined $1,000 by SEEC for Using Public Funds for Election Mailer

BETHEL, CT — Bethel's First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker has been fined $1,000 by the State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) after documents from a Freedom of Information Action request revealed he used public funds to send two letters to town residents that the agency said implied he should be re-elected, according to SEEC documents.

An invoice obtained from the Town of Bethel shows that the town was billed $5,786.52 from R.E. Lawlor Graphics for the 8-page bulk mailing sent to residents in October 2015, one month before the election. State law prohibits incumbents from using town funds within three months of an election to mail or print flyers or promotional materials that could be used to promote their candidacy. The SEEC found that the letter contained language that was promoting his run for re-election.

Matthew Paulsen, a dual Bethel, Conn. and Colombia resident told Patch, "A fine of this size is unprecedented in this town and the Election Enforcement Commission made it very clear that this was intended to serve as a deterrent in the future."

Paulsen used to be affiliated with the tax watchdog group Bethel Action Committee but told Patch that he filed the SEEC complaint of his own accord.

General Statutes § 9-610 states that "No incumbent holding office shall, during the three months
preceding an election in which he is a candidate for reelection or election to another office, use public funds to mail or print flyers or other promotional materials intended to bring about his election or reelection. No official or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state shall authorize the use of public funds for a television, radio, movie theater, billboard, bus poster, newspaper or magazine promotional campaign or
advertisement, which (A) features the name, face or voice of a candidate for public office, or (B) promotes the nomination or election of a candidate for public office, during the twelve-month period preceding the election being held for the office which the candidate described in this subdivision is
seeking."

Read the full SEEC complaint filed by Paulsen here.

Paulsen said that Knickerbocker "chose to blatantly disobey State Statutes and now must pay the consequence."

"Mr. Knickerbocker is not a newcomer to Bethel Politics. In fact, he's held different offices for at least two decades and is fully aware of what is and is not legal," Paulsen stated.

Knickerbocker did not respond to several attempts by Patch for comment as of this posting.

Images via Matthew Paulsen