© Clare Dignan / Hearst Connecticut Media / Hamden Memorial Town Hall at the intersection of Dixwell and Whitney Avenues, 2019
HAMDEN - The campaign treasurer from Mayor Curt Balzano Leng's last two campaigns says he is working to amend filings that did not disclose a donor's contract with the town.
"It looks like there was a filing error, and my campaign treasurer is looking to ensure that any error is corrected for compliance and transparency," Leng said.
State Elections Enforcement Commission filings list two 2017 and two 2019 campaign contributions from Daniel Bush, whose private business in 2010 took over the management of Hamden's town-owned Louis Astorino Ice Arena.
His latest contract with the town, signed by Leng in July 2016, designates 595 Mix Management LLC as the rink operator and lists Bush as a signing member of the company. The Legislative Council approved the contact, which gives the rink operator an annual base management fee of $250,000, according to meeting minutes.
That Bush is a town contractor is not disclosed on Leng campaign SEEC forms for two $1,000 donations, one in 2017 and one in 2019, but it is disclosed for a $500 donation on a separate 2017 SEEC form.
The fourth donation , in 2019 for $100, was exempt from disclosure because it was less than $400.
Though individuals are not permitted to donate more than $1,000 to mayoral campaigns, Leng said the $500 in 2017 and the $100 in 2019 went toward several ads for Bush's businesses. His campaign treasurer, David Huston, said those ad contributions did not count toward Huston's individual contribution limit because they fell into a business donation category.
A 2021 SEEC guidebook indicates that while most campaign contributions by businesses are prohibited, ad purchases are an exception.
Huston, who submitted the SEEC forms containing disclosure errors, said he did not know who Bush was at the time of the campaigns and therefore did not know Bush was a contractor. But he said he was "attempting to correct the situation" by filing amendments to the documents.
By Wednesday, the 2017 filing had been amended, according to the SEEC's online database. The 2019 filing had to be corrected through the town clerk's office, Huston said, adding that he hoped to file an amendment Wednesday evening.
The treasurer expressed uncertainty about how the errors occurred, indicating the 2017 error may have been technological, as the forms were submitted electronically with the state that year.
State statute does not prohibit contractors from donating to political campaigns but does require disclosure in certain cases, according to SEEC spokesman Joshua Foley.
While noting that he could not comment specifically on the Leng campaigns , Foley shared general information about the statute governing campaign contributions to municipal chief executive officers, including mayors.
"If the contribution is over $400, the treasurer is obligated to ask whether or not the person has a contract with the city in excess of $5,000," he said. "If they fail to ask, or if they ask and fail to receive a reply, then they must return the contribution."
Huston said he sent donors forms asking about town contracts while working on Leng's campaign.
"There have been times where I have sent out many letters with the forms, and the forms just don't come back," he said. "People just don't fill them out."
Bush said he could not recall whether he filled out forms for his 2017 and 2019 contributions.
"It was just an oversight," he said of the disclosure issue.
Leng emphasized that Bush's contract was disclosed in one of the filings but said his campaign would "double our effort to reach every donor" in the future.
"We've always worked really hard to follow the rules," he said. "I think that just an error was made and the wrong box was checked."
meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com