NRCC Demands Elizabeth Esty return Northeast Utility campaign $$$

Trouble could be brewing for Connecticut Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty. Yesterday, we learned that Esty’s husband, who is Connecticut’s Energy and Environmental Commissioner, gave a premature briefing to the investment bank UBS on legislation that would benefit his former client Northeast Utilities; a client that has paid him $250,000 in consulting fees prior to 2011. Coincidentally – or maybe not – UBS upgraded Northeast Utilities’ stock from neutral to buy.

The problem for Elizabeth Esty is that she has taken thousands from NU’s executives and lobbyists – $2,000 last cycle and $1,500 already this cycle.

Why does it matter?

“It matters because corporate executives could be “seeking favor” from an official whose agency regulates them — as Esty’s does — by giving campaign contributions to his wife, said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics.”

Of course, Esty has been completely ignorant of optics in her brief time in Congress, first starring in a commercial promoting Nancy Pelosi’s SuperPAC and then holding “off the record” public meetings.

“Elizabeth Esty needs to wake up. From starring in a commercial for Nancy Pelosi’s SuperPac, to taking money from executives that receive favorable treatment from her husband, Esty’s first few months in Congress have been marked by a complete lack of common sense. She needs to reassure her constituents that everything is above board and immediately return all contributions from Northeast Utility employees.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

Background

Jon Lender, “NU executives donated to Esty’s wife,” Hartford Courant, Oct. 9, 2011

Jon Lender, “Malloy’s Energy Chief Criticized For Conference Call With Investment Firm, Then Apologizes,” Hartford Courant, April 24, 2013

Friends of Elizabeth Esty, April 2013 Quarterly Report

Tarini Parti, Dems Thank Super Pac for Help Beating Darth Vader, Politco, January 29, 2013

Rick Green, Esty Under Fire For Holding ‘Off Record’ Public Meetings, Hartford Courant, January 30, 2013