Nader. On Oct. 4, Ralph Nader did a press conference and rally at the University of Hartford in Hartford, (then a press conference at the State House in Rhode Island), then a rally at Connecticut College in New London, and finally at press conference and rally at Yale University in New Haven.  On Oct. 5. he delivered at speech at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted.  (Winsted is Nader's hometown; the community college was founded by his late brother).  State coordinator: Kevin Crisp Campus coordinator: John Halle.
 

Buchanan. Pat Buchanan held a press conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hartford on Nov. 3.  State chairwoman for Buchanan was Cherilyn Gulbrandsen of New Canaan.

Connecticut provides a good example of the trials and tribulations that resulted from Buchanan's bid for the Reform Party nomination and illustrates why many "original Reformers" believe that Buchanan and his Brigade "illegally hijacked" the party.

Buchanan forces first made an appearance in the state at the Reform Party of Connecticut convention held in Hartford on Sept. 25, 1999.  About 110 people attended the convention, including a small number of Buchanan supporters.  Pat Choate, who had been urging Buchanan to seek the Reform Party nomination, delivered the keynote address.  Jack Gargan, then chairman-elect of the national party, also spoke.  At the convention, Donna Donovan of Glastonbury was elected chair for the next two years, easily defeating Floyd Atchley of Hamden.

On Oct. 25, 1999 Buchanan announced his bid for the Reform Party nomination.  Over the following months Donovan received various "communiques" from Tim Haley, Buchanan's national political director, and Shelly Uscinski, his New England regional director.  Buchanan himself made a visit to the state on March 29, 2000, holding a press conference and a fundraiser.  The situation started to get ugly at a board meeting in July 2000, when Buchanan point person Cherilyn Gulbrandsen sought a pledge in writing that the Connecticut delegates to the national convention would support Buchanan.  Donovan later described this move as "premature" and "heavy handed."

Connecticut sent nine delegates to Long Beach for the August convention. The delegation was not allowed in the credentialling room to apply to get their delegate badges, and only two of the people, who had personally pledged to Buchanan, were seated, along with a third person who was not even a delegate.  The Donovan-led group walked over to the Hagelin convention; their seven votes went for Hagelin.

After the July attempt to pledge Connecticut's delegates to Buchanan fell through, his forces had gone to work on a backup plan.  A petition was circulated to put Buchanan on the ballot as a "Freedom Party of Connecticut" candidate.  Circulators downplayed Buchanan's name; instead the petition was presented as an effort to get independent candidates on the ballot.  In a matter of just a couple of weeks more than 10,000 signatures were gathered and submitted to the secretary of state.  Donovan found this suspicious.  Connecticut law requires that petitions be circulated by registered voters in the state.  To obtain that many signatures in so short a time was a remarkable feat.  So, after returning from Long Beach, she and another person went to the secretary of state's office to look at the petitions.  They found only six names as circulators on the petitions.  One, octogenarian George Radzwillas of Bridgeport, signed off on about 4,000 signatures.  Donovan also called some of the people who had signed the petitions, and heard responses such as "I never signed anything for Pat Buchanan" and "I remember signing something to put independent candidates on the ballot."  In mid-Sept. 2000 Donovan filed a complaint with Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission asking for an investigation.

In Connecticut, the state party chairs are responsible for submitting the names of the presidential nominees who will appear on the general election ballot.  Donovan certified that the party had selected John Hagelin.  Meanwhile, however, on Aug. 31, 2000 a rump group held a convention in Hamden and elected officers.  Floyd Atchley was named chair of this group.  He submitted the name of Pat Buchanan to the secretary of state as the Reform Party nominee.  The secretary of state, faced with two Reform Party nominees, opted to put neither on the Reform Party line; she did, however, approve Buchanan as the Freedom Party of Connecticut nominee.  Atchley sued in Hartford Superior Court on Sept. 13, 2000.  Under a special procedure, the case went directly to the State Supreme Court.  The trial, before Justice Francis M. McDonald Jr., took four days; among those testifying were Gulbrandsen and Frank Reed, the credentialling chair at the Long Beach convention, who claimed that the Connecticut delegates had not bothered to pick up their credentials.

On Sept. 22, 2000 Justice McDonald ordered that Buchanan and Foster appear on the ballot as the Reform Party nominees.  (The actual ruling came down several weeks later -- SC16383.  Although it declared Buchanan-Foster as the Reform nominees, it also affirmed the legitimacy of the Donovan-led party organization).  The Freedom Party line dissolved.  Hagelin did not appear on the Connecticut ballot.  When the votes were tallied Buchanan obtained only 0.32 percent, costing the Reform Party its ballot status.

On June 6, 2001, after an eight month investigation, the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission reached a settlement (File No. 200-226) with Gulbrandsen and four others for submitting falsified petitions.  Gulbrandsen was assessed a $6,000 fine.  Even then, Donovan declared, "This is not over."  Noting that Gulbrandsen stated that she "...relied upon instructions and directions from the national campaign of Patrick Buchanan," Donovan planned to bring the matter of possible illegal expenditures by the campaign to the attention of the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Attorney's office in Connecticut.
 

Browne. Harry Browne did an evening fundraiser in Cromwell, a suburb of Hartford, on Aug. 10.
 

Copyright 2000, 2001  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.