NEW BRITAIN — Former Mayor Erin Stewart has suspended her campaign for governor after an independent report came out accusing her of allegedly misusing city funds for personal purchases.
The Republican candidate and longtime mayor announced the suspension of her campaign May 14.
“Today, I am announcing that I am suspending my campaign for Governor of Connecticut effective immediately,” Stewart said in a statement. “The continued allegations from New Britain City Hall have understandably taken over this race and diverted attention away from the critical mission of saving our state from high taxes, high costs, the most expensive energy in America, and low opportunity for young people.”
Stewart added that she has informed fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich of her decision.
“I also told him that he has my full support in becoming our party’s nominee, and I encourage all delegates who were supporting me to now support him,” she added. “This is the time for our party to come together and spend the next six months focused squarely on electing Republicans up and down the ballot.”
New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez, a Democrat, issued a statement yesterday regarding the investigation.
“From day one, I made a commitment to the people of New Britain that there would be accountability, transparency, and a full review of any allegations involving the misuse of taxpayer resources,” Sanchez said. “This report (from Crumbie Law Group of Hartford) confirms what many feared: there was a deeply troubling pattern of abuse involving public funds, repeated violations of City policy, and conduct that represented a serious breach of the public trust.
Sanchez called the report’s findings from the independent law firm outlined in the investigation are outrageous. According to the report, taxpayer-funded city credit cards were allegedly used for personal purchases, family expenses, political-related activity, private club memberships, clothing, gifts, travel, and other non-government purposes over the course of nearly a decade. The report further concludes that these were not isolated incidents, but a consistent pattern of conduct that investigators say violated City policy and undermined public confidence in government.
Stewart addressed the allegations made in the report in her prepared statement.
“Yesterday I requested copies of the relevant documents and I will be reviewing them carefully. I will take accountability for any mistakes, and I intend to make full and complete restitution to the City of New Britain — my home — for anything that I owe,” she said. “It is extraordinarily difficult to make this decision because we have run an amazing campaign so far.”
Sanchez, who replaced Stewart as mayor in 2025, reiterated the importance of returning city government’s transparency and accountability in the mayor’s office following Stewart’s tenure.
“As I have said before, for too long there appeared to be different rules for certain individuals inside City Hall,” Sanchez added. “That era is over. The people of New Britain work too hard and pay too much in taxes to accept this kind of alleged misconduct and abuse of public resources.”
Consistent with the city’s previous action involving the city’s tax collector, these findings have been referred to both the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for review and any law enforcement action deemed appropriate. \
“As we have with the ongoing criminal investigation, the city will cooperate fully with any inquiry by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Sanchez said.
Former Tax Collector Cheryl Blogoslawski, who was appointed by Stewart during her term as mayor, was fired earlier this year after it came to light that she allegedly helped select taxpayers avoid paying late payment fees.
In addition, the City will pursue all appropriate legal avenues to recover taxpayer funds wherever possible, including seeking restitution from the former mayor for any improper or unauthorized expenditures identified through this investigation.
