Both candidates for a hotly contested General Assembly seat that includes parts of New Canaan are facing accusations that they’ve misused funds in their campaigns.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission has received complaints against State Rep. Tom O’Dea (R-125th), a seven-term incumbent, and Democratic challenger Meredith Tobitsch, both New Canaan residents.
According to a summary of the complaint filed Sept. 25 by town resident Chris Wilson, Tobitsch violated state law by misattributing the committees that paid for more than one dozen digital campaign posts that have appeared on social media, in at least one case failed to identify any committee that paid for an ad and, in another case, had two committees listed on a single ad.
According to the complaint summary, “Based on the presently available information, the conduct at issue may implicate several provisions of Connecticut’s campaign-finance laws. The precise violations will depend principally on the SEEC further investigating and determining which committee or person actually incurred, authorized and paid for the expenditures, and when those obligations were incurred.”
In response, Tobitsch said: “This is what desperation looks like from a candidate who knows his MAGA record is too extreme for our towns. They’ve included materials that contradict their own frivolous claims, and in every instance it is immediately apparent who paid for these ads. Tom O’Dea is attempting to distract from Tom’s very real violation of taxpayers’ trust—the use of official government‐funded documents within 90 days of an election.”
She referred to a mailer titled “2026 Legislative Update.”
According to a complaint filed Oct. 7 by town resident Tim Klimpl, chair of the New Canaan Democratic Town Committee, O’Dea “previously mailed this material to his constituents in his capacity as a state rep,” a possible violation of state law.
“Further, Mr. O’Dea’s apparent use of official government material printed from public funds violates the letter and the spirit of the regulations enforced by SEEC, constituting an improper supplement to Mr. O’Dea’s CEP grant as a participating candidate in 2026.”
In addition, residents outside of the legislative district reported receiving a campaign mailer in the first week of October, paid for by O’Dea’s candidate committee, Klimpl said in the complaint.
“Such communication outside the boundaries of the district can be preparatory to a run for municipal, senator statewide office and, as such, is an impermissible use of CEP funds,” it said.
In response, O’Dea issued the following statement:
“I have proudly and humbly served the 125th District for 14 years and run for this office eight times. Some of those unopposed. I love working for all 20,000 of you.
Until this year, I avoided using the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP), which provides public funding for candidates who qualify. In these past races, I raised every dollar from constituents, spent frugally and, after each campaign, gave what was left to local nonprofits – including the MMRF, the New Canaan Community Foundation, and the New Canaan Rink. In doing so, I have saved the CEP and taxpayers of Connecticut more than $200,000 over those cycles. This year, I am a CEP participant for the first time.
Each year, legislators are allowed by law to mail an update to every household in the district. My annual update, titled ‘2026 Legislative Update,’ went out in July. A handful of extras were left over. While door-knocking, on fewer than ten occasions, if the conversation turned to my voting record, I sometimes asked whether the person had received it and offered another copy. Most people did not take it. Almost all my door-knocking used only my ordinary campaign palm card paid for by my candidate committee.
On October 1, after a social-media post by the New Canaan DTC accused me of a violation, I immediately called the public-finance staff member assigned to my campaign, described exactly what I had done, and followed up the same afternoon with a written account and copies of both the palm card and the mailer. I asked whether she believed it was a violation. She did not, and she asked me to put it in writing so the office could confirm. I have not received a formal response, but I expect them to affirm their initial response. I have stopped offering the leftover mailers out of an abundance of caution.
The SEEC complaint filed yesterday by Tim Klimpl, the DTC chair, cites General Statutes § 9-610(d)(1). That law prohibits an incumbent, in the three months before an election, from using public funds to mail or print promotional materials intended to bring about his election. My legislative update was printed and mailed in July, outside that window, as an official end-of-session mailing to constituents who had already received it. These mailings are approved and handled centrally by state employees. Handing a few leftovers to people who asked for more details is not a new public expenditure, so it is not an impermissible supplement to my CEP grant.
The complaint also claims CEP-funded communication outside the district, pointing to a Meta audience estimate of 500,000 to 1 million. The attachment is an official advertisement, paid for by my campaign, with a reported expenditure of $200 to $299. An estimated audience size is not delivery outside the 125th, and it is not evidence of exploratory spending for another office. I am running for State Representative. I am not running for any other office.
I will cooperate fully with the Commission. I believe the complaint is baseless. I am happy to walk through the mailer, the palm card, and the October 1 email with anyone who wants to see them.”
Wilson is a former chair of the New Canaan Republican Town Committee.
Both candidates availed themselves of the SEEC Citizens’ Election Program, which proves “clean elections financing to qualified candidates for statewide offices and the General Assembly,” according to the state.
“The Program is financed by the Citizens’ Election Fund, which receives funds primarily from the proceeds of the sale of abandoned property in the State of Connecticut’s custody, as well as voluntary donations,” according to the state.
The 125th House district includes parts of New Canaan, Darien and north Stamford.
It isn’t clear when the SEEC will take up the complaints. The body is scheduled to meet Oct. 15, 16 and 21, and Nov. 4.
Election Day is Nov. 3. Elector information for New Canaan residents can be found here.
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