Inside Politics

Conn. subpoena

Federal authorities have stepped up their corruption investigation of Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland’s administration, serving a subpoena this week for records related to construction work and renovations to the governor’s mansion.

The state Department of Public Works, which oversees operation of the state-owned residence in Hartford, is being ordered to produce documents dating back eight years. The subpoena, obtained by the Associated Press, was served on the agency on Monday.

Whether investigators are interested in any particular contracts or contractors was not clear.

“We have and will continue to comply with all subpoenas,” said Dean Pagani, Mr. Rowland’s spokesman and chief of staff.

The Republican governor is under fire for lying about who paid for improvements to his summer cottage in Litchfield County. Mr. Rowland initially said he paid for the renovations himself, but disclosed Dec. 12 that much of the work was provided as gifts by state contractors and state employees.

Mr. Rowland’s admission came amid a federal investigation into possible bid-rigging by members of his administration. A former deputy chief of staff for Mr. Rowland pleaded guilty in March to accepting bribes for steering state contracts.

Some of the people who helped pay for improvements at Mr. Rowland’s vacation home are being scrutinized as part of the bid-rigging probe. Some subcontractors who worked on the cottage said they were promised state work if they gave the governor a good deal.

Mr. Rowland has said he did not promise any state work to those working on his cottage. He also has denied any wrongdoing.

A harsh campaign

“When Democratic Party officials devised their primary calendar for 2004, they produced a rapid-fire voting schedule intended to quickly produce a nominee who could escape the battering that has hobbled so many presidential candidates over the years,” New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney noted yesterday in a front-page story.

“But less than three weeks before the first vote in the nominating process, the caucuses [in Iowa] on Jan. 19, it appears possible that the party has achieved just half of its goal. The Democrats may get their early nominee, party officials say, but it now appears likely to be someone bruised by the nominating fight and confronted with the challenge of uniting a deeply divided party,” the reporter said.

“In a classic case of unintended consequences, a process intended to produce unity, a strong candidate, and a compelling platform to take against President Bush has so far produced a campaign that many Democrats describe as strikingly harsh and marked more by daily bickering than sweeping themes or compelling ideas on where to take the country.”

Unlikely donor

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