A Seymour elected official says a candidate for state office uses Seymour Pink events for “political gain.”
The accusation comes from a letter Annmarie Drugonis sent to the Valley Indy Thursday morning in which she details “rude” behavior displayed by Theresa Conroy Oct. 14 at a “Walk-A-Mile In Her Shoes” fundraising event for Seymour Pink, a charity group that raises money for people with breast cancer.
Click here to read the letter in its entirety.
Conroy denied the accusation and said it is a politically-motivated attack. She pointed out Drugonis is the secretary for state Rep. Len Greene Jr.‘s re-election campaign.
Conroy, a former state representative, is trying to unseat Greene in a rematch of the 2010 election.
Drugonis, however, says her anger runs deep and is separate from her political involvement. She said she is a cancer survivor and the disease has torn through her extended family.
Politics — including political slogans on T‑shirts and signs — simply have no place in cancer-related events — a rule Conroy violated at the “Walk-A-Mile” event, Drugonis said.
Greene, in an e‑mail Friday, said the statements from Drugonis are not coming from his campaign.
“ … I want to make it abundantly clear that neither I nor my campaign had anything to do with the letter. Annmarie is my treasurer, but she is also her own person and is entitled to her opinion,” he said. “I do believe that there are certain events that should not be used for political campaigning, but each candidate obviously operates differently and is entitled to (use) his or her own discretion on the matter.”
The Walk
The “Walk-A-Mile” event featured men donning high heels and drag and raised more than $6,000 for Seymour Pink.
According to the letter from Drugonis, town elected officials were to participate in the “Walk-A-Mile” event as a group. Both Conroy and Drugonis are members of the Seymour Board of Selectmen.
However, Conroy, Drugonis said, “rudely ran ahead of the group to her campaign headquarters so that she and her team could wave Theresa Conroy signs as the crowd moved by.”
“I feel this was a complete slap in the face to every single walker struggling in heels, there obviously for the cause,” Drugonis stated in her letter.
Conroy said Drugonis is wrong.
“She says that I ‘ran ahead.’ Anyone who knows me knows I’m not running anywhere. I had knee replacement surgery.”
Conroy said she was across the street from her campaign headquarters in Seymour taking photographs of the walkers as they passed by.
“I was cheering them on. If she can show a picture of me waving a (Conroy political) sign I dare her to do that,” Conroy said.
Drugonis said Conroy supporters organized at Conroy’s headquarters and waived political signs as the walkers passed.
“That is what upset me,” Drugonis said.
Conroy said the criticism is obviously motivated by the upcoming election.
“I know where this is coming from. This is political season. I try running a clean campaign, but I’m seeing more and more of this coming out from the other side,” she said.
Drugonis said it isn’t politics — it’s personal.
“This has nothing to do with her race against Len Green. I can give two flying rats apples about that,” Drugonis said. “This has to do with myself being a survivor of cancer, with my father passing away with cancer, my aunt passing away with cancer, my husband’s uncle having cancer, my sisters having cancer. That’s what it’s about.”
Drugonis said if Conroy wanted her political supporters involved in the event, then they should have put down the political signs and passed out water bottles to the participants.
Pink Criticism
The letter from Drugonis questions Conroy’s motivation for being on the Seymour Pink board of directors — and whether Seymour Pink is a non-political organization.
“Seymour Pink, Inc. is supposed to be a non-profit, community board that is non-political, but I am beginning to question the last part. I will not be able to support an organization that allows their own board members to play political games and use breast cancer events for their own benefit, and I know many people who feel the same way,” Drugonis wrote.
Conroy said her volunteer record in Seymour goes back several decades and predates her involvement with politics. Drugonis’ statements are troubling and deeply offensive, she said.
“This is a whole new turn on politics in the Town of Seymour. I always prided my community on running clean campaigns, whether we were Republicans or Democrast. My ethics have never been challenged. What I’m seeing coming out now? I’m disheartened. I can’t believe they would use something that is helping people in this town as a political slam on me.”
Conroy said she doesn’t need Seymour Pink to promote her political aspirations. Her involvement in recently days involved blowing up Seymour Pink balloons at 5:30 a.m. and restocking Seymour Pink T‑shirts during the Walk-A-Mile event which she and former First Selectman Paul Roy started.
The Valley Indy left a voice mail and an e‑mail Thursday in attempt to get a response from Mary Deming, Seymour Pink’s president.
