Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart used her taxpayer-funded credit card to bankroll her political ambitions, charging a private club membership, campaign flights and campaign equipment to taxpayers, according to the Crumbie Law Group report.
Stewart flew to Washington with her campaign manager on the taxpayer dime in April 2025. Her travel companion was simultaneously on the payroll of Connecticut’s Senate Republican caucus, according to the CT Mirror.
Two microphones purchased on Stewart’s taxpayer-funded card appear in her campaign videos. One was never found after she left office, according to the Crumbie report.
The expenses that Connecticut Republican Erin Stewart charged to taxpayers did not stop at her groceries and her family parties. According to the Crumbie Law Group, the GOP mayor also put political spending on the taxpayer tab.
She Joined a Private Club. Taxpayers Paid.
In 2017, with an eye on the governor’s office, Stewart joined The Hartford Club, an exclusive Hartford social club, according to the CT Mirror. The membership was in her personal name, but taxpayers footed the bill, according to the report. Over four years, taxpayers paid $19,260.67 in dues, dining and other costs, according to the Crumbie report.
More than $2,400 of it was logged as “office supplies.” When her reelection campaign held a fundraiser at the club in September 2017, taxpayers picked up that tab too, the report said.
Taxpayers Flew Her Campaign Manager to Washington
In April 2025, Stewart’s taxpayer-funded card was charged $1,314.76 for two plane tickets to Washington, according to the Crumbie report. One was for Stewart. The other was for John Healey, her future campaign manager, who at the time was also on the payroll of Connecticut’s Senate Republican caucus, serving as chief of staff to Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, according to the CT Mirror.
Stewart later told the Republican State Central Committee the trip was to endorse Trump’s Executive Order 14241, which made it easier to mine and burn coal, and to seek a presidential endorsement for her gubernatorial campaign, according to the report.
Campaign Equipment, Purchased by Taxpayers
In July 2024, Stewart’s taxpayer-funded card bought a FIFINE XLR/USB dynamic microphone on Amazon, according to the Crumbie report. In February 2025, a second microphone, a $371.16 DJI Mic 2 wireless lavalier, followed, according to CT Insider. Both appeared in her campaign videos, the report said. When she left office in November 2025, investigators searched for the FIFINE. It was gone.
She Even Billed Them for Political Bumper Stickers
In November 2021, taxpayers were charged $39.34 for custom bumper stickers reading “#teamstewart21,” according to CT Insider.
In early June, New Britain demanded $241,560 from Stewart to cover improper severance payments, unauthorized tuition reimbursements, and legal costs from the Crumbie investigation, and revoked a pension she had improperly claimed for herself upon leaving office, according to the CT Mirror.
By Kevin Coughlin
