Worcester Mayor Joe Petty accuses challenger Robyn Kennedy’s campaign of campaign finance violations in Massachusetts Senate race

Worcester Mayor Joe Petty’s campaign is calling out competitor Robyn Kennedy’s campaign for violating campaign finance rules and requesting an investigation as the two vie for outgoing Sen. Harriette Chandler’s seat.

The alleged violations relate to a mailer an Independent Expenditure PAC, the Massachusetts Women for Progress, sent to voters in the First Worcester District at the beginning of July.

The mailer from the PAC announces their endorsement of Kennedy, includes a bio of the candidate and a quote from her. The mailer also discusses Chandler’s legacy, stating, “We need to elect someone who continues her legacy of bold leadership.”

“The mailer was embraced by the Robyn Kennedy campaign via social media, in what appears to be a clear violation of campaign finance regulations prohibiting coordination between candidate and PAC,” the Petty campaign’s statement said. “The mailer was amplified by the Robyn Kennedy campaign on social media with a note, ‘Our mailers are out!’”

A post to a Facebook story from the Kennedy campaign is coming under scrutiny as the Petty campaign accuses it of violating campaign finance law.

A screenshot the Petty campaign sent to MassLive shows a story posted to Facebook by the Robyn Kennedy for State Senate page. The story shows a screenshot of a tweet from District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj announcing that she was excited to get the mailer and stating Kennedy “is the progressive we need.”

Above the tweet the campaign…

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