DOVER, Del. — Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s office staff was in regular communication last year with her husband and other people involved in her campaign for Delaware governor and worked during office hours to help facilitate the use of campaign funds, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press.
Among the officials who engaged in communications related to Hall-Long’s campaign was Matthew Dougherty, director of operations in the lieutenant governor’s office. Dougherty recently took a leave of absence to serve as Hall-Long’s campaign manager. The move came after the latest in a series of shakeups in Hall-Long’s troubled campaign, as two top staffers left in the wake of a campaign finance audit commissioned by the state elections department.
Dougherty sent a second reminder to Long a week later “per our text conversation.” Long replied the next day saying the check was put in the email. A campaign finance report shows that $300 was paid to Ali Abdul-Aleem of Dover for a “Community Unity Family Day” from Hall-Long’s campaign account. Dana Long also worked with Dougherty during business hours to arrange trips for Hall-Long last year to Nashville and San Antonio, according to emails. It is unclear whether those trips were for personal or professional reasons.
In reality, Hall-Long’s campaign was in disarray after people brought in to lead the campaign discovered major discrepancies while reviewing years of finance reports. The scandal led to the resignations of her campaign manager, chief fundraiser and campaign treasurer — who had replaced Dana Long as treasurer only five months earlier.