Barbara Henry Will Now Support Roraback In The Fifth District

Roxbury First Selectman Barbara Henry, who once co-chaired Lisa Wilson-Foley’s 5th District congressional campaign, threw her support behind Wilson-Foley’s opponent — fellow Republican Andrew Roraback — this week.

“I’m a firm believer in the convention,” Henry said Tuesday, explaining that she decided to change her endorsement after Roraback received the Republican nomination for Congress last month. “I think he’s the best person to win for Republicans in November.”

There, however, are still hurdles for Roraback to clear before November’s general election. Roraback will face Wilson-Foley, Justin Bernier and Mark Greenberg in an Aug. 14 primary.

Henry, who also serves as president of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, said she originally backed Wilson-Foley because she is a good person who campaigns hard. Roraback, who has supported both her and the town of Roxbury in the past,  hadn’t entered the race when she went to work for Wilson-Foley last summer, she said.

“I was loyal,” Henry said, explaining that she stayed with Wilson-Foley’s campaign through the convention. “I voted for her at the convention, but Andrew goes back a long way with me.”

Wilson-Foley’s campaign manager, Chris Syrek, said that Henry told him of her decision to back the party-endorsed candidate about one week after the May 18 convention.

“This was no shock,” he said.

Roraback’s campaign officially announced the new endorsement in a press release Monday, saying that Roraback appreciated Henry’s support.

The announcement came just one week after it became public that a federal criminal grand jury is investigating Gov. John Rowland’s consulting work and campaign activities. Rowland has been providing what he said was volunteer help to Wilson-Foley’s campaign. He also had a consulting contract with an attorney for Wilson-Foley’s husband, Brian Foley.

Foley is CEO and president of Apple Rehab, a chain of nursing and rehabilitation centers in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and has said the consulting work was for Apple Rehab.

“I have the utmost respect for Lisa Wilson-Foley,” Henry said. “This has nothing to do with the stuff coming out in the news….If people are going to speculate; let them speculate.”

With Henry no longer a supporter, Wilson-Foley now has two campaign co-chairs: state Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton, and state Rep, Dan Carter, R-Bethel.