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Hearst Connecticut columnist Dan Haar spent late summer turning the state’s much-hated car tax into a story about political bias.

Two candidates. Two late bills. Two headlines. Read them side by side, and it is hard to ignore the hypocrisy.

On August 21, Haar published, “CT Senate candidate derides car tax — but didn’t pay hers, town records show.” The target was Amybeth LaRoche, the Republican nominee for the 28th Senate District and a Newtown Board of Finance member running against Rob Blanchard—a top aide to Gov. Ned Lamont.

Haar featured a campaign video in which LaRoche called Connecticut’s car tax a lifetime shakedown after you have already paid sales tax. Haar then reported Newtown records showing unpaid car taxes for LaRoche of roughly $794, including interest and late fees.

LaRoche told him she had mailed the payment in late June, offered a photo of the check, and said she could not explain the lag in the town’s online system. Haar published anyway. The timing of the article was hard to ignore: it dropped the Friday before Independent Party endorsements were announced.

Haar's piece dug into LaRoche's former addresses, voting history, and the registration timeline of her vehicle. LaRoche called it a hit piece the same day. Six days later, Hearst ran her rebuttal. LaRoche stated Haar's inquiry was the first she had heard of a processing problem, adding that she immediately replaced the payment. The Centinal separately confirmed with the tax office that the balance was settled.

Then came the Democrat car tax problem.

On September 9, Haar wrote about state Sen. Jorge Cabrera of Hamden. Cabrera’s household had an “odd pattern” of car-tax payments spanning 13 months: partial payments, leftover balances, interest, and bills paid late. The tab Haar cited was about $1,010. That is more money and a longer paper trail than LaRoche’s.

Haar's headline?

“Connecticut state senator blames himself for late car taxes, pays $1,010 debt.”

Cabrera was allowed to say he needed to pay more attention, expressing remorse and taking "full responsibility." Haar noted he only looked into Cabrera after writing about LaRoche. Yet, the column treated Cabrera's late payment as a minor lapse with a confession—not a character test, as Haar had framed it for LaRoche.

That is Haar's tell, and his attack did not come out of nowhere.

On July 28, Haar argued Connecticut should keep the car tax because it is "fair and equitable" and because "it forces people who choose to own very expensive vehicles to subsidize families" that drive "more modest" cars. Besides, towns need the money, he wrote; kill the levy, and homeowners pick up the tab. That is the Lamont-era status quo.

If Haar wants to audit politicians’ tax payments, then he should audit them in the same manner—with the same headline vibe, the same biographical investigation, and the same follow-up.

Until then, it is easy to see that Haar and Hearst Media gave the Republican challenger the "gotcha" treatment while the incumbent Democrat got a pass.

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