Tuesday was the official launch of a system to publicly finance elections in Connecticut called the "Citizens' Election Program" which was passed in 2005 and was first utilized in special elections held last year. Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters were among the organizations thanked for their efforts in pushing for this landmark campaign finance reform.
State Elections Enforcement Commission director Jeff Garfield describes the Citizens' Election Program as a "'Clean Money' system of financing elections" and it did not go without saying at the launch event that the necessity of this reform was amplified by the events leading up to Governor Rowland's resignation in 2004.
One of the goals of the program is to limit the dependence of candidates on special interest money, and it does so by requiring candidates to raise a minimum amount of contributions from district residents. State Senate Candidates need to get contributions from a minimum of 300 district residents while State Representative candidates need contributions from a minimum of 150 district residents. District residency is defined to include residents of any municipality that is wholly or partially included in the district. Christine Stuart of CT News Junkie was at the launch, and succinctly describes the remaining financial requirements and rewards:
Candidates running for state Senate must raise $15,000 in contributions from individuals to qualify for the $85,000 grant, while candidates running for a state House seat must raise $5,000 from individuals in order to qualify for the $25,000 grant.
The act of going out into the district to raise the minimum contributions has been good for both candidates and the constituents. House Majority Leader Chris Donovan talked on Tuesday about how much he has enjoyed going out into his district to meet with people who now
realize that the little bit that they contribute to our campaign really makes a difference [and] enables us to qualify for campaign funding. And now their vote is married with their financial support and it brings us even closer to our community. And that was the goal, to bring us closer to our community.
Getting citizens involved in the process, legislators to interact with their constituents, and diminishing the influence of special interest money are just a handful of good things about the Citizens' Election Program. This election cycle brings the program to the State Representative and State Senator races and the 2010 cycle will bring public financing to all statewide offices--with Governor Rell promising to participate herself.
Ideally, this system will also increase the number of challengers and decrease the number of uncontested seats--even if that is not necessarily the case this first year. Christine Stuart asked CCAG Executive Director Tom Swan about a report in the Hartford Courant that the number of unopposed incumbents has increased despite the public financing changes:
Tom Swan, executive director of Connecticut Citizens Action Group and proponent of public financing, said he thought the way the Courant couched its story was a little unfair. He said it’s easy for people to forget about how hard it is to be a candidate for the state legislature. “We have to understand how much we ask of these people as part-time legislators,” Swan said.
Not to mention, it’s a new system with tight deadlines, Swan said.
Things to know about the Citizens' Election Program:
2008 is the first regular election cycle for which public financing will be available, hence the recent launch
The program is voluntary
145 candidates will participate this cycle
The financial disclosure requirements apply to all candidates, participating or not.
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