Dems Defend Public Campaign Finance Fund
by Christine Stuart | April 23, 2009 4:06 PM
Posted to Election 2010
The Republican proposal to eliminate Connecticut’s public campaign financing system prompted Democratic lawmakers to issue their colleagues on the other side of the aisle a stern warning Thursday.
Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, who was instrumental in ushering through the landmark legislation in 2005, said he wanted Republican lawmakers to know that the state’s public campaign financing system will not be part of their Connecticut tag sale.
In addition to taking the estimated $40 to $60 million in funds used to help fund campaigns, Republicans also proposed selling state property as a way to solve the state’s estimated $8.7 billion budget deficit without raising taxes.
Last year was the first year the public campaign financing system was used in campaigns for state representative and state senator. Next year will be the first time the system will be used for statewide campaigns and supporters of the fund said they don’t know how much money will be needed for those races, since they’re unable to predict how many candidates will participate.
Speaker of the House Chris Donovan, D-Meriden, said legislators using the fund for the first time felt empowered by the experience because it brought them back to the people they represent.
The campaign finance system no longer allows lobbyist and state contractor contributions, requiring candidates to raise no more than $100 from their constituents.
Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, said the clean election system was “one of the best things Connecticut has done in years.”
Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Southport, said it was never the party’s intention to lift the restrictions on lobbyists and contractors.
“We would maintain all the restrictions, but not use taxpayer funds to pay for our campaigns,” McKinney said Thursday in a phone interview.
He said the campaign fund has to be part of the budget conversation. He said taxpayers need to know that they pay for our campaigns and all the bumper stickers and lawns signs that come with it. He said if the state wants to keep this program, then it’s a choice between which programs should be cut or taxes should be raised.
Williams said if the state did away with public campaign finance then it would empower wealthy individuals in the state to ban together and start writing checks. He said special interests would run right back through the loophole.
The Democrats and Republicans have already taken $13.5 million from the fund this year.
McKinney said that on April 17 the Democrat-controlled Appropriations Committee recommended taking another $13 million from the fund in an effort to help balance this year’s more than $1 billion budget deficit. The recommendation was part of the $245 million in cuts.
Comments (6)
Posted by: Marv Beloff | April 23, 2009 6:13 PM
After so many years of effort all around the country to get rid of Big Money & K St. from corrupting our politicians,
Connecticut did it! It got the kite in the air. Now these same greedy people who fought it want to cut the string. To think they are still trying to bring the bad politics back is unbelievable and in my opinion un-American.
Posted by: Authentic Connecticut Republican | April 23, 2009 9:09 PM
>>After so many years of effort all around the country to get rid of Big Money & K St. from corrupting our politicians,
Yes - so much better when we just let the unions run everything and this way they can continue to!
Why do you think a loyal union-flunkie Dem can hit the qualifying number of both signatures and donations in a week flat?
A union employee picks up the paperwork; brings it back in a week (after a union meeting) all done!
Dem's that tow the union line get primaried by other hand picked union-flunkies.
It's a beautiful thing!
Posted by: Kim Hynes | April 24, 2009 11:26 AM
Actually, the Citizens' Election Program can be viewed as an excellent opportunity for the minority party, since it provides a level playing field for challengers to go up against incumbents.
Posted by: Fake Connecticut Democrat | April 24, 2009 4:21 PM
Why did the Democrats -- who hold supermajorities in both houses -- feel the need to stage a press conference about this? Why didn't they just rule out the Republican plan and move on? Sometimes it's hard to tell which party's in charge up in Hartford.
Posted by: ctkeith | April 24, 2009 7:06 PM
ACR,
Insert Country Club everywhere you put Union and anyone on the other side could write just as assinine a comment as you did.
Posted by: City Hall Watch | April 26, 2009 7:14 AM
CT Keith:
You are on the wrong side of this discussion. That is how SEIU operates and that's why Donovan likes it. Aside from that, the bigger story is that this is yet another example of how the Dems real plan is to tax the hell out of us and everything that moves and doesn't move anymore in order to protect the status quo of big government gone wild on spending. At some point folks, there have been new programs needing money, no real funding cuts, no employee cuts. Better learn to take fewer breaths because the dems are likely to tax that too.