Act Now To Preserve the Public Financing Laws
by: Representative Peggy Reeves
About the Citizen’s Election Program
Reps. Peggy Reeves & Holder at the Feb. 4th meeting in Stamford on this issue sponsored by Common Cause CT
In 2005, the state legislature passed a landmark campaign finance reform program, the Citizen’s Election Program, which provides state grants to qualified candidates, limits campaign contributions to $100 or less and bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors.
Funding for the CEP comes from the proceeds of sales of abandoned property in the custody of the state of Connecticut – not from taxes.
The Bad Old Days
Before enactment of this program, special interests and big donors had too much influence over the legislative process. Corruption reached the highest levels of government, ensnaring a former governor, state treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, and a candidate for Secretary of the State.
Five years ago, progressive legislators in the House — with full support from Gov. (M. Jodi) Rell, our state officials, good government groups, and the State Elections Enforcement Commission — tackled the corruption problem by developing an innovative and nationally-acclaimed “Clean Elections” program that severed the unhealthy alliance between legislators and the lobbyists and PACS who backed their campaigns.
Why It Matters
Instead of spending my time raising large amounts of money from special interest groups outside my district, I had the wonderful opportunity to focus on the issues that were important to me and to my constituents, when I first ran for state representative. Although the program is optional, more than 75 percent of the General Assembly candidates in 2008 ran under the Citizens’ Election Program, and 80 percent of those elected to serve participated in the program.
Thanks to the program, there are now more women serving in the state legislature — 34 percent in the House — than there have been in decades.
Now the CEP is in jeopardy because of a ruling from the District Court striking down parts of the campaign finance law related to minor party candidates. Legal questions about this decision are now being considered by the court, but we can and must act now to fix the problematic sections of the law in order to safeguard its most important parts.
What We’re Doing About It
I was pleased that the governor, in her State of the State address, called for lawmakers to “act quickly to fix and preserve the public financing law that so many of us championed and that takes special interest money out of campaigns.” The legislature agrees.
The chairs of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, on which I sit, have proposed a bill to address the court’s concerns and have scheduled a public hearing on Feb. 22 to hear comments and debate possible solutions.
The proposal, House Bill 5022, would reduce spending grants to some of the candidates and eliminate grants to unopposed candidates.
More important, the proposed legislation addresses the District Court’s concerns for the treatment of minor party and petitioning candidates.
Our State Can Continue To Be An Example for the Nation
Campaign finance reform is also being debated on the federal level. In fact, proposed legislation currently in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Fair Elections Now Act, is based on Connecticut’s system of campaign finance reform.
What’s right for Connecticut is right for the nation. Consider the huge amounts of money that candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate must raise. Do you want your federal lawmakers even more beholden to special interests? Public financing for congressional campaigns may be the only way we level the playing field in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling which gives unions and corporations the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for the election or the defeat of a candidate.
I believe that there are worthy programs in desperate need of funding in our state. But we’re talking about buying and selling our democracy. In hard economic times, the public should feel confident that legislators are casting their votes with the public interest in mind — not the interests of corporations, state contractors, and unions.
How You Can Help
I welcome the opportunity to talk about this issue or other concerns you may have.
I can be reached at my legislative office in Hartford at 1-800-842-8267, or via e-mail at peggy.reeves@cga.ct.gov.
State Rep. Peggy Reeves represents the 143rd District (Wilton & Norwalk)
