2009 CONNECTICUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION ROUND UP

.
Victory for the Citizens’ Election Program

The inaugural year of the Citizens’ Election Program in the 2008 elections was an unqualified success. 75% of candidates for the Connecticut General Assembly participated in the program, and 81% of those serving the General Assembly for the 2009 session were elected as Citizens’ Elections candidates. During a contentious 2009 legislative session, Common Cause in Connecticut successfully defended the Citizens’ Election Program from those who would have cut or eliminated the funds necessary for it to remain viable for the 2010 election cycle. Though some money was removed from the Citizens’ Election Fund in the fall of 2008 for budget mitigation, activism from Common Cause staff and volunteers sent a strong message to legislators that the Citizens’ Election Program must be protected.

The law frees candidates from special interest money by allowing them to participate in a voluntary program for public funds if they raise a threshold amount of qualifying contributions from individuals in their district. Once they qualify, candidates agree to abide by spending limits and forgo further private contributions. In return, they receive a grant from the state to run their campaign, and if they are elected they head to the statehouse accountable primarily to the voters who elected them, not the special interests who would have financed their campaigns.
The fight is not yet over. The Connecticut General Assembly will meet in a special session during the summer to pass a budget. Because of the economic crisis, there is strong pressure from the Governor and some lawmakers to continue to slash funds from the program. We need to make sure that this program, which promotes fair and equitable elections, remains intact. So far, Leadership in the Connecticut House and Senate has been steadfast in supporting the Citizens’ Election Program.

Please help us protect the Citizens’ Election Program by calling Governor M. Jodi Rell ( at 1-800-406-1527 during business hours) and telling her to keep the Citizens’ Election Program alive for 2010 and beyond.
Election Day Registration Passes the Connecticut House of Representatives

Common Cause in Connecticut had another big win when the Connecticut House of Representatives passed Election Day Registration. In the 2006 elections, the average voter turnout in states which offer Election Day Registration was between 10 – 12% higher than in states without same day registration. Election Day Registration will help the elderly and disabled who often find it difficult to make an extra trip to City Hall to register to vote. Young and low income individuals tend to move frequently, which makes it difficult to keep their registrations current. It is estimated that the youth vote could be boosted by as much as 14 percentage points on a Presidential election year.
Despite repeated calls by dedicated Common Cause volunteers to their state senators, Election Day Registration did not get called in the senate before the end of the 2009 regular session. The fight for voting rights will go on.

Watch-dogging the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Common Cause in Connecticut is convening a group of about ten Connecticut organizations interested in insuring that the priorities of ARRA are met. The coalition will be developing a report card to evaluate transparency and efficacy in delivering the stimulus funds to where they are most needed.

The Financial Crisis in Connecticut

Common Cause in Connecticut supports the Better Choices for Connecticut (http://betterchoicesforct.org/) proposal. Better Choices for Connecticut is a community coalition working to help Connecticut make smarter choices on ways to improve the state’s imbalanced revenue system. The goal is a budget that: advances opportunity for shared prosperity for all Connecticut residents; preserves services for children, families and the elderly; creates and sustains good jobs; and reinvests in the middle class and our communities.

Common Cause fights to save Citizens Election Fund

On April 23, 2009, Common Cause Vice President of State Operations Karen Hobert Flynn joined Connecticut state lawmakers in urging Gov. Rell not to eliminate funding for the Citizens Election Program in this year's state budget.

Watch the press conference below:

---

COMMON CAUSE IN CONNECTICUT CONGRATULATIONS THE ENTIRE CONNECTICUT CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION FOR CO-SPONSORING THE FAIR ELECTIONS NOW ACT!

Connecticut's Congressional Delegation not only support the Fair Elections Now Act, they intend to co-sponsor the bill. The bill would allow federal candidates to choose to run for office without relying on large contributions, big money bundlers, or donations from lobbyists, and would be freed from the constant fundraising in order to focus on what people in their communities want.

On Monday, May 11th, Congressman John Larson (D-East Hartford), was joined by The President of Common Cause, Bob Edgar, and fellow U.S. Representatives Chris Murphy (D-Chesire) and Joe Courtney (D-Vernon) at a press conference to promote the Fair Elections Now Act. Joining them were Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director or Common Cause in Connecticut, President Pro tem of the state senate Don Williams, Speaker of the House Chris Donovan, Majority Leader Denise Merrill, as well as other state senators and representatives, and spokespersons for a variety of advocacy groups which promote good government issues. Watch the press conference here!

Connecticut Blogger, CT Bob interviewed Congressman Himes about the bill. You can see the interview here:
http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/diary/11268/a-conversation-with-jim-himes

Common Cause in Connecticut thanks Congressmen John Larson (who introduced the bill), Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes and Chris Murphy for standing up for Fair Elections!

Read more about the bill here:

http://www.commoncause.org/fairelectionsnow

 

---

 

 

The Citizens' Election Program is big news!

On March 13th, citizens and elected officials testified to the Government Administration and Elections Committee on the importance of the Citizens' Election Program

 

Thanks to everyone who is standing up for the Citizens Election Program and against Governor Rell's attempt to raid the Citizens Election Fund!

 

Representative Gary Holder-Winfield testifies in favor of the program:

 

 

 

 

Editorial pusblished December 31, 2008: "In Connecticut: The A.C.L.U. vs. Common Cause"

 

Advocates for clean government in Connecticut got a year-end bonus. In a welcome decision, U.S. District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill upheld a state ban on campaign contributions by lobbyists, state contractors, and their families.

 

The state legislature passed the ban in 2006 as an important part of campaign finance reform after a series of scandals toppled mayors, a state senator, and former Gov. John G. Rowland, who went to prison for corruption in 2005.

 

Not surprisingly, the Association of Connecticut Lobbyists fought the ban and is expected to appeal. The lobbyists have had an ally in this fight — the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. The civil liberties group sees the prohibition on contributions as an infringement on free expression.

 

The ACLU’s opposition to the ban has set up a civil war within the public interest community.

 

Common Cause, the good-government group, was a key advocate for the campaign finance law several years ago, and it worked non-stop to get Connecticut’s General Assembly to pass the nation’s third system of state public campaign financing –- after Maine and Arizona.

 

Common Cause felt strongly that without the ban on contributions, any reforms would be mere window dressing. Common Cause and its allies won in the legislature, and the lawsuit challenging the ban’s constitutionality was filed soon after.

 

In this battle between the ACLU and Common Cause, we come down firmly on Common Cause’s side. We have never agreed with the ACLU that campaign contributions should have the same kind of protection as speech. And we share Common Cause’s concern about the way in which money of this sort corrupts politics and government.

 

In his decision, Judge Underhill pointed out that banning cash contributions is not a “severe” deprivation because of the myriad other ways lobbyists, contractors, and family members can contribute to a campaign. They can volunteer and make phone calls; they can host “meet and greets” that are not fundraisers; they can even run for office themselves.

 

“The rights of political expression,” he rightly noted, “remain robust.”