Taking Democracy Back from Big Money panel, from left, ConnPIRG campaign organizer Meghan Hassett; Jared Milfred, Chairman of the New Haven Democracy Fund; state Sen. Gary Winfield and Cheri Quickmire of Common Cause Connecticut.Photo: Dortha Cool Willetts
A Campaign for Getting Big Money Out of Politics
MIDDLETOWN - On Oct. 15, a roundtable discussion was held at Wesleyan University’s Public Affairs Center, entitled â€"Taking Democracy Back from Big Money.” It was sponsored by ConnPIRG, Common Cause Connecticut and New Haven’s Democracy Fund and attended by Middletown residents, Wesleyan students, State Senator Gary Winfield and State Senator Paul Doyle.

       The discussion focused on the release by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) of new fundraising numbers for 2016 presidential candidates and â€"the solutions that can give both candidates and voters the ability to not be under the thumb of those spending the most,” said Meghan Hassett, ConnPIRG Campaign Organizer.

       On Jan. 21, 2010, in the Citizens United v. FEC case, the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations. The 5-4 decision ruled that the restrictions on corporate expenditures in elections violated the First Amendment protections of free speech.

       Hassett stated that this â€"disastrous” decision â€"opened the floodgates to unlimited and unprededented electoral spending by corporations and megadonors.”

       Hassett reported on recent FEC figures: â€"During the last election, the top 32 donors to super PACs gave an average of $9.9 million each, as much as all the $3.7 million small donors gave to both candidates combined. In this presidential election cycle, the top donors have already spent five times as much as in the 2012 cycle. Donors who can write million-dollar checks don’t look like the rest of us and they rarely share the priorities of people who can give only $3 or nothing at all. When candidates spend their time fundraising from megadonors, the rest of our voices are drowned out.”

       Hassett said that Americans are aware that the power of billionaires and mega-corporations negates the ability of small donors to get the representation guaranteed by our Constitution--one person, one vote. It’s difficult to blame American voters from disengaging in elections. Hassett said that the long-term solution would be a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. ConnPIRG reports that since 2010, 16 states and 600 localities have called for such an amendment.

       Everyday Voters CAN Take Back Their

       Democracy

       â€"Our elections don’t have to be this way,” Hassett stressed. â€"There are powerful solutions available right now that would allow us to start reclaiming our democracy, without an amendment. That is why the panel is here tonight--to discuss how we can take back power from special interests and how we can do it in Connecticut and in Middletown.”

       Hassett put her first question to Cheri Quickmire of Common Cause Connecticut: â€"Why is it important to get big money out of politics, why is it so crucial?”

       â€"We’re reminded today of how a handful of incredibly wealthy donors dominate our democracy,” said Quickmire. â€"Really, it’s about an enormous barrier that keeps people feeling they can’t engage in the issues; they feel like everything is simply out of control, and there’s no way to fix it.

       â€"But we can take concrete steps to put everyday citizens back in charge of our elections. We can [also] amplify the voices of small donors in Middletown, as well as throughout Connecticut,” continued Quickmire. â€"Now we have ways for people to participate so that folks really do have a level playing field. Candidates without mega-money will be able to run and to hear the voices of their constituents and their neighbors. We’ve invested quite a lot in this state by constructing a system that permits candidates to raise small amounts of money and then get matching funds from the state.”

       The system Quickmire referred to is, as described by the Office of Governmental Accountability, The Citizens’ Election Program. â€"The program is a voluntary program that provides full public financing to qualified candidates for statewide offices and the General Assembly. To participate, candidates must agree to abide by certain guidelines, including contribution and expenditure limits and disclosure requirements. This voluntary public campaign financing program was designed to encourage citizen participation and limit the role of private money in the State of Connecticut’s political process.”

       Evan Wasiak, a Wesleyan student and a ConnPIRG intern, commented, â€"Students can’t afford large donations, so it’s frustrating to see representatives care more about fundraising than connecting with college students and listening to us. Public matching for campaigns would give us more ownership in our political system.”

       Hassett then asked state Sen. Gary Winfield, representing New Haven and West Haven, â€"How have you benefited from the state program to get elected to the Connecticut senate?”

       â€"I was the first to participate in the state’s campaign finance system,” said Winfield. â€"Basically, it’s a system in which you raise a total dollar amount from a certain number of people. The program has helped me to develop a relationship with my constituents so that one of the things I am known for is being available to listen to their issues and problems.

       â€"When I ran for the Connecticut House back in 2008, you had to raise $5 to $100 from each donor,” continued Winfield. â€"If 150 people donated, you received a matching contribution from the state at a six-to-one ratio. Without this program I wouldn’t have been able to run. I wasn’t someone who intended to be in politics, but with this system I was able to raise money and get matching funds and beat what, at the time, was a relatively strong machine system.

       â€"Another benefit of raising money from lower income voters is if I receive $5 from a donor, she becomes important to me because she becomes one of the number of people from whom I am required to receive donations. I think this system is fundamentally changing the way politics is working at state level.”

       Why Is Public Campaign Financing Important and How Does It Work?

       Hassett’s next question was to Jared Milfred, chairman of the New Haven Democracy Fund: â€"Why is public campaign financing of candidates so important for strengthening our political system, and why Is it a viable solution?”

       â€"That’s a great question. I think these two different policy avenues are not compatible with each other,” said Milfred. â€"Public campaign financing is constitutional and can sometimes solve a lot of the problems that money in politics may introduce.”

       Milfred explained how public campaign financing can improve the political process. He said a candidate doesn’t need to talk with special interest groups or wealthy donors as much and, instead, can pay attention to the average voters who might give $200, $25, or even $5, and each amount will be matched at a six-to-one ratio, a match well worth a candidate’s time.

       â€"The candidate would also have time for working on legislation for lower income donors,” Milfred pointed out, â€"instead making calls in the office all day and asking for contributions from wealthy donors he’s never met before. When candidates can focus on their constituents, they can be much more effective, making legislation to improve our country.”

       Milfred said that all Connecticut citizens can participate in the state system, which applies to the General Assembly and the governor. However, some cities have their own campaign financing programs; New Haven has a program for the mayoral race; a similar program in New York City includes common council members as well as the mayoral race. San Francisco, Los Angeles and about 12 other cities have similar programs.

       Hassett asked state Sen. Winfield, â€"How does this program help after the election is over?”

       â€"If the people from whom you raise money are lower income constituents, not lobbyists for special interests, and if you intend to stay in politics, you would want to go back to that same audience; because if you raise money from those voters one time, and then ignore them, you won’t get their votes in the future,” said Winfield. â€"So, office-holders need to maintain good relationships and that is done by being responsive to the needs of the people.”

       Quickmire added that the objective isn’t only to get more contributions and votes in the next election, but the candidate also represents constituents’ issues. Then both candidates and constituents can appraise whether or not the legislation passed really meets the needs of the community.

       Middletown businessman Dmitri D’Alessandro said, â€"Using a system like this is to show what’s possible when the states do public funding of campaigns and the idea that we would limit ourselves to essentially ungoverned federal elections that the Supreme Court has given us is insane.”

       State Sen. Paul Doyle, representing Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield, joined the conversation.

       â€"I have served in the legislature for a long time, in the house and the senate, so I was there before this system and afterward. When I first ran for the senate, I raised about $250,000 because my opponent had a lot of backing and I had to raise a lot of money,” said Doyle. â€"Since the system was created, I have participated. The last time I got a grant of $92,000 and I returned $85,000. I did that by cutting my expenses.”

       One of the questions people have, said Hassett, is: â€"How does it actually work? Where does the money come from, what does it look like?”

       Milfred replied that one of the biggest questions they get about public financing is couldn’t the money be better spent on services or textbooks, etc.? He said that spending the money on public campaign financing is more valuable for the average voter and the average candidate than spending it on social services. He added that this program probably reduces the money that is being funneled through special interests. The money comes from a general state fund of unpaid assets for public campaign financing, Milfred said, not from taxes.

       â€"The Democracy Fund in New Haven,” explained Milfred, â€"requires mayoral candidates who participate in the program to commit to take no single donation over $370 and the donations must be raised from 200 separate individuals. Participating candidates also must not accept contributions from political committees or business entities. In return, they get both public matching money; any donation from $10 to $30 will be matched two-to-one and any donation over $30 will just get another $60 in public funds.

       â€"The fund also provides a flat grant of $19,000 for contested primaries and general elections and public matching funds up to $125,000 and a public financing grant of $19,000 for both the primary elections and the general election,” continued Milfred. â€"That enables a serious mayoral candidate to have a flat base of money with which to run a credible campaign.”

       Can Middletown Have a Program of Public Campaign Financing?

       Hassett informed the audience that Middletown had no public campaign system at all, so ConnPIRG has been working to get the mayor and the Common Council in line for a program for Middletown.

       The Chronicle asked, â€"How would such a campaign financing program be proposed to the mayor and the common council?”

       Hassett said ConnPIRG has been meeting with Mayor Dan Drew and he is supportive of program, but said he would not want to take action on it until January. So, they have been busy building a groundswell in Middletown and follow up with him then. They’ve also gotten support from city council members, so, it’s definitely very doable.

       ConnPIRG has also been contacting people with significant power or influence in the community such as business owners and professors, executive directors of nonprofit groups, and religious leaders. At Wesleyan, students have been signing a petition for the program.

       Hassett distributed a letter written to Drew that they hope some of these people will sign. The letter asks the mayor â€"to support legislation in January to fight big money and make sure every voice matters in our elections by empowering everyday Americans through a system that matches small contributions to candidates who forgo large or corporate contributions.”

       The letter includes many of the statements and statistics that were heard in the Oct. 15 meeting.

       Quickmire summed up how local politics has already begun to change: â€"Since 2008, more people are engaging in the system than ever before. Candidates learned that they could run without having to raise a zillion dollars, and they could listen to folks and the things that were really important to them in their lives. Voters learned that they could say to candidates, ‘I expect you to be able to bring my voice to the legislature or the office you are seeking. And because you are like me, I trust you to be able to do that.’”
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