New Haven Independent

The city’s aiming to be one of three cities chosen to experiment with publicly financed elections under a provision of a new state clean-elections law. The mayor’s proposed city budget sets aside $200,000 a year to finance it.

The city’s application goes to the Municipal Public Financing Pilot Program of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which will choose the three cities for the experiment. The city had to answer a list of questions from the commission in its application, laying out how the system would work in New Haven.

The plan would allow all mayoral candidates showing a minimum level of popular support — not just major-party candidates — to receive matching funds from the government. Candidates would choose whether to participate, and receive the matching money, or not.

The idea behind these plans is to limit the influence of big campaign contributors, especially businesses seeking city contracts in return for their money. In turn, the theory goes, the cost of government goes down, and government runs more efficiently with less big-money special interest meddling.

Also, a wider variety of candidates — not just fatcats or the buddies of fatcats — can run for office. That gives voters more choices. Arizona and Maine have versions of this system in place already.

A look at the details of the plan New Haven’s sending to the state shows a system aimed at enabling grassroots candidates to compete better with established candidates with wealthy backers. Here are some of the details:

&#8226 To qualify for matching money, candidates pledge not to accept campaign contributions over $300, and not to spend more than $200,000 in a primary and $200,000 in a general election.

&#8226 To qualify for the plan, candidates would have to raise 200 contributions of at least $25 each from people who live in New Haven. At that point, the candidate receives $15,000 in “jump-start” money, said Dan Weeks, one of the plan’s prime movers.

&#8226 Then the candidate receives a match of $2 for every $1 raised — up to $25 per contribution. That last part makes the New Haven plan especially geared toward candidates with lower-income supporters.

The plan (unlike a similar new system created for statewide offices) does not discriminate against minor-party or write-in candidates.

The city’s main liaison to the state for this project is East Rock Alderwoman Elizabeth Addonizio. Weeks, who heads a group called Students for Clean Elections, has also played a central role in putting together the plan, as has Board of Aldermen President Carl Goldfield. (Click here for more details about the effort.)

Mayor John DeStefano issued a statement Thursday calling the plan “an idea whose time has come… By becoming the first pilot city, New Haven is sending a powerful message to the rest of the state that we want to be the state’s leader in clean, fair and open elections.”

Budget Battle

Back in New Haven, proponents of the plan will need to defend the $200,000 set aside for the plan in the proposed new city budget, which raises taxes 9 percent. Proponents of clean-elections laws argue that the modest amount spent on matching money saves taxpayers far more money by lessening the influence of big contributors who convince their purchased politicians to sneak expensive presents into government budgets.

Fair Haven Alderman Joe Jolly, head of the board’s finance committee, predicted that the money will stay in the budget.

“I think that people have decided that electoral reform is a priority,” Jolly said. “It clearly removes the perception that a quid pro quo is in place.”