New Haven Independent: Campaign $$ Limit Upped

Campaign $$ Limit Upped

by Melissa Bailey | February 13, 2007 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Rob%20SMuts.jpg Raising the cap on campaign spending will entice mayoral opponents to buy into the city’s first publicly financed election system, argued mayoral staffer Rob Smuts (pictured). The aldermanic Legislation Committee Monday heard his pitch and agreed to increase the spending cap from $225,000 to $300,000 for each mayoral candidate.

As the city prepares to embark on the state’s first publicly financed municipal election this fall, an aldermanic committee agreed to increase the spending cap for mayoral candidates.

In order to qualify for matching funds through the city’s campaign finance fund, The Democracy Fund, candidates must agree not to spend over a spending cap in either the primary or the general election (the two are viewed separately).

The cap was established five years ago at $225,000. Smuts gave the pitch for raising the cap, a move he said was sanctioned by state elections officials.

“We want this to be a reasonable limit,” said Smuts, who worked on Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.’s gubernatorial race last fall. DeStefano is gearing up to run for reelection for his eighth term in office in November 2007.

Smuts told aldermen he feared that in a race between, say, a heated race between an incumbent mayor and a state senator, a low spending cap would encourage candidates to opt out of the system.

East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar was skeptical. “I always felt $225,000 was arbitrary. The extension up to $300,000 seems equally arbitrary,” he countered. “My honest concern is it might not be enough.”

Spurred by State Sen. Martin Looney’s primary challenge against DeStefano, expenditures for the 2001 mayoral race topped $1 million.

Smuts said the spending cap could be adapted for 2009 based on how the cap fares in 2007. The proposal, which also made numerous less substantive changes to the Democracy Fund ordinance, passed the Legislation Committee by a 6-0 vote.

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Comments

Posted by: Bruce | February 13, 2007 10:31 AM

It always made me uncomfortable that this fund makes more money available to party candidates than it does independent candidates, who cannot hold primaries. I do recognize that the primary is often the deciding race in this one-party town, but still the fact remains that there is less money available from this public fund for independent candidates. The fund should provide the same dollar amount to all candidates whether or not they have to run a primary.

Posted by: Bruce | February 14, 2007 10:34 AM

The sidebar on New Haven Independent's front page says I am claiming that the public financing system is unfair to third party candidates. Actually, this is not so. While major party candidates enjoy significant advantages over minor party candidates in some areas (access to scratch-off sheets on election day, for example), minor party candidates can hold primaries and therefore have access to all of the available public financing funds. Independent candidates not running under any party's ticket can not hold primaries and therefore have less access to these funds.

Posted by: andy ross | March 5, 2007 9:45 PM

I intend on filing my seec form 1 A by the end of the week to seek the office of Mayor of New Haven. I am a registared independent but am not sure how i will run. I am a no body in town as far as politics goes but a resident and long time businessman.
Where do I get more information about this funding issue? I am also seeking an experinced campaign manager.
I am avalible at 203-641-4666

Posted by: cedar hill resident | March 6, 2007 8:01 PM

This impresses me! We have a choose, we can make things better. It is throught the power of the vote. We are changing the white house because of the mistakes they made, is New Haven ready for a change. Or are things going to get better?

New Haven Independent

Campaign $$ Limit Upped

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