New Haven Independent

Posted by: charlie | May 21, 2007 9:45 AM

Shame on him. He just lost my vote.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | May 21, 2007 12:31 PM

Great. So Mr. Newton is going to run an all-things-DeStefano-are-bad campaign?

It's sad that Mr. Newton can be so politically stupid as to not embrace the new system that all but the most cynical New Haveners are very proud of!

I predict Mr. Newton will get but 20% of the vote this time. He has no real message, and who can believe that his crowd would do a better job of managing New Haven than our successful current Mayor?

Posted by: Bruce | May 21, 2007 1:21 PM

I played the clip and now I'm more confused than ever. He doesn't like the public financing program because Destefano was involved in creating it. But, he thinks we should use it as a model for the entire state.

I don't have much of an opinion about Jim Newton, but I can't remember the last time I heard a candidate so obviously dancing around an uncomfortable topic as I heard here.

"...there appears to be some ambiguity in terms of the administrators of making sure that this project is properly associated." What is that supposed to mean?

Posted by: ericaholahan | May 21, 2007 8:50 PM

I hope Mr. Newton will reconsider this decision. This city, and this country, needs politicians who believe that winning elections is about more than just money. He needs to tap into the grassroots of New Haven-our youth, our disenfranchised, and those who believe that DeStefano had done a lot of good for this city, but that perhaps the time has come for new leadership. DeStefano needs some genuine competition in this mayoral race, and I think even he was hoping the "clean election" process would help make that possible.

Posted by: Chuck | May 21, 2007 10:12 PM

The problem with a new system for financing elections like this is that they tend to favor the incumbent who, because he is established and better known, can work better within the system. I regret this new system is not fair and universally used, but I understand the problem.

Posted by: strangerthanfiction | May 22, 2007 12:38 AM

Newton has a point. It's pretty easy for an entrenched, well-known incumbent to embrace public financing limitations. It'll be interesting to see how the new public financing plays out when there is no incumbent. DeStefano's already spent bundles of money over several election cycles getting his name and record out there. While limiting the influence of money in politics is a worthy goal, candidates will always "game" the system and do whatever needs to be done to raise the money they think they need. Money drives political campaigns and the term "clean elections" is an oxymoron.

Posted by: Joe Jolly | May 22, 2007 11:08 PM

Ralph Ferrucci and Jim Newton are exactly the sort of candidates the system was created to help. The concern in creating the system was not that the Ferruccis or Newtons of the world would forgo public financing - the fear was that incumbents would forgo the system.

A "grassroots candidate" like Ralph might not be able to pull in a lot of big, or even mid-sized donations. But Ralph can definitely raise 200 New Haven contributions of $25 (total of $5,000), which the system then rewards with a $15,000 start-up grant, and a match of $50 for each of the 200 donations (for a total match of $25,000). Now Ralph would actually have at minimum $30,000 (ie: $1,000 a ward) to run a good race.

Likewise, Newton is the "well-known candidate" that the system also had in mind. If he just repeated his 1999 fundraising, but instead got the $65,000 from 260 New Haven donors at $250 each, he'd qualify for the system and receive an additional $28,000 (for a total of $93,000). That's almost a 50% increase in funds - which in my mind is nothing to laugh at.

So kudos to Ralph (who also fulfills the system's goal of encouraging more Parties to participate in New Haven politics). And kudos to DeStefano, who's stuck to his promise to participate (when he's certainly capable of raising far more than the Max). And finally, to Newton - perhaps rethink your decision. I can't see how participating could possibly hurt - and it almost certainly would help.

Posted by: CT Lawyer | May 23, 2007 10:21 AM

Joe,

I think Newton may believe that it will be easier for him to raise $30,000 with 30 donors at $1000 each. These donors need not be New Haven residents, and might just give money because they don't like DeStefano. He would then not want to use public financing because while he knows where those 30 donors will come from, he does not know where 200 New Haven voters willing to give him $25 dollars would come from.

I am not trying to pass judgment, just explain his likely reasoning. Many might prefer a candidate who opts to raise his or her money for Mayor of this city in low dollar amounts from New Haven residents, whether DeStefano or Ferrucci. It is the intent of the public financing law to not only support new candidates (as you note) but also to decrease the influence of big money and out of town donors on New Haven's mayoral elections.

On the other hand, there are those who would prefer that wealthy individuals who see New Haven as a source of potential contracts or just don't like DeStefano because of his positions on say health care or immigration, would give to Newton.

I also do not want to downplay Newton's own fund raising capacity. He may know wealthy out of towners on his own that would be willing to give to him just because they like his positions or him personally. In fact, his position against public financing in this election might be one of those issues which is attractive if you prefer to be able to influence elections with your wealth.

While the Board of Aldermen clearly wanted to increase the power of moderate income individuals, and decrease the influence of big money donors, the First Amendment currently protects Newton's right to go in a different direction.

Posted by: concerned in ct | May 23, 2007 6:27 PM

Does anyone truly beleive that the Mayor would participate in this new funding if he thought he had a real challenge?