New Haven Independent

DeStefano’s pioneering the publicly financed election program this year as a trial for greater statewide campaign finance reform designed to level the playing field and encourage more participation in the election process.

To qualify for public funds, a candidate needs contributions of at least $25 from 200 supporters, who must be New Haven voters, not out-of-town lobbyists. Reaching that benchmark grants the campaign a $15,000 lump sum. In addition, the first $25 of each qualifying contribution gets matched by $50. The campaign can accept money from non-New Haveners, but it won’t qualify for matching funds.

DeStefano was due to receive a check of $26,850 Friday— that’s the $15,000 grant plus $11,850 in public matching funds, which represents $50 for each New Haven registered voter contributing $25 or more to the DeStefano campaign, according to Robert Wechsler, administrator of the Democracy Fund.

So far, DeStefano’s the only one who has qualified for public funds, said Wechsler at a board meeting Wednesday in City Hall.

DeStefano’s only Democratic challenger, Jim Newton (at left in picture, with supporter Willie Greene), had to give money back to contributors who gave him money before he changed his mind and decided to opt into the public finance program. Newton had to give back at least $6,400 to contributors plus $5,000 to himself, due to a $15,000 personal funds limit, according to Wechsler. Wechsler said the campaign told him they had given back the checks, but documentation had not yet been filed.

Green Party candidate Ralph Ferrucci expressed interest in the program, but has not yet drummed up the 200 contributions needed. “It’s going slow,” he said, adding he would ramp up his campaign when voters take their focus off of the Sept. 11 Democratic primary. Republican candidate H. Richter Elser, who just popped up last week, has told the Independent that the Democracy Fund was one of the reasons the Republicans chose to run a candidate this year.

Primary Advantage?

As the Democracy Fund board met this week, debate arose over the $300 limit each individual can give to a single candidate. Does it apply to the whole election period, or separately to the primary and the general? Some board members said candidates should be allowed to return to contributors for another $300 as they attempt to qualify again for another $15,000 sum for the general election.

Maria Lamberto (pictured) opposed allowing the re-upping: “I just feel it’s an unfair advantage,” said Lamberto. “The person who gets to run in a primary gets to go back in the same well.”

Ferrucci and Elser could enjoy the same privilege if they could just find members of their own parties to primary against them, another board member argued. The board voted 3-1 to allow the $300 limit to be considered separately for the primary and general elections, with Lamberto voting “no.”

Looking forward, Wechsler put out a plea for more participation in the Democracy Fund: “We are looking for an Investigator (a part-time contractor) to investigate allegations of over-spending or under-reporting of contributions (should such allegations be made),” he wrote in a post-meeting update. The board also needs a seventh member — “someone who is not a Democrat, because their party limit has been reached.”