This year’s first “reversal” of a mayoral campaign promise came Tuesday, as Matthew Nemerson changed his mind about posting on his website the names of contributors and how much they give him within 48 hours.
Nemerson originally made his self-described “transparency” promise on April 19 when he filed official papers to run for mayor. (Click on the video above and on this story to read the details.) Nemerson is one of seven Democrats seeking to succeed retiring two-decade incumbent Mayor John DeStefano. A Democratic primary will take place Sept. 10.
Nemerson made the “transparency” promise in response to criticism he faced for opting out of New Haven’s “clean” elections system — the Democracy Fund, which offers candidates public dollars in return for promises to limit individual donations to $370 (rather than $1,000) and to eschew contributions from outside committees. He also faced criticism for choosing to have former City Hall dealmaker Sal Brancati raise money for his campaign. (He has since announced that Brancati will not raise money for his campaign.)
Nemerson vowed on April 19 to list the names of contributors and amounts of contributions within 48 hours “so people can scrutinize in real time who’s giving us money.” He also promised to have an “independent” third-party “ombudsman” — Edwin “Van” Selden, who served as a Beaver Hills alderman in the 1980s — scrutinize all contributions.
SInce then, Nemerson has launched a campaign website. It has a page enabling people to donate money online. It does not contain the promised details about donors.
Last week Nemerson told the Independent his campaign was still working on getting that page up.
Asked again on Tuesday why the information still hasn’t appeared, Nemerson replied: “Mark’s gonna have to talk to you about that.”
“Mark” is campaign spokesman Mark Cestari.
Cestari said in a subsequent conversation that the Nemerson “campaign committee” had decided to “reverse” Nemerson’s original promise. The campaign will not post the data after all.
“Matt’s early idea to post the names of contributors on the website within 48 hours and then have them vetted through a third party — that promise was made very early in the campaign,” Cestari said. “As the rest of the campaign committee, including myself, came on board, we looked at that and felt like it was redundant. The law provides for transparency. Everyone who contributes to this campaign and every other campaign — it’s public record. After discussing this for weeks, a decision was made to reverse that decision. The committee is not in favor of releasing the name. First of all, it’s an administrative nightmare. Secondly, it’s redundant.”
Campaign treasurer Angel Fernandez, who originally presented the 48-hour idea with Nemerson on April 19, seconded Cestari’s argument.
“This is a committee that is working hard to get someone elected. We know Matt for who he is. He is someone of integrity. We’ll point to his record on everything. We’re just going to do our best to get Matt elected. Part of getting Matt elected is making sure every avenue is clear to get all the support he can get,” Fernandez said.
After those two conversations, the candidate himself agreed to field questions about his “reversal.” Following is a transcript of that interview:
Nemerson: I made a mistake. I was naive. The mistake is the whole nature of being in a seven-person race where everyone is raising money and there is a [campaign finance filing] date when everybody has their score announced. I just didn’t really understand the dynamic of how you have to play by those rules.
Independent: In other words, you’d look bad if you didn’t raise enough money?
Nemerson: Or it might look good if I was ahead. I would be the only one whose score would be out there. It was a naive mistake.
Independent: What about the “ombudsman”?
Nemerson: We’ve got Angel and Van. They will be categorizing all the money that comes in.
I was naive. I think it’s also safe to say that with all the things that have been happening in Hartford, with the various Congressional campaigns, the [Donovan campaign corruption] trial [click here to read about that] and everything else, I may have been tone deaf about — everybody has been saying that money can influence politics. Not being a politician, I was never influenced by it. I am certainly chastened by what’s happened.
Independent: Wouldn’t that be a reason to go with the Democracy Fund? Isn’t that the whole point — to respond to developments like the trial?
Nemerson: Listen, as this has progressed, and now I’m in the middle of it, I have a lot of respect for that position [the choice to participate in the fund].
Independent: So why not take that position then?
Nemerson: I don’t understand.
Independent: You said you now have a lot of respect for that [Democracy Fund] position. Why not therefore take the position?
Nemerson: I made a mistake. We’re going to move forward playing by the same rules as everybody else.
Independent: Can people believe you’ll keep promises as mayor if you didn’t keep this one?
Nemerson: I think mayors make a lot of mistakes. I think the other thing that people have to say, “You did something that isn’t going to work. You’ve got to change direction.”
Independent: What wasn’t going to work? It’s pretty simple to set up that page on your website.
Nemerson: Absolutely. What wasn’t working was having a daily tally of how much I was raising. The whole nature of everybody announcing on the same day is an important part of the process. I was naive. I didn’t realize how important that is to people who are donating, how important that is to people who are helping us raise money. I was naive. I made a mistake. I was inexperienced. I’ve learned I’ve got to be much more careful about what I say and when I say it. I deserve to be criticized for this. There’s a good thing about not being a politician and not having done this before. This was clearly a bad thing.
Brackeen Pulls Back
Thomas MacMillan Photo
In other campaign news, Darryl Brackeen (pictured) has decided not to serve after all as manager of Democrat Kermit Carolina’s mayoral quest. Brackeen, a Democrat and a social-studies teacher at Lincoln Bassett School, is also running for alderman in Westville’s 26th Ward.
He said Monday that he concluded he shouldn’t do both jobs at once.
“I’m just going to focus in on my aldermanic race,” he said.
Brackeen said he wasn’t scheduled to start as campaign manager for Carolina until June 1. Carolina — who has a campaign kick-off event planned for Wednesday evening — said Tuesday that “we are looking at a team-oriented approach” rather than seeking to have one individual fill Brackeen’s intended role. “We’re going to do it by committee,” Carolina said.
Another Clerk In The House
The mayor’s race isn’t the only campaign drawing a crowded field. A third — count ‘em — candidate emerged Tuesday for the usually uncontested part-time position of city/town clerk, which pays $46,597 a year.
That candidate is Michael Smart, currently the alderman in Wooster Square’s Ward 8. He plans to make a formal announcement of his candidacy Wednesday afternoon.
“I desire to take the service offered by the City/Town Clerk Office to a whole different level,” Smart stated in a press release. “We got to bring the Office of City/Town Clerk to the 21st century, information and records should be able to be accessed electronically as much as possible and that the office has to be much more user friendly and customer service oriented.”
Smart joins two other declared Democratic candidates: the 10-year incumbent, Ron Smith (read about his campaign here); and current Westville Alderman Sergio Rodriguez. (Read about his quest here.)
Anne Weaver Lozon of Westville is also planning to run for city clerk on a ticket with Kermit Carolina.
Anyone who wants to "move forward playing by the same rules as everybody else" would have found it easier to begin by playing by the same rules as the first announced candidates: using the Democracy Fund and eschewing large contributions from individuals, corporations, unions and other entities.