Thomas MacMillan Photo
Less than a week after announcing a run for mayor, Justin Elicker had another announcement to make Thursday: He has already raised enough money to qualify for public financing.
Public financing may not be ready for him.
That’s because the board that would give him the money doesn’t have enough members.
Elicker — the first candidate to formally announce he’s running for mayor, before the field opened up this week with incumbent John DeStefano’s retirement announcement —made his announcement in a press release issued mid-morning. (He’s pictured above at DeStefano’s event.)
Meanwhile, Democratic state Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield of Newhallville, who plans to formally announce his own mayoral candidacy Friday, told the Independent that he, too, has decided to participate in the public-financing system.
That means this election may give New Haven its first true test of the system’s efficacy — whether it can indeed keep down the cost of campaigning and enable a wide variety of candidates to compete.
Elicker reported collecting $15,285 from 235 people, more than half of them giving under $25, in his first six days as an official candidate.
If the Democracy Fund — which administers the city’s public-financing system — certifies Elicker’s paperwork, he will qualify for an estimated $9,400 in matching bucks as well as, eventually, a $19,000 bonus. To qualify for public money, candidates have to swear off contributions from outside committees and limit individual contributors to $370. The Democracy Fund offers the $19,000 grant (distributed once an opponent has raised $5,500) plus matching money to candidates who raise a minimum of donations — at least $10 each from 200 local voters. A candidate who raises just $2,000 can obtain up to $23,000. The Fund double-matches up to $25 of each individual contribution (therefore with a $50 ceiling per contribution).
The cash will certainly help Elicker’s nascent campaign. Perhaps more importantly, the milestone helps him in a quest all official and soon-to-be-official candidates face in the scramble to succeed a 20-year incumbent: to establish themselves as credible and devoted to open, democratic government in what is expected to be a crowded field.
Elicker, a two-term Democratic alderman from East Rock, made that larger point in his press release Thursday.
“Our campaign is about moving beyond politics as usual and that is a fundamental reason we are participating in Democracy Fund,” he stated. “The number of contributions we have raised in such a short period is an affirmation that New Haven residents are excited about our campaign and believe in our choice to support public financing.”
His imminent filing puts the Democracy Fund in a “pickle,” said its administrator, Ken Krayeske.
By law Krayeske will have five days to give Elicker his money, assuming he verifies the contributions.
But also by law Krayeske can’t give Elicker his money. Because he needs the fund’s board to approve the disbursement. And the board lacks a quorum to hold a meeting or vote.
Only three of the board’s seven slots are currently filled. The DeStefano administration, which has clashed with the Fund, dragged its feet in nominating new members as other members left over the past year. The fund finally lost its fourth member, Anna Mariotti, when she left earlier this month in order to take a job as the mayor’s new spokeswoman.
The administration has since forwarded the name of a potential new member, attorney John DiManno, an unaffiliated voter, to the Board of Aldermen for approval. The board’s Aldermanic Affairs Committee approved the selection this week. It goes next to the full board for approval.
If that approval comes — and then if all four members of the Fund show up for the next meeting — it can vote on giving Elicker his cash.
Meanwhile, Elicker is off and running.
And, according to mayoral Chief of Staff Sean Matteson, the administration is speaking with other potential Democracy Fund board members to nominate.
The approval of volunteer Board Members for such an important civic function should be fast-tracked - just as it would be for any other critical public commission that needs to make decisions about the city's future.
It is great to hear that there are at least two candidates for Mayor who are committed to public financing and transparency. Any candidates who do not run under the public financing system should be automatically disqualified from consideration by voters who care about the future of our city and state. We need to get big money out of politics.