nothin New Haven Independent | Kennedy Won’t Return $94K in Public $$$

Kennedy Won’t Return $94K in Public $$$

Marcia Chambers Photo

Ted Kennedy Jr.‘s opponent has called on him to return the public money his state senate campaign received given the fact that he also accepted $207,000 in separate pass-through” money from the state Democratic Party.

Kennedy’s response: No.

The back-and-forth between Democrat Kennedy and Republican Bruce Wilson is the latest chapter in an ongoing money-in-politics disagreement that has marked their campaign for the open 12th State Senate District seat on the Shoreline.

The disagreement has centered on both the letter and the spirit of campaign finance law. Kennedy (pictured above) accepted public-financing in the campaign — and accepted strict limits on donations and spending — as part of what he called a determination to limit the polluting” influence of money in politics. Then his campaign quietly benefited from a loophole: Kennedy’s family has funneled over $90,000 to the state Democratic Party. The party in turn passed through” money to support Kennedy’s campaign, twice what the campaign can spend on its own under campaign-finance rules. Kennedy now has a large financial advantage in the race.

We took an oath” to keep elections clean,” said Wilson, who has also received public financing. He accused his opponent of polluting” the election instead by doing an end-run around the rules.

Wilson previously challenged the legality of the arrangement by filing a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC). Now he has called on Kennedy to at least give back the $93,690 public-financing grant he received from the state.

John Murphy, Kennedy’s campaign manager, told the Eagle that Kennedy will not be returning the money because it is legal to accept it.

There is no reason to return the money,” Murphy said. There is really nothing illegal going on here.”

Murphy noted that the SEEC has made it clear that parties can send money to campaigns.

Murphy said the funds coming from the state Democratic Party — now up to $207,000 — - were used for polling, mailings and staff assigned to Kennedy who work with other candidates in the 12th District. The funds were also used to pay out-of-state consultants. He noted Weekends of Action” in which Kennedy and State Rep. Lonnie Reed or Sean Scanlon, who is seeking a state representative seat from Guilford, or others, take to the campaign trail together. The staff assigned to the Senate district work for Ted and for everybody else,” Murphy said.

Devon Puglia, the spokesman for the state Democratic Party, was more direct in stating the party’s objective. In a statement to the Eagle he said: This is an important race with a candidate who has extraordinary potential. We’re building a party that’s ready to not only protect the historic progress we’ve made for working families, but also expand on it for the future. Ted has the capacity to be one of our leaders. That means we need him to win — and we need him to win now. We’re not taking any chances with someone who has such a bright future. We’re doing everything possible to help Ted Kennedy, Jr. win today so we deliver even more progress for Connecticut tomorrow.” 

Wilson Files Second SEEC Complaint Against Kennedy

Meanwhile, Wilson’s forces filed a second complaint with the SEEC on Oct. 27, declaring that an additional $51,500 in contributions were made to the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) by Kennedy relatives, bringing the combined total of Kennedy giving as of this election cycle to $94,500. 

As October ended, public filings show that the Democratic Party’s giving to Kennedy had soared. Recent filings show that DSCC had so far contributed a total of $207,000 to the 12th District campaign. 

The first so-called pass through” earlier in the month showed the DSCC received about $43,000 in contributions from Kennedy, his wife, his brother, his cousin, Robert Shriver and several colleagues.

That donation figure, very nearly matched, dollar for dollar,” the amount the DSCC then sent to the 12th District race, the Wilson campaign said.

Thomas J. Banisch, the chair of the Madison Republican Town Committee, said in filing the second complaint this week that 97 percent of all payments made by the DSCC had gone to Kennedy, the rainmaker” for the party this election season.

Such treatment of one single candidate above and beyond all other legislators, when numerous other districts are much more competitive and many incumbents are facing tough election challenges, makes one wonder why Kennedy deserves such treatment,” he said.

From Banisch’s point of view, Kennedy raised that money for the party with the explicit understanding that it would be illegally earmarked to be returned to his campaign.” The party denies it was earmarked.

The SEEC decided last week to formally investigate the first Wilson complaint. Banisch filed the first complaint on Oct 6. (Click here to read the story.) Typically virtually every SEEC complaint is assigned to an investigator. The SEEC is expected to investigate the second complaint as well, but most likely no decision for either complaint will occur until after the Nov. 4th election.

Both Candidates Qualify For Public Financing

The Kennedy campaign qualified for and then received $93,690 in a public financing grant on August 1st. To get there it had to raise $15,000 in qualifying donations of $100 or less from at least 300 voters in his district. The implied assumption was that amount was all a candidate seeking public office would get. Wilson qualified for public financing in September.

Wilson, a businessman from Madison, said we took an oath to use the Citizen’s Elections Program — -which is supposed to keep elections clean. Money pollutes politics, and my opponent doesn’t seem to care,” he said, expressing the exact same statement about money polluting politics that Kennedy made at a local Democratic Town Committee meeting in May. 

My opponent’s extravagant spending is going to make this the most expensive State Senate race in Connecticut history,” Wilson said in a prepared statement.

New Laws Permit Excessive Giving


While the public financing law presumes candidates will stay within the limit of their grant, a new set of laws now permits a state party, either Democratic or Republican, to give whatever it wants to a district race.

What the legislature also did was to lift a $10,000 cap, thereby enabling the state party to send unlimited funds to a candidate’s district. In addition, the same law enables individuals to give up to $10,000 to their party of choice as opposed to $5,000. 

To further illustrate the intent of what Wilson terms this illegal pass through’ of earmarked contributions,” Wilson said the DSCC has not spent any significant amount for any other state senate race to date.”

In his first SEEC complaint Banisch quoted a May 7 Branford Eagle article, in which Kennedy said he was committed to raising all the money I need from this district …We want to make this campaign about people.”

Kennedy went on to say in the Eagle’s article that friends living outside the district wanted to know how to contribute. And I say, do me a favor and contribute to the state Democratic Party or the local Democratic parties in these towns,” he said, referring to the six towns in the 12th District.

But that promise, Wilson said, has been broken, plain and simple. Mr. Kennedy, this seat is not for sale. Apologize to the people and return their money,” he added.

Tom Swan, the executive director of Connecticut Citizen Action Group, a watchdog organization told The New York Times, There’s never been that level of outside money in a state legislative race” He told the Times he does not see a need for that level of spending.”

But if you’re working on a campaign,” he said, you’ll do everything you can to win because the changes in the law make it legal.”

Five of the six towns that make up the 12th District are now led by Republican first selectmen. All five have endorsed Wilson for state senator. They are Branford, Guilford, Madison, North Branford and Durham. Only Killingworth has a Democratic first selectwoman. 
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