Democracy Fund Eyes Expansion

Following up on the Democracy Fund’s biggest year yet, the municipal public-financing program is considering expanding into other citywide electoral contests beyond just the race for mayor.

Democracy Fund Administrator Alyson Heimer broached that potential expansion Tuesday night during a presentation to the Board of Alders Legislation Committee. The in-person meeting took place in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.

Heimer appeared before the committee alders to discuss the Democracy Fund’s 2021 annual report.

That report shows that the Democracy Fund — which provides public matching funds and grants to mayoral candidates who limit individual campaign contributions to $390 a piece and who foreswear political action committee (PAC) donations — spent a total of $181,384 in 2021. 

That’s the most that the fund has ever expended in its 15-year existence, thanks to the participation in the program last year by Democratic incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker, Democratic primary mayoral challenger Karen DuBois-Walton, and Republican general election mayoral challenger John Carlson.

“This is the first time that we have had a Republican participate in the New Haven Democracy Fund, which was very exciting for everyone,” Heimer said.

Tuesday night’s presentation did not include any specific proposed updates to the local law governing New Haven’s clean-elections program. The only vote taken by the committee alders on this matter was to recommend that the full Board of Alders ​“read and file” the fund’s annual report. 

Nevertheless, at the request of Westville Alder Adam Marchand, Heimer did discuss some potential proposed changes to the Democracy Fund that the fund’s board may send to the alders for review and debate in the year ahead.

One of those potential changes could be expanding the program to electoral contests for city/town clerk, registrar of voters, and seats on the Board of Education. While the clerk and registrar positions are citywide elections, the two elected Board of Education seats each represent only half of the city.

“Running for town clerk costs about a fifth — or, people spend about a fifth — as those running for mayor,” Heimer said. ​“So one might think that the grant should be reflected as a lower amount.”

Currently, the Democracy Fund provides each eligible candidate with public matching funds of up to $125,000, as well as a public financing grant of $20,000 for the primary election and $20,000 for the general election. The fund also requires that candidates who accept money from the program ​“participate in public forums for as long as your in that race.”

Heimer said that the fund’s board is not currently planning on recommending that alders be able to participate in the program.

“At this time, the budgets don’t really match up,” she said. ​“It doesn’t take as much money to run an aldermanic race. … It isn’t really as necessary.” Allowing alder candidates to participate in the Democracy Fund for all 30 wards, she said, would also present a ​“difficult hurdle” for the fund’s staff to handle.

Heimer said that the fund’s board has set up an ​“ordinance subcommittee,” helmed by board member James Bhandary-Alexander, to take a deep dive into the program’s ordinance, which was adopted in 2007 and last amended in 2009. 

And in a section of the 2021 report called ​“Future Goals of the Board,” Heimer wrote that the fund ​“will craft a method of participation for those running for other offices in the City of New Haven, which will include a Democracy Fund pledge and code of conduct, and/or financial support. The exact details are to be determined by the Ordinance subcommittee and must be approved by the Democracy Fund Board and then by the Mayor and Board of Alders before taking effect.”

While expanding to other citywide electoral contests would be difficult, Heimer said Tuesday night, the program appears to be accomplishing exactly what it is designed to do for mayoral races: that is, limiting the amount of time that candidates need to spend talking about fundraising, and thereby allowing and encouraging them to focus on substantive issues, policies, and campaign proposals instead.

“Thank you for your work, and for this report,” Board of Alders Majority Leader and Amity/Beaver Hills Alder Richard Furlow said at the end of Heimer’s presentation. ​“We came through quite a season,” what with a contested mayoral race taking place during a pandemic. He said he looks forward to ​“the future goals” of the fund, and to their ​“realization.”

“It’s an important part in our democracy, so thank you very much.”