Elicker Tops $66K In ​“Clean” Money

One of the very reasons I support Justin..
transparency is key, unlike what we are experiencing now in New Haven.
It's utterly deceptive and disgusting that TH will not reveal who is giving her campaign money. A change is so needed in New Haven

It has always seemed to me that one of the challenges with the Democracy Fund is that it has a bias towards candidates who have large networks of wealthy people. I'm not sure, but I think it would be hard for many candidates to match this fund-raising if they didn't have a large network of lawyers, academics, investment bankers, etc... It is hard for the average person to donate $375 to a campaign, and so you need to know lots of moderately to very wealthy people for this fundraising strategy to work. I haven't looked into it in much detail, but does anyone know how many of Elicker's donors gave the maximum amount or even over $300?

I don't know the answer this broader dilemma. Perhaps having a donor base that is comprised of a large number of wealthy donors is better than a donor base that is comprised of a smaller number of donors who have donated a lot more? Less of a conflict of interest but still a tendency to represent a smaller and more well-off part of the electorate? The Democracy Fund doesn't seem to completely equalize the playing field for all types of candidates, but it is a hard problem to solve.

BevHills,

I gave 20 Bucks to Justin's Campaign.
I would consider that 'affordable support', and within the means of many....

Americans have long been concerned about big corporations buying politicians and elections. Even the Supreme Court has upheld the right of giant corporations to give huge contributions to influence the outcome of political campaigns.
Often, those who raise the most money win elections. Big buck contributors often subvert the democratic process, and representation of the poor and middle class frequently suffers as a result.
When many donors contribute large amounts of money to candidates, it is not for altruistic reasons.
The motives are selfish. It is seen as an investment, not for the welfare of the nation, state or city, but for future business ventures with government or influence over the decisions of government.
Public financing may not stop this altogether, but it will curb it considerably.
Public financing of campaigns as we know it in New Haven is voluntary. It speaks volumes about the character of those candidates who choose to go that route. Those who rely on small contributions from average working people hopefully will listen more attentively to the needs and concerns of average working people.
The Harp campaign might "disagree" with how the Democracy Fund is set up. It does cut off contributions from contractors and city employees greater than $1,000.
Many of us admire a candidate who is willing to submit to the restrictions of public financing in order to get financial backing from the people who simply want their government to be responsive, accountable,transparent and honest with them. That is the only favor they want. Not a contract, not a job, not a "special" favor for a relative or friend or group.The people want a government that listens to them more than those with big bucks, and provides the basic services we all want and need with fairness, honesty, integrity, transparency and equity to all residents of every neighborhood in this city.
This is what supporters of Justin Elicker expect to see from his administration as mayor of New Haven.

Bill,

I completely agree. If all of these funds were raised with $5 to $100 donations, it would be a very remarkable feat. This might be the case for this campaign. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of the donation amounts. My guess is that for candidates who can only pull $5 to $100 donations, it is much more difficult to raise a competitive amount.

Without complete publicly financed that are mandated to be public, these problems are challenging.

@BevHills730
The Democracy Fund limits individual contributions to $390. People can and most do give between $10 or $20 up to the maximum, not just the maximum. I gave $50, $100 and another 100 on three separate occasions.
If the fund would be biased toward candidates who have large networks of wealthy people, you can be sure Mayor Harp would have participated in public financing.
Candidates who reject public financing do so not because it is complicated or don't like how it is set up. The elect not to participate because they want those big $1,000 donations from lawyers, contractors, academics, bankers, and other wealthy people, and city employees. Don't forget city employees who often feel compelled or intimidated to give to the incumbent in order to maintain their jobs, and not become victims of anger, resentment, harassment and wrath for daring to support another candidate. Some city employees have been asked to give $1,000 to the mayor's campaign directly by the mayor herself.
That could not happen under the democracy Fund.

BFLY: All campaigns need to reveal donors and expenditures, although often they are not fully revealed until after the election. Many of Harp's donor's are known. They are almost universally city contractors and employees. As I have said before, there is a strong whiff of extortion/bribery about her funding. Vinnie Giordano was frank about why building contractors like himself should donate: she has been good to them. Vinnie and others get tax-funded building contracts, and in return are expected to kick-back some of those tax dollars as campaign contributions.

Bevhills: Public financing schemes generally require a candidate to demonstrate support by getting a certain umber of in-district people to put there money where their mouths are. The state CEP limits donations to $100 or $200 dollars, and makes a large grant when the candidate reaches a certain threshold.
https://seec.ct.gov/Portal/CEP/CEPLanding

The Democracy Fund limits all contributions, but only matches those between $10 and $30 made by registered New Haven voters, with a 2 to 1 match. There are a lot of people who can afford to donate between $10 and $30 dollars.
"In order to qualify for public matching funds for a primary election or a general election, a participating candidate must raise two hundred (200) contributions, from separate individuals who are electors (that is, registered voters) of the City of New Haven, of no less than $10.00 and no more than $390.00. Matching funds consist of $60.00 per distinct individual contributor of $30.00 or more; contributions under $30.00 are matched two-to-one."
https://www.newhavenct.gov/gov/democracy_fund/default.htm

Is this funded with taxpayer money??

Elicker's wife is a lawyer. He should self-fund like Wendy and Urn.

Shady title by the biased NHI..."clean money" which i assume applied Harp's donations are dirty.

The same people who criticize the mayor and alders' trip to China, have no problem paying for Justin's mailers and lawn signs (which will probably end up in landfills in China and that Justin would have no problem paying for with fundraising). I'm not against the Democracy Fund. It's just interesting sometimes, people's double standards.

catdude: Donations up to $30 are matched two to one with taxpayer money. Bill Saunders's $20 dollar donation got a $40 match from the public fisc. In return for the tax dollars, the candidate must agree to a spending limit, not to accept contractor donations (aka bribes/kickbacks), and lower limits on individual donations. Your suggestion that all candidates be prohibited from accepting any donations would give wealthy candidates a huge advantage.
As for Elicker's personal and family wealth, his wife is a civil servant. He, his wife, and two kids live in a third floor walk-up on Orange Street.

Alex:

1644-
So Fairfield County Justin doesn't pay taxes in New Haven?

We are not impressed. Living in a 3rd floor walkup in an affluent part of town does not make Elicker a man of the people. It is all part of the plan To get to higher office. See the lLuke Bronin playbook. Next stop, run for governorship.

Dear Cat Dude,

Clean money. Justin may be the first New Haven mayoral candidate to refuse dirty money from suckerfishes.

Suckerfishes are fishes with a flattened elongated body and a sucking disk on the head for attaching to large fish. They receive all their nutrients from the host fish. Example: The Remora, which attaches to sharks. Remoras latch on for all the nutrients they need, plus the sharks give them protection from predators. It's more than a free ride!