It's good to be a politician in Connecticut.  After all, elected officials get all kinds of perks:  lavish dinners paid for by lobbyists, flights on corporate jets, free hot tubs, and allegedly, work on your kitchen counter and bathroom by a city contractor even if you haven't secured funding or permits yet.  But what?  You say - this isn't "Corrupticut" anymore!  Governor Rowland went to jail and Connecticut has embarked on a new era of clean government!  Well, apparently the Mayor of Hartford didn't get that memo.  Mayor Perez, of Hartford, CT, has been arrested this morning on charges of two counts of bribery, and one count each of fabricating evidence and the conspiracy to fabricate evidence, all having to do with a $20,000 home renovation performed by a city contractor in 2007.

To be fair, Mayor Perez has only been charged - not convicted, and we don't know yet whether it will be determined that he has actually broken the law.  However, there is an obvious appearance of impropriety here, which elected officials are supposed to avoid.  It is disturbing that Mayor Perez hired a city contractor to work on his private residence, even if the work was properly paid for at fair market value.  The courts and the city council will work out whether Mayor Perez needs to be punished for these things, but it is obvious that Connecticut is still in danger of retaining the "Corrupticut" moniker.  The State Legislature, in response to issues with the Rowland administration, passed the Citizen's Election Program.  Part of the program included the ability for municipalities to participate in the program.  The Hartford City Council would be wise to take this as an opportunity to look at public financing of Hartford's municipal elections,  not only to make sure that Hartford elects leaders without a taint of corruption, but also to help rehabilitate the image of the city.

When Connecticut Common Cause helped to get the Citizens Elections Program passed in Connecticut, we always expected enemies of clean election reform to try and raid the fund.  What we didn't expect to  see was Leaders who helped pass the reform vote to use the fund as their own personal ATM machine.  Yet last night law makers voted overwhelmingly to raid $5 million from the Citizen Elections Fund to help address the looming budget crisis here.

There were other options.  $25 million in unclaimed bottle deposits could have been claimed instead.  However, lobbyists for the beverage companies moved quickly to influence legislators and save the $25 million to line the pockets of the companies they represent.  Instead, they took the untainted Citizen Election Funds that are designed to clean up Connecticut elections.

While the $5 million taken from the Citizens Election Fund represents 0.27% of the overall $18.4 billion budget, it is a major hit for the Citizen Elections Program itself.  This program was created in order to remove the taint of corruption from Connecticut politics and restore public trust in their elected officials.  How can trust be restored when Leaders who helped pass this program vote to raid it at the first opportunity?

As the old saying goes . . . if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

Small donors and public funding are powering 75% of the candidates running for state legislature in Connecticut this year.  It's the first year of the state's new Citizens' Elections Program, and that's a fantastic start.  The New York Times took note of this exciting progress today:

What's unfolding?  Three-quarters of the candidates are not relying on wealthy donors and special interest money to run for office.  They're raising small contributions, and those contributions are amplified by public funds to give them enough to run a competitive race -- which means elected officials who aren't accountable to wealthy campaign donors but to regular voters and small donors.

Connecticut's initial success is remarkable; the Times acknowledges, "Connecticut's initial experience has exceeded the expectations of even its most enthusiastic supporters."  Yet the media have been largely missing or distorting this demand for reform around the country.

In a closely contested race in Connecticut, incumbent Rep. Chris Shays (R) and challenger Jim Himes (D) agreed yesterday that changing the way we pay for our elections is critical:Perhaps it has something to do with the dramatic initial success of the Connecticut Citizens Elections public financing program, which began this year.  In addition, last week, we sent a letter to every congressional candidate and asked them to sign the Voters First Pledge.Himes and Shays need to make it official that they're on board -- you can see the signers here -- but it's great that this important reform issue entered their debate in its final weeks.

On Tuesday, about 40 activists turned out to hear a terrific round table discussion on bringing Election Day Registration to Connecticut.  The event was held in beautiful Dwight Hall on Yale University campus.  We discussed the ins and outs of EDR, and how we could get it passed in Connecticut this year.

When I started organizing the forum on Election Day Registration, I wondered if anyone would attend.  Actually, in this case, "wondered" equals fretted, worried, obsessed, etc.  After all, EDR isn't as compelling an issue as say, getting your favorite Presidential candidate elected, which is what folks are concentrating on at the moment.  But it matters.  A lot.  Each presidential election year we see so many people work their hearts out on campaigns, which is a wonderful thing.  We also see so many people bemoaning the state of voting rights in the United States, and worrying about voter suppression.  Passion runs high - will the election be fair?  Will we have to take to the streets?  Do we really still live in a Democracy?  Will the other side be able to steal the election?

All of this passion and concern is terrific.  However, once the election is over, the fervor dies down.  Sometimes it is slower to fade away, but it inevitably does.  Activists who played such a big part in the GOTV effort go back to their daily lives and families.  Concerned citizens vowing to take to the streets over voter fraud stay home and watch TV once more.  Activism is hard.  It is tiring and at times frustrating.  People can hardly be blamed for wanting a breather in between big races.  But in order for reform to candidate of the hour has been elected or defeated.  That is a challenge.

One of the hopes of the Citizens Election Program is that more people will participate - more  candidates, greater diversity, fewer unopposed races, more citizens getting involved in the process.   Another hope is that the races will be competitive.  Connecticut's primaries are over, and we can get a glimpse of how public financing is working.  Connecticut is the land of steady habits.   In our case, steady habits have meant that over the past several decades, incumbents in the legislature are among the safest in the nation.  While that can work well in many cases where the incumbents do a great job, democracy thrives on competition.  If incumbents feel too safe, they can lost their sense of being accountable to the people they represent.  Healthy competition insures that candidates strive for re-election, and spend time with their constituents.

How has the Citizens Election program faired over the first batch of primaries?  Quite well, it would appear.  Normally Connecticut sees at most a dozen primaries in the legislative races.  This year there were 18.  While incumbents remained somewhat safe, one challenger prevailed in Bridgeport, and several party endorsed candidates were defeated.  As well, the number of unopposed races has dropped fairly dramatically.  According to numbers from the Secretary of State's office show the number dropping from 71 unopposed races in 2006, to 60 this year.  At least 70% of the candidates running in Connecticut will use the program, and many of them have indicated overall satisfaction with the Citizens Election Program so far.

I've spoken with at least five candidates who said they never would have thought of running for office if CEP weren't available.  From single moms and retired bankers, to a retired cop living in the poorest of neighborhoods, folks from all walks of life are stepping up and offering their skills and ideas to the people of Connecticut.  Many candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, are thrilled with the time they have free from fundraising that they can spend attending community events and walking neighborhoods.  People who are facing tight budgets can give five dollars to their candidate and know they made a real difference.  

It's summer time and the living in easy.  But not in Connecticut.  In Connecticut, Democracy is hard at work.

The first of July marks many things.  It is early summer, the kids are out of school, cook outs and firework outings are being planned.  Vacations are nearing, and thoughts turn to sun, sand, and swimming.  The hammock in the back yard swings invitingly, and the lemonade is in the fridge.  Time to sit back and dangle one's toes in the water . . .

But hold on - It is also campaign season.  As others are winding down, candidates all over Connecticut are out door knocking, lit dropping, and doing their best to make their case to the voters.  Connecticut's local conventions have been had, and most candidates have their place on the ballot and have filed their citizens election forms.  With all of this already done - is it too late to decide to run for office?  No, it is not!

Candidates can still use a petition drive to get themselves on the ballot, and can still participate in the Citizens Election Program.  In order to be listed on the ballot, candidates need to garner petition signatures equal to 1% of the number of votes cast in the last election for the office being sought.  But why stop there?  If the candidate keeps going and gets signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast, he or she can get a partial grant from the CEP program.  But heck, now that you have your team in place to get signatures anyway - go for broke!  Signatures equal to 20% of the votes cast in the last election will get a candidate the full Citizens Election grant.  This is really an unprecedented opportunity for petitioning and minor party candidates to be on equal footing with major party candidates.

So all of you folks who ever thought of running for office, get motivated and get out there! With such a great opportunity in front of you, now is not the time to dangle your toes in the water.  Now is the time to get a team together and get signatures and run for office!  There'll be plenty of time to sit back and have a beer in November.

Connecticut is a cute little state with lots to recommend it.  We have miles of shoreline, the best pizza on the planet (honest!), fabulous universities, proximity to both New York and Boston (makes for some interesting baseball discussions at times), quaint white churches, and many other delights.  Why then, did the "Land of Steady Habits" gain the habit of corruption?  Mayors had problems with cocaine, sex crimes, taking bribes, you name it - and  then Governor Rowland excelled in corruption and accepting hot tubs from contractors.  So much went wrong in such a small state. Perhaps the corruption had its roots in the contrast of the extraordinary wealth of Fairfield County with the stark poverty present in Bridgeport and Waterbury.  

The true reasons why may never be elucidated, but the entrenched corruption did no favors to Connecticut's residents.  This is why the ethics reform passed last week is so remarkable.  For Connecticut to become one of the leading states in ethics reform took major efforts on both the part of the legislature and the advocacy groups that strive every day to protect the citizens in our fair state.  Both legislators and activists have wrestled for years to try and enact reform that would be fair and comprehensive.  One issue that was especially difficult to grapple with was the issue of pension revocation.  There were heated arguments on both sides of this issue which searched for middle ground.  Finally, reform was passed that included pension revocation, but left it up to the court's discretion on whether to remove a pension in response to wrong doing by a state employee.  With some wiggle room left for discretion and compassion, the legislation was able to move forward with supporters on all sides, but it took a great effort and much debate to get there.

Connecticut Common Cause played a major part in getting the ethics reform bill passed.  For years we worked with GAE committee leaders on drafting pension revocation language that was both effective and judicious.  This year, we tried to facilitate communications between the House and Senate in adopting a ethics bill that was acceptable to all.  Finally, Common Cause held a joint press conference with legislative leaders on the legislation to shore up public support and ensure that the Governor would back the bill.  Our efforts paid off, and Connecticut will face the future with a clean face and a fresh start.