Follow the money. Any time there is a whiff of corruption in government, someone says "follow the money and you'll find the problem." Too often, that someone is right. Every day we hear about major contributors gaining too much access and having to strong a role in writing policy. The truth is that money is power right now in politics. Candidates spend excessive amounts trying to get elected. Men and women newly elected to Congress can't do their jobs effectively because as soon as they are elected, they have to turn right around and start raising money to get re-elected. Just so they can start the cycle over again.
What can we do? Well, we are incredibly lucky here in Connecticut, because a bunch of very hard working legislators and activists worked together to pass campaign finance reform and set up the Citizens' Election Program. The legislative elections coming in November will be the first general election to take advantage of this program. Maine and Arizona instituted similar programs several years ago, and both states have seen great success. In Arizona, the number of small contributors to gubernatorial campaigns increased by 243% in four years. In Maine, 84% of the legislature is now "Clean" (having used the Clean Elections program).
So what does this mean for you - the voter sitting at your computer perusing the blogs? How are you affected?
Well, first of all, let's talk about the state of the Connecticut Legislature. In 2006 there were 52 unopposed races in the House and 7 in the Senate. That's 34% of incumbent State Reps in the House had no opponent, and almost 20% of State Senators. So it is quite possible that your legislator had no opponent last election. No opponent means fewer opportunities for accountably or meaningful discussions about policies. No opponent means that incumbents have less impetus to actually listen to their constituents and represent their views. Of course not all incumbents ignore their constituents' needs. There are plenty of great Representatives and Senators that do a wonderful job despite being unopposed. However, power corrupts, and letting incumbents remain unchallenged lends itself to a system which tends to put the desires of special interest groups over the needs of citizens.
Before the Citizens' Election Program came into existence, the barrier of entry to running for office was pretty high. New candidates were faced with the need to raise enormous sums of money. It takes more than $20,000 to win a typical House race, and almost $80,000 for an average Senate seat. In parts of the state these figures are even higher. So many qualified potential candidates turned away from the idea of running for state office because of the enormity of the challenge. Now, however, all of that has changed. The Citizens' Election Program provides the funds so that candidates can spend more time meeting voters and talking about issues. It is simple and straightforward - and I'll outline how below. So you - blogger, citizen, voter, activist - run for office! No matter what side of the aisle you prefer, this system is set up so that you can run. You can recruit your neighbor, dentist, or mom to run. Democracy thrives on choices and debate of the issues. In districts where incumbents run unopposed, voters rarely get a chance to hear about policy, discuss issues or get their opinions heard. We have the opportunity to change all that now. We have the opportunity to increase the diversity in the legislature and elect officials that truly represent us - the people. And isn't that what our Founding Fathers intended for us?
OK, so how does an ordinary person go about running for office under these new laws? It isn't hard. Here we go . . .
1) File a declaration of intent with State Elections enforcement so they know you are thinking of running and using the program. All of the forms can be found on the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission Site.
2) Collect Qualifying Contributions from your district. Candidates running for State Rep need to collect $5,000 and State Senate candidates need $15,000. You can do this by calling your friends and neighbors, by holding spaghetti dinners - however you want. If you are running for State Rep, 150 of your contributions need to be from towns within the district and if you are running for State Senate, 300 do (these all need to be from $5 to $100). One more thing - lobbyists and certain state contractors, as well as their immediate family members, can't contribute.
3) Send in your application to the SEEC. Both the candidate and the Treasurer need to sign this application. You'll need to account for contributions received and your expenditures, and the SEEC will need to approve your application.
4) Go knock on doors, debate your opponent, get in the paper, and let people know what you are all about! You'll get $25,000 if you are running for State Rep and $85,000 if you are running for State Senate to help you get your message out. Additional funds will be available if you are in a primary, or if your opponent isn't running under the Citizens' Election Program and out spends you.
5) Have fun! Running for office is a great way to influence the debate on issues that are important to you. Legislators have a vital job here in Connecticut, and with the new program we can make sure that our government truly is of the people, by the people, and for the people.
