Common Cause Blog

From Corrupticut to a Leader in Ethics Reform - More Thoughts on Connecticut

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.

Passing Ethics Where it Counts - Connecticut Steps Up to the Plate

Imagine getting a note from your bosses' go to guy requesting a donation - to a favorite charity, to the bosses' bonus fund, to his or her kid's school. The note said, "You'd better pony up for this!" What would you do? Well, in all likelihood, you would whip out your checkbook and start writing. In this economic climate especially, no one wants to put their job in jeopardy.

But how would it make you feel? Somewhat used, I imagine. Perhaps resentful. What if your boss was an elected official, and the chief of staff was hitting you up for a contribution to the bosses' campaign fund? You can't say no and expect to get a good job review ever again, and your boss gets a guaranteed flow of funds into his or her campaign coffers. Oh well, that's the way the game is played, right?

Half the Story

In an article in The Denver Post�yesterday, Aldo Svaldi laid out some interesting information about the reasons why our newspapers are slowly consolidating into a few large hands.

Print newspapers' advertising sales are expected to drop $4.7 billion this year, down to levels last seen in 1996, Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Ginocchio recently predicted.

Publishers can pursue several strategies to avoid default, including selling off assets, raising outside capital or cutting costs to boost their cash flow.

The second part of this story is the impact this kind of change has on democracy. As our newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have gone from many to few, so have the perspectives that are critical in a democracy.

Since 1995, the number of companies owning TV stations has gone down 40%. Since the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Clear Channel has been able to go from the previous 40 radio station limit to owning over 1,200 stations nationwide.

The result has been infotainment, less local news and much of the same pre-packaged content being consumed all over the country.

Although there are real economic reasons for these vast changes, diversity in media ownership has to be a priority.

Ownership limits have to be restored and communities need to find innovative ways to create and maintain local media.

Common Cause Weekly Update - June 11, 2008

Common Cause continues its efforts to hold power accountable.

Abuse of Power: Forging the Path to Recovery

Common Cause hosted a distinguished panel on June 10 to discuss the widespread abuse of power engaged in by the current Administration. The Administration has disregarded the rule of law through over-broad assertions of executive power, abuse of signing statements, and policies that arguably flout the Constitution regarding interrogation, detention, and intelligence gathering. The Congress has repeatedly failed to perform its constitutionally mandated oversight duties in each of these areas.

The panelists were charged with examining these disturbing trends and with considering how best to restore the constitutional constraints that have served our country well since its inception.

Feinstein is key

Rob Arnow posts on Sen. Feinstein and the Fair Elections Now Act at the California Progress Report.

Right here in California, we have a tremendous opportunity, and responsibility, to affect the outcome of this bill. The bill begins its journey in the Rules and Administration Committee in the Senate, of which Dianne Feinstein is the Chair. She hasn't taken a position yet, and the opinions of other elected officials, activists, businesspeople, and regular citizens will be very important to her in how she comes down on the issue.

"A" for Effort, Final Grade for Campaign Finance Reform Still Unknown

On Wednesday, Common Cause/New York, along with our coalition partners Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of New York and NYPIRG issued a Reform Report Card, pointing out that two years after extensive promises of reform in Albany, little has been accomplished.

Final grade, as of today: F. Aware of our criticism, and having been urged on several occasions by CC/NY and its coalition partners to introduce a strong campaign finance bill, Governor Paterson finally got off the dime and announced the details of a bill he plans to introduce - as we were holding our press conference. At least we know we had some effect! You can watch Albany Channel 10's report about the press conference and the Governor's actions.

Citizens' Elections Program takes off in Connecticut

The Connecticut Citizens' Election Program handed the first election grants to qualified candidates at a press conference Tuesday that included some of the state's most prominent elected officials.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, House Majority Leader Rep. Chris Donovan, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and many other officials were on hand to celebrate the arrival of the long-awaited campaign finance reform.

"We expect that we will be changing the face of the elections in CT for good and yes forever. These reforms make Connecticut a national leader in electoral reforms and in fact I believe we are a model for the rest of the nation."

So far, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, 145 candidates have opted into the program, though that number is expected to significantly increase in the coming weeks. CT News Junkie wrote:

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz said it's estimated that 70 to 80 percent of candidates will participate in public financing this year, which is historic when compared to Maine and Arizona where the participation rate was about 30 percent in the first year. She said a federal survey a few years ago found that over time both Maine and Arizona experienced significant increases in the amount of candidates contesting races in both primaries and general elections. And voter participation in these two states has risen about 10 percent since public financing was enacted, Bysiewicz noted. CT News Junkie, June 3, 2008