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.

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?

Last week we in the Connecticut office were fortunate enough to have Bob Edgar visit our small state.  While planning his visit, we  knew we had to have at least one event with our activist community.  We are so lucky in Connecticut to have a large group of people dedicated to grassroots activity.  They've stood on street corners every Saturday for five years holding up signs to try and stop the Iraq War.  They came in droves to phone bank for campaign finance reform.  They door knock and lit drop and attend rallies and marches.  Connecticut Activists Rock!  And in August of 2006 they helped pull off a primary upset that sent signals around the nation when Ned Lamont beat Senator Lieberman. But as the war wears on, as our national government continues to be run my the money machine, as our media keeps on embracing its role as the corporate mouth piece, activists are getting tired.  Is their tireless work actually producing any fruit?

What better way to help keep these dedicated troops energized and to introduce Dr. Edgar to some of the best folks in the state then by hosting a forum with both Dr. Edgar and Ned Lamont?  Both of these men know first hand how important the grassroots are to any effort to speak truth to power - and so the plan was set in motion.  Follow me after the jump and I'll tell you how the evening went.

They say that one of the best ways of dealing with high blood pressure is to get more exercise.  I've been thinking about how this applies to the political sphere.  Every time I hear some political figure say something stupid on TV my blood boils.  Some people throw their shoes at the TV.  That is a little bit of exercise.  Others put up well thought out blog posts online.  That is a bit better, though less aerobic.  But, if you want a real workout that will make you feel a lot better, try this.  Try running for office.

Connecticut's public funding of campaigns makes it much easier to get started, sort of like one of those discount offers that gyms have to try and get you in the door.  This isn't to say that you won't have to work hard.  You will.  It remains a challenge to think out a strong persuasive message.  It remains a challenge to get the necessary small donors to give you enough to qualify for public financing.  It remains a challenge to get out and talk with as many voters as possible.  I know. I did it.  I did it before there was the public financing, so the fundraising was even more difficult.

This morning I was privileged to address the Connecticut State Convention of Missionary Baptists.  There, in a room of about 200 people, I was the lone white person - talking to a huge crowd who came to the convention to discuss their religion, praise God, and commune with fellow Baptists.  I was nervous beforehand.  Would these good people really want to listen to a white activist talking about something that had nothing to do with their convention or mission?  I had confidence that I would be politely received, but was unsure whether I could generate any enthusiasm for the program.

At times it feels like the work we do to bring fairness to our government is endless.  No sooner do we gain one victory, than we need to confront another injustice.  It can be discouraging.  Yet by looking at it a little differently, it can be very empowering.  It is the timeless nature of our work for justice that is empowering.

When I was six years old our country was involved in a senseless war far away.  We had a President that thought he was above the
law and ended up resigning in disgrace and members of Common Cause gathered to work together to address the problems our nation faced.  There was camaraderie and friendship.  These friendships have lasted over the years as one injustice gets beaten back after another.  These friendships have passed from generation to generation.

Last night, volunteers gathered at the Connecticut Common Cause office, to continue the tradition, to fight for what is right, to renew friendships, and to bring new, young people into the fold.

It was my first evening as a senior organizer at one of these events.  It was my daughter's first evening, as a six year old, at one of these events.  We have both come away with deeper commitment to Common Cause and all it stands for.

I stand in awe of all that our Connecticut Common Cause members have done over the years.  Truly it is amazing to see what a concerned body of citizens can do if they work together and speak truth to power.  From civil rights to open government to ethics reform, over the years our members have always come out to help us fight the good fight.

After all they have done, what can we do to repay them?  The best thing we can do is to take on the mantle of reform they have upheld and pass it to a new generation of activists and volunteers.  Last night I saw this in action as my six year old daughter sat with a group of new volunteers and regaled them with tales of kindergarten as they assembled candidate kits to help our Citizens Elections candidates navigate the rules of the new program.  The discussion around the table as we worked ranged from recess to Presidential candidate attitudes about campaign finance reform to environmental issues of the day.  This group of new volunteers came together in response to an e-mail call to action and found new friendships and fellowship, ate some pizza, and got some great work done as well.  

It is heartening to know that even with people's busy lives, they will still come out and volunteer for a cause they believe in.

In 2004, inspired by Howard Dean's amazing campaign, I ran for State Representative in Connecticut's 149th assembly district.  I had never been involved in politics to any great extent before Governor Dean's Presidential bid, and yet when I got interested in politics, I fell hard.  Initially a complete political novice, I ended up running the house party program in Connecticut for Dean, and served on the Dean for CT steering committee.  When he ended his campaign, Governor Dean asked his supporters to run for office.  My husband looked into the races in our area, and found the State Rep seat in our district had been unopposed for almost 10 years.  So I threw my hat in the ring.

I quickly found that running for office is time intensive and exhausting - but surprisingly not that difficult, with one exception.  That exception was fundraising.  I had all sorts of help in terms of strategy and campaign advice.  There were free campaign trainings available in Connecticut, and I had a very helpful mentor in the legislature.   Volunteers from the Dean campaign in Connecticut were generous with their time and helped me out a great deal.  I had all the pieces in place - except the money.  I am naturally a pretty shy and reserved person, and it was very very difficult for me to call people and ask for their money.  Intellectually I understood that the money wasn't for me personally, but it was still very very difficult for me to make those calls.  As well, I was fairly unknown in the district except among the local grassroots community (who unfortunately were not wealthy enough to fund my campaign).  I tried my college alumni list which produced some results, and raised some money over the internet.  It was a struggle to get past about $5000.  My opponent, meanwhile, a well liked incumbent, had no trouble raising almost $40,000 in the blink of an eye.   I was extremely fortunate in that Governor Dean ended up coming to my house to host a fundraiser for me, and we ended up raising about $9000 total - enough for a couple mailings and some lawn signs.