Cleaning up elections in Connecticut

[billr]

By Hank Hoffman

Take one governor in hot water. Raise heat until the governor goes to prison. Combine with a unified and persistent coalition of reform advocates, and mix in widespread outrage at corruption. Add a dash of bipartisanship. What have you got?

In Connecticut, it's the recipe for breakthrough campaign finance reform.

On November 30, the Connecticut House of Representatives followed the state Senate in approving a measure introducing voluntary public financing for legislative and statewide offices. A week later, Republican Gov. Jodi Rell--who took office after Gov. John Rowland resigned in a corruption scandal--signed it into law.

Advocates, seeking to get big money out of politics, call the key provision "Clean Elections." By raising a specified goal in small contributions, major party candidates can opt to receive a public grant to finance their campaigns rather than go the conventional route of begging from well-heeled interests. The measure also bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits campaign spending for recipients of public financing, and places new restrictions on political action committees, or PACs. Public financing for legislative races takes effect in the 2008 election cycle and in 2010 for statewide offices.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2447/

[Demeter]

1. Yes But, What About the Machines?

There's two sides to election reform--the campaign and the vote counting. Need to fix them both.