Forbes - November 19, 2008

Karen Houghtaling, a Waterbury waitress and receptionist, fell 74 votes shy this summer of defeating a veteran state representative in the Democratic primary.

Her supporters said Wednesday the political newcomer wouldn't have been able to wage such a tough fight against Rep. John "Corky" Mazurek if not for Connecticut's new, voluntary public financing system.

"Here's a person who was interested in running in her democracy. She had the chance to run," said Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the legislature's elections committee. "Under the old system of ad books and money from lobbyists and special interests, she wouldn't have had the money to do it."

The state's Elections Enforcement Commission held the first of two hearings Wednesday to gather comment on the initiative, known as the Citizens Election Program. A second hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

For the most part, both successful and unsuccessful candidates, and their campaign managers, had high praise for the system - considered the most far-reaching state public financing system in the country.

New York Times Editorial - August 6, 2008

This election season, Connecticut may finally erase the taint of political corruption it acquired after scandals sent two mayors, a former governor and a state senator to prison. Public disgust led to a law establishing a voluntary public campaign financing system for state officeholders. This is the first full year of the new system, and participation is excellent: only 10 of 225 candidates have indicated that they will not use taxpayer money.

The rest of the country will be watching to see how well the system works. Though not perfect, it’s a great improvement over the status quo. Public financing has invigorated democracy in New York City and states like Arizona and Maine.

In Connecticut, candidates must first obtain a minimum number of $5 donations in private money from district voters before qualifying for public money. They must also agree to limit spending, and they may not accept donations from state contractors or lobbyists. To keep the playing field level, larger grants are available to candidates whose opponents refuse public financing.

Tuesday was the official launch of a system to publicly finance elections in Connecticut called the "Citizens' Election Program" which was passed in 2005 and was first utilized in special elections held last year. Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters were among the organizations thanked for their efforts in pushing for this landmark campaign finance reform.

CCAG will be urging the passage of legislation that requires individuals who lobby municipal officials to report themselves as lobbyists as is required at the state level. We will also be supporting a bill that forbids people who have been banned from serving on any public corporations’ Board of Directors from serving on public and quasi public state boards.

Testimony of Phil Sherwood
Before the GAE, Monday, February 25th, 2008

Good morning Senator Slossberg, Representative Caruso and other members of the GAE committee. My name is Phil Sherwood, I am the Legislative Director for the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG). CCAG has approximately 30,000 member families across CT and I appreciate the opportunity to comment on several bills before your committee today.

CCAG supports both H. B. 5504 AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL LOBBYING and H. B. 5505 AN ACT CONCERNING THE CITIZENS' ELECTION PROGRAM.

Greenwich Time - January 26, 2008

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

January 26, 2008

Connecticut, which uses the same voting machines blamed for discrepancies in the New Hampshire presidential primaries, has a number of added safeguards to prevent similar problems on Super Tuesday, state election officials said.

"We have many checks in place to ensure the integrity and security of the election process," Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said in an interview.

VoteTrustUSA - January 22, 2008

By Connecticut Citizen Election Audit Coalition
January 22, 2008
Four good government groups have proposed 18 recommendations to improve the state’s post-election audit process to assure the integrity of the vote in Connecticut.

Hartford Courant - December 2, 2007

Bill Curry

December 2, 2007

Four years ago today, John Rowland told us he wasn't the sort of guy to take illicit gifts. A week later he said that wasn't exactly true. A month later he went on TV to admit he'd lied. He swore he did nothing for his benefactors — a monumental whopper made worse for being offered up in the midst of a supposed confession.