{news} Associated Press story on Campaign Reforms Challenged-Went out on AP wire

Fri Jul 7 23:25:53 EDT 2006

ACLU Files Campaign Finance Lawsuit 

By PAT EATON-ROBB
The Associated Press

July 6 2006, 2:41 PM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A group including third-party candidates, lobbyists and
the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit today seeking to
block Connecticut's new campaign financing system.

The law, which Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed on Dec. 7, 2005, includes a
voluntary public financing system for campaigns beginning with the 2008
election cycle.

It also bans campaign contributions from lobbyists, state contractors and
their families in an effort to eliminate incentives for corruption and
contract steering.

The bans apply to employees who spend as little as 10 percent of their time
lobbying the General Assembly, and would even include a worker at a
child-care center who manages a contract that is even partly funded by the
state, said Renee Redman, the legal director of the ACLU's Connecticut
chapter.

"These limitations severely impinge the freedoms of speech and association,
and we know of no justification for such severe limitations," she said.

Lobbyist Betty Gallo, a plaintiff, said that under the law she won't even be
able to answer questions about lawmakers from friends who are considering
making campaign donations.

"I can no longer serve as a campaign manager for a state race. I cannot even
give a $25 contribution to a friend running for office," she said. "I do not
think prohibiting these activities makes the political process better or
somehow takes corruption out of government. It does violate my rights."

The plaintiffs also argue that the new public financing system unfairly
benefits major party candidates.

Candidates would qualify for public financing of $25,000 for a House race,
$85,000 for a Senate contest and $3 million to seek the governor's office if
they meet private fundraising thresholds of $5,000 for a House campaign,
$15,000 for a Senate race and $250,000 for governor.

To obtain the same money given to Democrats and Republicans, minor-party and
petitioning candidates must not only raise that money, but also collect
signatures from eligible voters equal to 20 percent of the turnout in the
most recent election for the office.

Based on a turnout of more than 1 million voters statewide in 2002, a minor
party candidate for governor would have to collect more than 200,000
signatures to qualify for full funding.

"The Connecticut legislators who drafted this law in the dead of night knew
that they were creating a system that would perpetuate two classes of
political parties that are separate and unequal," said S. Michael Derosa, a
plaintiff in the lawsuit and the Green Party's candidate for secretary of
the state. "Some of us in the Green Party call this the 'No Incumbent Left
Behind System."'

Andy Sauer, executive director of Connecticut Common Cause, which fought for
the legislation, said similar challenges to the federal presidential public
financing program were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court 30 years ago.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he will vigorously
defend the law.

"The legislature rightfully believed that public financing was critical to
eliminating abuses in the present system, and these public policy goals are
entitled to respect," he said. "Minor party candidates continue to have
access to public funding if they meet the threshold established by the
legislature." 

Copyright 2006 Associated Press 

   _____  

From: ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org
[mailto:ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org] On Behalf Of smderosa
Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 11:15 PM
To: 'clifford thornton'; 'ctgp-news'
Subject: {news} Journal Inquiry story on Campaign Reforms Challenged

07/07/2006	
ACLU, minor parties, challenge campaign finance system 	
By Keith M. Phaneuf , Journal Inquirer 	

The long-anticipated court challenge to Connecticut's new campaign financing
system arrived Thursday, as the state chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union brought its case to federal court. 
Joining the ACLU were Connecticut's Green and Libertarian parties, along
with veteran Capitol lobbyist Betty Gallo, who argued the legislation
adopted in 2005 and revised this past spring stacks the election deck in
favor of incumbents from the two major parties.

Advertisement

HYPERLINK
"http://oascentral.zwire.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.poweronemedia.co
m/300X250.html/@Top?x" 
HYPERLINK
"http://servedby.advertising.com/click/site=0000708474/mnum=0000360888/genr=
1/tkdt=B0P0R1T0/cstr=14028934=_44af2299,2985439721,708474^360888^1^0,1_/bnum
=14028934" \nClick to learn more... 
HYPERLINK
"http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/redirect.cfm?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&B
RD=985"Click Here! 
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford, also charges that
restrictions barring lobbyists from contributing to or working on state
campaigns infringes on their First Amendment rights.

"For the sake of political expediency, the General Assembly passed and the
governor signed deeply flawed legislation that plays fast and loose with the
constitutional rights of both candidates and their supporters," ACLU of
Connecticut Executive Director Roger C. Vann said.

"We consider this law an act of blatant discrimination against third-party
and independent candidates," added S. Michael DeRosa, co-chairman of the
Green Party, who labeled the new system the "no incumbent left behind law."

Connecticut earned praise from both politicians and advocacy groups
nationwide last year when, after a nearly yearlong fight, the
Democrat-controlled legislature and Republican governor agreed on a bill
that establishes public financing for all state elections after 2006.

That bill also bans all lobbyists, state contractors, and their spouses from
making political contributions, and reduces - but doesn't eliminate -
political action committee activity and the use of business funds in
politics through the sale of ads in program books.

The first hurdle candidates seeking public financing must clear is to obtain
a threshold level of contributions from private individuals in small
amounts, not exceeding $100.

For example, candidates could qualify for public financing of $25,000 for a
state House race if they collect $5,000 in threshold funding. For $85,000
for a Senate contest, the threshold level is $15,000, and to receive $3
million in public money to wage a gubernatorial campaign it takes $250,000
in start-up contributions.

Renee C. Redman, legal director for the Connecticut ACLU, said the group
believes this burden, which all potential publicly funded candidates face,
is too great.

But there are extra burdens for independent and minor-party candidates.

Independents and candidates from new minor parties seeking the same money
also must collect signatures from eligible voters equal to 20 percent of the
turnout in the most recent election for the office.

Candidates from established minor parties can avoid that hurdle if their
party received at least 20 percent of the vote for the office being sought
in the prior election. If the party received at least 10 percent, a reduced
public grant is available. If the 10 percent mark isn't achieved, a
minor-party candidate seeking public money must go the petitioning route.

Andrew Sauer, executive director of Common Cause of Connecticut and a major
advocate of the campaign finance legislation, defended these standards,
saying they are designed to ensure public money is sent only to serious
candidates.

"You shouldn't be able to receive thousands of public dollars with little or
nothing required," he said.

Sauer and many Connecticut lawmakers acknowledged two years ago that the ban
on lobbyist and contractor contributions could come under fire, but said
even if that provision is struck down, the legislature likely would have an
opportunity to amend the law and allow only very modest contributions.

"The state's burden now is to show it has a compelling interest in banning
these contributions," Sauer added. "Why not have this debate in a public
court of law?"

Gallo said the law leaves her out of the campaign system entirely, stopping
her from giving a candidate even $25, or helping out on a friend's campaign
committee.

"I do not think prohibiting these activities makes the political process
better or somehow takes corruption out of government," she said. "It does
violate my rights."

The bans apply to employees who spend as little as 10 percent of their time
lobbying the General Assembly, and would even include a worker at a
child-care center who manages a contract that is even partly funded by the
state, Redman said.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he would defend the law
vigorously.

"The legislature rightfully believed that public financing was critical to
eliminating abuses in the present system, and these public policy goals are
entitled to respect," he said. "Minor-party candidates continue to have
access to public funding if they meet the threshold established by the
legislature."

This story includes Associated Press reporting. 

   _____  

From: ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org
[mailto:ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org] On Behalf Of clifford thornton
Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 10:30 AM
To: ctgp-news
Subject: {news} Campaign Reforms Challenged

HYPERLINK
"http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctaclu0707.artjul07,0,5354492.story?co
ll=hc-headlines-local"http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctaclu0707.artjul
07,0,5354492.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

CONNECTICUT NEWS

Campaign Reforms Challenged

 HYPERLINK "http://www.courant.com/images/standard/blackpix.gif"ACLU Lawsuit
Says New Law Violates Rights Of Some Donors, Hurts Minor Parties
July 7, 2006 
By MARK PAZNIOKAS, Courant Staff Writer 

The sweeping campaign finance reforms passed last year by the General
Assembly violate free-speech rights of certain political donors and
discriminate against minor political parties, the American Civil Liberties
Union of Connecticut said in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.

In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford, the ACLU asked
Judge Robert N. Chatigny to block the new system of publicly financing
campaigns from taking effect in the 2008 election cycle unless legislative
changes are made next year.

"For the sake of political expediency, the General Assembly passed and the
governor signed fundamentally flawed legislation that plays fast and loose
with the constitutional rights of both candidates and their supporters,"
said Roger C. Vann, executive director of the ACLU.

Hailed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Democratic legislative leaders as model
legislation, the 2005 law has two constitutional flaws in the view of the
ACLU and five other plaintiffs: minor-party candidates cannot obtain public
financing as easily as Democrats and Republicans, and a ban on so-called
special interest contributions is overly broad.

Lobbyists, state contractors and immediate family members are barred from
contributing to campaigns or soliciting donations, violating their
free-speech rights, the ACLU said. Rell and legislators had been advised
that a total ban was legally risky, but they could restrict contributions.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the law was constitutional and
would be defended in court.

"The legislature rightfully believed that public financing was critical to
eliminating abuses in the present system - and these public policy goals are
entitled to respect," Blumenthal said.

The law created a Citizens' Election Fund under which qualifying candidates
who agree to spending limits can obtain grants to finance primary and
general election campaigns, starting with the 2008 elections. General
election grants range from $25,000 for a House race to $3 million for
governor.

Joining the ACLU as plaintiffs are: Betty Gallo, a lobbyist whose clients
include the ACLU; Joanne P. Philips, a Democratic activist whose husband is
a lobbyist for the Connecticut Bar Association; Michael DeRosa, a Green
Party leader and candidate for secretary of the state; the Green Party; and
the Libertarian Party.

The suit says Gallo is excluded from making contributions as a lobbyist,
while Philips is effectively barred from political fundraising because she
is married to a lobbyist. Gallo and Philips each have managed political
campaigns and made and solicited contributions.

The ACLU said minor party candidates effectively are prohibited from public
financing by a provision requiring that the party received at least 10
percent of the vote in the prior election. Petitioning candidates can
qualify only if they gather signatures from voters equal to at least 10
percent of the votes cast for that office in the last election.

As originally approved, the thresholds were higher. Legislators dropped them
to 10 percent this year.

"They thought they were making a good effort to bridge the gap," said Andy
Sauer, the executive director of Connecticut Common Cause.

But they still are too high, the plaintiffs said.

"The onerous requirements in this law stack the deck against third parties
and make it almost impossible for Green Party candidates to receive campaign
funding," DeRosa said.

Rep. Christopher L. Caruso, D-Bridgeport, one of the law's chief sponsors,
said the legislature set reasonable standards for minor candidates to meet
before they can obtain public financing.

"They can access the system. It doesn't lock them out of it," he said.

Rich Harris, a spokesman for Rell, said the governor was open to changes
that might improve the law, but she believed the system was constitutional
as currently constructed.

Contact Mark Pazniokas at mpazniokas at courant.com. 

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.9/382 - Release Date: 7/4/2006

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.9/382 - Release Date: 7/4/2006

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.9/382 - Release Date: 7/4/2006

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.9/382 - Release Date: 7/4/2006

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20060707/3862ddbf/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: @Topx
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20060707/3862ddbf/attachment.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: optn=1
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 16542 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20060707/3862ddbf/attachment-0001.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: bannerad.asp?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&BRD=985&LOCALPCT=50&AREA=410&VERT=6543&NAREA=410&barnd=3254
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20060707/3862ddbf/attachment-0002.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: blackpix.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 35 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20060707/3862ddbf/attachment.gif>