{news} Sec of State files against Greens cam. fin. lawsuit

[Tim McKee]

 Candidates Debate Campaign Financing Options As Court Date
Approaches<http://ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/candidates_debate_campaign_financing_options_as_court_date_approaches/>

by Christine Stuart | Jan 5, 2010 1:27pm
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Christine Stuart photo

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz
It’s hard to play the game if you don’t know the rules. Just ask all the
people running for statewide offices—who have no idea what rules will end up
governing how they raise money.

Gubernatorial candidate Susan Bysiewicz went to court Tuesday to help her
and all her opponents get some answers. She asked the court to clarify the
fundraising rules for 2010.

“We just need to know what the rules are,“ Bysiewicz said Tuesday. She said
that’s why she filed this amicus brief </upload/CEP_Amicus_Brief.pdf> with
the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I decided to file this brief because time is of the essence. We are just
five months away from our state convention and eight months away from a
statewide primary and we need to know the rules,” Bysiewicz said.

Bysiewicz was submitting a brief in the case of the Green Party v.
Connecticut. In that case, the appeals court is deciding whether to throw
out the state’s existing public financing law, as a federal judge ruled last
August.<http://ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/updated_federal_judge_overturns_public_campaign_financing_state_promises_to/>


In a visit to the Capitol press room Tuesday Bysiewicz said she filed the
brief with the court to give it a candidates’ perspective of how disruptive
throwing out the public system could be to the 2010 election. The Second
Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case on Jan. 13.

Ned Lamont, another Democratic candidate exploring a run for governor in
2010, said Tuesday that he really thinks it’s important “they clarify the
rules of the road.” The ambiguity isn’t good for any of the candidates, he
said.

He said he hopes the court rules expeditiously, but won’t be basing his
decision to jump from an exploratory committee to a candidate committee on
the courts decision.

“I’ve got to make up my mind about whether we move from an exploratory to a
candidate committee and whether we take taxpayer financing or not,” Lamont
said.

He said he’d have his answer sometime next month.

At the moment Lamont said he’s raising small donations from individuals and
keeping with the spirit of the public campaign finance law, however, he
didn’t rule out self-funding his campaign should he decide to become a full
blown candidate.

At least one of the two Republican candidates for governor has said they he
won’t participate in the public finance system and will raise money
privately. That candidate is Greenwich businessman and former Ambassador to
Ireland Tom Foley.

“I’m not sure the Democrats want to fight with one arm tied behind their
backs,” Lamont said.

While Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy said he sees Lamont’s point, he said he
doesn’t believe it’s a good enough reason to ignore the whole Citizens
Election program.

“In order for CEP to survive it needs the full and complete support of the
entire Democratic Party,” Malloy said in a press release Monday.

“That means more than just words. It means actually utilizing a program that
so many Democrats worked so hard to create,” Malloy said. “If a well-known
Democrat such as Ned chooses not to do so, it could deal a major blow to the
system’s future. It’s time to prove that our actions and our ideals are more
than just rhetoric.”

Malloy said Tuesday that he doesn’t understand why the General Assembly
hasn’t acted to correct the problems U.S. District Court Judge Stefan
Underhill pointed out with the system when he decided it was
“unconstitutional.”

“If the legislature had acted the Court of Appeals wouldn’t be hearing the
appeal because it would have been moot,” Malloy said.

Other Democrats running for governor who plan to participate in the public
campaign system include Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, former
House Speaker James Amann, and state Sen. Gary LeBeau. Republican Lt. Gov.
Michael Fedele has also pledged to participate in the public campaign
system.




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Tim McKee -National Committee of the Green Party for the state of
Connecticut, New Britain,CT
(860)778-1304 Cell- best way to reach me
(860) 505-8454 (H)
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