{news} Sec of State files against Greens cam. fin. lawsuit(press release)

[Tim McKee]

  News Published: Jan 5, 2010 - 1:06 PM
------------------------------

  Bysiewicz: Uphold clean elections

By Secretary of the State's Office


*Files Brief With Court of Appeals*

F<http://www.zazzle.com/api/create/at-238521934413607344?rf=238521934413607344&ax=Linkover&pd=168378850114147703&fwd=ProductPage&ed=false&headline=Bysiewicz:%20Uphold%20clean%20elections&published=Jan%205,%202010%20-%201:06%20PM>
Calling
on the courts to uphold Connecticut’s landmark clean elections law,
Secretary of the State and potential gubernatorial candidate Susan Bysiewicz
today filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit, making her the first candidate to officially urge the Court
to reverse the District Court judgment that struck down the clean elections
law in August (Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield, 648 F.Supp.2d 298 (D.
Conn. 2009).

Bysiewicz, a long?time advocate for clean elections and strict campaign
finance reforms, makes the case that invalidating the Citizens Election
Program (CEP) so close to the upcoming primary and general elections will
create an inequitable campaign environment for candidates who have
participated in the program in good faith. The CEP provides public campaign
financing grants to qualified candidates for state office provided that they
adhere to strict fundraising and spending limits.

"The Citizens Election Program was a giant leap forward to combat the
corruption that has marred Connecticut politics in recent years," said
Bysiewicz. “Now, we risk not just falling backward, but creating harmful new
disruptions to an election in?process. For that reason, it is vital that the
Court hear from someone this law directly affects, an actual candidate who
has pledged to participate in the Citizen Election Program in 2010."

The CEP was developed and adopted as law following multiple state and
municipal corruption scandals that have marked Connecticut’s recent
political history. In August 2009, a federal judge ruled the CEP
unconstitutional based on a lawsuit filed by Connecticut’s Green and
Libertarian Parties. In her action, Bysiewicz joins Connecticut Common Cause
and Connecticut Citizen Action Group to support the program and the
principles on which the CEP was founded.

Bysiewicz argues that the first step must be to provide a fair and
consistent set of rules for the 2010 elections. However, she pledged to
continue her fight to protect and fine tune a system of campaign financing
that allows qualified candidates, regardless of personal wealth, to run for
public office in the years to come. “I’ve spent the better part of two
decades trying to encourage young people to get involved in our political
process and in government. Public campaign financing ensures that anyone can
run for public office, not just the wealthiest among us or those supported
by special interest money,” said Bysiewicz.

“By establishing the CEP, we leveled the playing field so that ideas could
take the place of dollars. We cannot afford to go back in time where offices
could be bought and money counted more than anything,” said Bysiewicz.
“Connecticut needs the CEP in 2010; but we’ll continue to need it in order
to attract the best, the brightest, and the most committed public servants
in the future.”



© Copyright by ConnecticutPlus.com. Some articles and pictures posted on our
website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and
do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of ConnecticutPlus.com,
Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been
edited for brevity and grammar.


-- 
*************************************************
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)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20100107/b453ec5f/attachment.html>