Allan Appel File Photo
In her quest to represent New Haven and Hamden in the state legislature, Debra Hauser is relying on money from Woodbridge and over $25,000 from her own pocketbook.
Hauser is vying for the Democratic nomination for New Haven’s only open state legislative seat, in the 96th General Assembly District, which will be vacated by State Rep. Cam Staples at the end of this year. The district comprises parts of Hamden and New Haven, including East Rock, Wooster Square, and Fair Haven.
Hauser faces East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar in a Democratic primary on Aug. 10. One month before they meet at the polls, both camps submitted campaign filings with the state showing where their money is coming from. The filings prompted a debate about what makes a “clean” campaign.
The filings show that Hauser has poured $25,000 of her own money into her campaign, according to papers filed July 10 with the state State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC). That’s more than three times as much money as she has received from all her other donors put together.
Hauser said her personal payments show her commitment to the race.
“I’m putting my money where my mouth is,” she said. “It was something I had to do.”
She said she came into the race at a disadvantage compared to Lemar, because Lemar “has the Democratic machine behind him.” That means he can draw from networks of volunteers that are unavailable to her, Hauser said.
“I did what I had to do to compete,” Hauser said.
Hauser’s payments came as she battled foreclosure after her husband’s bankruptcy.
For other donations, she has relied heavily on the town of Woodbridge.
Hauser has received $2,120 from Woodbridge residents. That’s hundreds of dollars more than she’s received from either Hamden or New Haven.
Lemar pointed to Hauser’s Woodbridge contributions and self-funded checks to contrast the two campaigns.
Paul Bass File Photo
Lemar (at left in photo) is no longer fundraising. That’s because he qualified for state’s Citizens Elections Program. In exchange for limiting donations and expenditures, and showing broad support among small donors, he qualifies for public grant money for his campaign. The more money Hauser spends, the more he gets for his own campaign.
Hauser is not participating in the public campaign finance system. Her fundraising patterns — relying on personal checks and out-of-town donations — are exactly what the program was designed to avoid, he argued.
Hauser’s campaign has spent $27,543.87 so far. Her campaign has $9,586.10 left on hand. Read her July 10 filing here.
Lemar’s campaign has spent $8,703.23 so far. His campaign has $24,079.10 on hand. Read his July 10 filing here.
Self-Funding
Hauser’s $25,000-plus in personal donations came in two forms: Checks she wrote to her own campaign, and expenses she paid that she didn’t seek reimbursement for.
Hauser wrote a check for $5,000 to her campaign on April 13 and one for $10,000 on June 21. She spent another $10,595.51 to date in “campaign expenses paid by candidate.” That’s purchases that she has made herself, not made by her fundraising committee. In the most recent reporting period, it includes her purchase of $9,162.46 in office supplies, t‑shirts, food, lawn signs, consultant fees, and audio-visual equipment. She didn’t ask for reimbursement for any of those purchases, except for one in the amount of $75.
Lemar took aim at that practice.
After former governor John Rowland’s corruption scandals in the 90s, the state came up with a system to encourage candidates to run on “small donations from neighbors,” Lemar said.
“That’s how I’m able to run,” he said. Lemar said he and his family couldn’t afford to put thousands of dollars into his campaign.
“I don’t know how [Hauser] is able to do that,” he said. “I’m still paying off my student loans.”
“Outside Influence”
Hauser received 70 campaign contributions between March 30 and April 30. Of those, 16 came from Hamden, 18 from New Haven, and 16 from Woodbridge. Between March 30 and April 30, Hauser received one campaign contribution: $100 from a Woodbridge resident.
Because of a higher average donation from Woodbridge, Hauser pulled in the most from that town.
She got $2,120 from Woodbridge, $1,550 from New Haven and $1,875 from Hamden. She collected three contributions from out of state.
“You’d think that Woodbridge was the third town in the 96th District,” charged Lemar’s campaign manager, Yale Alderman Mike Jones. Raising money in-district “shows you have greater buy-in across the community,” he argued.
A candidate should be beholden only to the community that he or she seeks to represent, charged Lemar. A candidate’s allegiance can be compromised by raising significant portions of a campaign budget in another district, as Hauser has done, he argued.
Lemar received no campaign contributions during the latest period, according to his filing. During the previous reporting period, 78 of the 84 contributions to his campaign came from New Haven residents. Among those contributions, five came from out of state and one came from Hamden.
Out-of-district contributions are precisely what the public campaign financing system was designed to prevent, Lemar said. Hauser’s checks from Woodbridge are a “perfect example of what we’re trying to avoid,” he said.
The system was created so that candidates would be connected to their districts, he said. “Connecticut has an embarrassing history of outside influences.”
Hauser defended her Woodbridge fundraising.
“I lived in Woodbridge for 10 years,” she said. When she began raising money for her campaign, she turned first to her friends and family in Woodbridge, she said.
Hauser said she is hosting two large New Haven fundraisers in July and anticipates that her contributions from New Haven and Hamden will eventually dwarf those from Woodbridge.
“It’s taken a while to get fundraising up to speed,” she said. “You always go to friends and family first.”
Hauser defended her choice to opt out of the public campaign finance program. She did so because it was “in legal limbo,” she said. “It’s still in legal limbo.”
“I firmly endorse the citizens election program,” she said.
Hauser said she feels that Lemar has mischaracterized her campaign as “unclean.”
She said Lemar campaign literature has referred to the system as the “clean elections” programs rather than the “citizens election” program. “The implicit reference is that I am somehow dirty,” said Hauser.
“Using my own money is a way to show my commitment,” she said. “I reject the notion that I am running an unclean campaign.”
Let me get this straight - Hauser, as President and CEO of a business, had her business declare bankruptcy last year to avoid paying her bills. Then her husband declared bankruptcy to avoid paying their bills, then they stopped paying their mortgage, went into foreclosure proceedings for the past 9 months to avoid paying their bills, all the while Hauser is contributing $25k to her campaign????????
How much higher are our interests rates because of [her] actions????
Deb, this is embarrassing.