Markeshia Ricks Photo
Winfield with supporters at Sunday’s announcement.
New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield and State Rep. Robyn Porter are running for reelection through a program recently in the crosshairs of their party’s plan for closing the state’s $500 million deficit — the clean elections fund.
So far, neither Porter or Winfield has an opponent this election cycle. That didn’t stop the two legislators from Newhallville from talking about the value of the public-financing program during a joint reelection announcement event that drew over 50 supporters to The Greek Olive Sunday afternoon.
Porter address Greek Olive gathering.
The clean elections program, also known as the Citizens Election Fund, was established in 2005 after former Gov. John Rowland was busted taking gifts from state contractors. The idea was to limit the influence of large private donors on elections and to limit corruption in government.
Both Porter and Winfield, who are Democrats, said they are running again using the voluntary program, which requires them to raise $5,000 and $15,000, respectively, through small dollar contributions of $5 to $100. Porter needs 150 such contributions; Winfield 300. Once they meet those thresholds they qualify for government grant money. In turn they agree to limitations on big donations and political action committee contributions.
Democratic leaders last fall proposed suspending the program for a year to help close an emergency budget deficit. (That didn’t happen in the end.) Legislators are girding for another round of emergency budget-cutting in coming months, and Porter and Winfield said they’re ready to fight to preserve it from new threats. A new budget deficit of at least $350 million has materialized in the coming fiscal year’s budget.
They said they couldn’t have won state legislative office without the program.
Winfield, Porter and Kenneth McClary.
“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but since I’ve started, I have to admit that it is a huge passion that is already within me — my passion for people and my love for community,” said Porter, who first won her seat in a special election in 2014. “There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of heavy lifting this session with everything going on with the budget cuts, what the governor is proposing, and even this issue of the Clean Election Fund program. That’s why we’re running.”
Porter said if reelected she plans as well to push for family medical leave and a “ban the box” provision aimed at helping ex-convicts obtain jobs.
Porter, Laura Lillian Best and Ron Ward.
Winfield who went from local activist to politician when he was first elected to the legislature in 2008, has played a pivotal role in pushing the “Second Chance Society” criminal justice reforms and abolishing the death penalty. He serves on both the Appropriations and Finance committees and chairs the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task force. He said he didn’t stand a chance in 2008 in getting elected against the “New Haven Machine” without the help of a clean election system.
“The clean elections system allowed somebody who had spent a number of years being an agitator in this city to become somebody who could run a real campaign,” he said.
Winfield addresses the gathering.
“So to us that’s important because the clean election system allows the voices that are not allowed in politics, and that’s what these campaigns are about. They’re about voices that are not allowed. People sometimes tell you that people go to Washington or Hartford, and there aren’t people that have a voice. Those people have a voice and their voice isn’t being heard. And what the clean election system allows is those voices to be heard in the space.”