GOP Candidate Qualifies For Democracy Fund $ For First Time

The Fund’s board approved the disbursements Wednesday night at its monthly meeting.

This is the first time a Republican candidate has qualified for public money since New Haven launched the system, the only municipal public-financing process of its kind in Connecticut, in 2007.

This is also the first time that two major-party candidates are participating in the Fund, which is voluntary.

Who says democracy is dead?

Both candidates qualified for the $20,000 grant given to participants who raise over 200 contributions of at least $10 from local registered voters and vote at least $5,000 cash on hand.

The rest of the candidates’ disbursements were matching dollars for contributions above $10 from local voters, up to $30.

The decision by both candidates to participate in the program ​“shows how important” the city have come to see the Fund, its administrator, Alyson Heimer, said Thursday during an appearance on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven” program.

Candidates who participate in the Fund agree to cap individual contributions at $390 (rather than $1,000), swear off political action committee donations, cap expenditures at $390,000, and participate in a debate in return for the money.

That debate in this campaign took place Tuesday night at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School. Click here to read about it and watch it.

Heimer has administered the Fund for seven years. She considers it a calling.

“I love this job,” she said. ​“It gives a voice to people who might not otherwise be able to have their voice heard.”

Now that the Fund has operated for 14 years, its board is reviewing what has worked well and what can be improved or changed, with an eye on how other cities nationwide have run public-financing system.

For instance, New Haven offers a ​“hybrid” system: a mix of a one-time grant (the $20,000) and then 2 – 1 matching funds. New York and San Francisco offer only the matching funds —at a 6 – 1 rate, not a 2 – 1 rate. do not offer grants like New Haven’s. Heimer said that’s one issue the board will explore, along with whether lowering the number of contributors a candidate needs to qualify for the fund; lower the amount of individual contributions eligible for matches from $10 to $5; and raising the amount the Fund matches on each qualifying contribution from $30 to $50.

Also under discussion will be whether to include other citywide offices, like clerk and voting registrar and (half-citywide) Board of Education seats, to the system.

While the program probably can’t afford to cover alder races, the Fund could still conceivably create a ​“clean elections” checklist for alders to choose to follow, similar to the way builders can choose to become certified for following ecological principles. For instance, alders may choose to limit individual donations to $100 (rather than $250) and swear off political action committee funds in return for achieving a ​“clean” campaign rating.

At Tuesday’s debate, Carlson raised another concern: Elicker was able to double-dip in the program this year, legally. He obtained over $62,000 from the Fund for a campaign for a Democratic Party mayoral primary that ended up not happening. Then he was able to start over in the general election and qualify for a new disbursement while returning to the same donors. Elicker had every reason to believe he faced a competitive primary until his challenger, Karen DuBois-Walton, dropped out of the race with a little more than a month remaining. The experience, like all other real-word evidence of how the Democracy Fund was worked, is one more data point for debate on a structural update.

Click on the above video to watch the full interview with Democracy Fund Administrator Aly Heimer on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.”