Campaign Finance Reform: Maybe Next Year

If anyone needed a reminder of how times have changed in Hartford since former Gov John G. Rowland’s departure, one needed only to look at the roster of officials who met with Gov M. Jodi Rell late last week to discuss campaign finance reform. Representatives of Common Cause of Connecticut, the Connecticut Citizens Action Group (CCAG), Democracy Works, the Public Interest Research Group, and the League of Women Voters had come to huddle with the new governor and state elections officials to discuss possible reforms designed to restore public trust to the state election process.

The executive director of Common Cause of Connecticut, Andy Sauer, said it was the first time in his 34 years with the organization that its leader had been invited to the governor’s office. Tom Swan, executive director of the CCAG, who said he had twice been kicked out of press conferences by Mr Rowland, called it a “historic day,” joking, “I’m coming out of the governor’s office and I’m not handcuffed.”

Public interests groups rarely have a seat at the table when public policy is decided in Hartford. They are usually relegated to the peanut gallery, where they are largely ignored by power brokers and only occasionally quoted by the media. They are not used to having the kind of direct access to the governor’s office that is usually reserved for special people — like large campaign contributors. But the topic was campaign finance reform, and the symbolism of such a meeting was important to the new governor, who understands that she presides over a state that is fed up with business as usual.

Statewide polls conducted by the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac College during Mr Rowland’s tenure showed that four out of five citizens believed large campaign contributors were able to “buy” favorable decisions from their favored elected officials. Sixty-five percent of those polled said that large campaign contributions influenced politicians “a great deal” with 61 percent saying that elected officials are more interested in making things better for a few special interests than for the majority of people.

Gov Rell appears to understand that restoring public confidence in state government has to start with campaign finance reform. She, like her predecessor, does not favor public financing of statewide elections, which is a priority for the groups at last week’s meeting. She is willing, however, to hear them out and include their ideas in a list of suggested reforms for the next legislative session, which begins in January.

There is a long, long way to go before true campaign finance reform is enacted in Connecticut. Many of the same politicians needed to shepherd reform proposals through the legislative maze are themselves the beneficiaries of the old-boy pay-to-play system. But when a state contractor can win more than $100 million in no-bid state contracts as family members contribute more than $100,000 to a governor’s campaigns, loyalty to the status quo should embarrass even the most reluctant “old boy” to action.

Serious proposals for campaign finance reform died in the legislature this year and were vetoed by John Rowland the year before. With all the fervor of a Red Sox fan, we can hope: maybe next year.