Bysiewicz Wants To Chime In on Federal Elections Appeal

 Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, whose office photograph of Ella T. Grasso is one of many indications that she wants to be governor, has planned a news conference this morning in the Capitol Press Room to announce that she has filed documents with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that it reverse a decision made in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport last year that overturned sections of Connecticut’s landmark 2005 campaign-finance law.

 Bysiewicz, who has had an exploratory committee looking at the possibility of running for governor this year, will meet reporters at 10:30 and talk about becoming the first candidate to ask the appeals panel to overturn the district court judgment, which threw out major portions of the 2005 law. The lower-court judge charged that the General Assembly created massive obstacles for independent and minor-party candidates to obtain public financing. The state, led by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, is appealing the decision. House and Senate leaders have failed to agree on a compromise fix to the law, meaning that the 2010 elections could be thrust into chaos if the Second Circuit supports the lower court. Then there’s the issue of lawmakers raiding the election fund, created by a pot of unclaimed property, to balance the state’s budget. If we get a few more candidates for governor, it could conceivably bankrupt the fund.