Malloy becomes first gubernatorial candidate to earn publicly-financed grant

Former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy won the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination two weeks ago, and today the state Elections Enforcement Commission announced he has made political history…

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STATE ELECTIONS ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

AWARDS FIRST GRANT TO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE

HARTFORD, CT—June 3, 2010 – Today the State Elections Enforcement Commission awarded the first-ever grant to a publicly financed candidate vying for statewide office.

Meeting in a regular session to review 15 grant applications, the Commission unanimously voted that “Dan Malloy for Governor,” candidate committee for the former Stamford mayor, had satisfied the legal requirements to qualify for a grant of $1.25 million for the primary election.

Notably, this is the first grant from the Citizens’ Election Program that has been awarded to a candidate for statewide office.  In 2008, the Commission awarded 235 grants to General Assembly candidates.   The 2010 elections are the first regular elections in which public campaign financing is available to candidates for statewide office.

“This is a historical day for Connecticut, as we continue to remove the influence of special interest in our political process,” said Albert P. Lenge, Executive Director and General Counsel, “I am extremely proud of the Commission’s staff, especially our audit unit who undertook a monumental task and reviewed more than $270,000 worth of small contributions between $5 and $100 to ensure that Mr. Malloy’s campaign met the required thresholds to qualify for public funds.  These same staffers also gave the same level of scrutiny to the other 14 applications that needed to be reviewed during the shortened holiday week for this Commission meeting.”

Malloy faces Ned Lamont, who has opted not to participate in the public financing program and will finance his campaign privately, largely through his personal resources.

Last week the Lamont campaign notified the Commission that it had already spent $2.27 million, which exceeds the applicable primary election expenditure limit by almost 70%.

As a result, the Commission authorized payment of an additional $937,500, to match his opponent’s spending.   In total the Malloy campaign will receive almost $2.2 million immediately and could receive an additional $312,500 for the primary election in matching funds based on spending in the race.

“Meeting the required thresholds to receive a grant isn’t easy,” said Beth Rotman, Director of the Citizens’ Election Program “but the fact that the Malloy campaign was able to achieve these thresholds and qualify for a grant proves that it can be done at the statewide level.”

Rotman noted that the Malloy campaign can now focus on communicating with voters on issues of importance, absent the influence of special interests and without the stress of perpetual fundraising.

Brian Lockhart