HARTFORD – The Yankee Institute for Public Policy called today for a suspension of Connecticut’s public financing system for political candidates. This temporary suspension will help remediate the yawning budget deficit and will give elected officials an opportunity to thoroughly review the program. “The Citizens’ Election Program is fundamentally flawed,” said Policy Director Heath W. Fahle. “The Legislature should suspend the program for 2010 and work to remedy it in 2011.”

According to Yankee Institute calculations, the Citizens’ Election Fund, which is used to pay out public grants to participating candidates, should have approximately $56 million at the current time and is expected to add $15 million more in 2010 prior to paying out any public grants.

Fahle went on to praise State Sen. Edith Prague for her leadership on this issue. “While we sometimes disagree, on this issue Sen. Prague has shown a welcome pragmatism,” said Fahle. Sen. Prague is in favor of a temporary suspension of CEP according to recently published reports .

The Yankee Institute’s new report on the Citizens’ Election Program “Slanting the Playing Field: Connecticut’s Publicly Funded Campaign System”, authored by Mr. Fahle, details how the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP) has further unbalanced the political playing field in favor of incumbents and major party candidates.

In addition to reviewing many of the problems associated with CEP, the report also offers five reforms which would change the program and make it work more effectively. Among them, these reforms include:

1. Require all candidates to qualify for CEP in the same manner currently asked of minor party and petitioning candidates – by collecting petition signatures
2. Electronic Filing of Monthly Campaign Finance Disclosure Reports
3. Require an August 1 deadline for applying for CEP funds

Fahle continued: “Publicly financed campaigns haven’t worked as advertised in Connecticut,” said Policy Director Heath W. Fahle. “The State Legislature should suspend the Citizens’ Election Program for the 2010 Election Cycle and take a thorough look at reforming Connecticut’s campaign finance system for the future.”

Download the full report