Malloy shows promise of public financing

Becoming the first candidate for governor in Connecticut history to qualify for public campaign financing is an impressive accomplishment by Democrat Dan Malloy. The achievement demonstrates Mr. Malloy's organizational skills, broad support and tenaciousness.

It also means Mr. Malloy will not have to kowtow to any special-interest groups to fund his bid for the governor's seat. The next governor will have to make tough, unpopular decisions to return Connecticut to fiscal solvency. A candidate not beholden to any particular group, but only to the voters, could be in the best position to do so.

"I won't have to spend hours upon hours and days upon days holed up in a little room with a telephone, asking people to give me money," he said.

Mr. Malloy is the former, and largely successful, mayor of Stamford. He served 14 years. A lawyer, he has been doing part-time consulting work since leaving office last year. His wife runs a rape-crisis center. Unlike some other opponents in the race, he does not have millions of dollars to spend to secure votes.

But Mr. Malloy has good ideas, executive experience in government, and a pragmatic approach. Public financing gives him the chance to test his ideas against those of the millionaires in the race.

His achievement also shows that while very challenging, the qualification standards to publicly finance a run for governor are workable. To qualify he had to raise $250,000 in contributions of $100 or less. Mr. Malloy said he received more than 4,000 contributions, averaging about $60 each. That is a far more impressive base of support than depending on a few huge contributions from a small group of fat cats.

Mr. Malloy thus qualifies for $1.25 million for a primary, doubled to $2.5 million if he faces a self-funded opponent prepared to spend that much or more. If Mr. Malloy becomes the party nominee, he would receive $3 million for the general election, doubling to $6 million if the Republican nominee exceeds the voluntary spending limits.

The state Citizens Election Fund provides campaign financing using revenue from the sale of unclaimed property.

The amount Mr. Malloy could receive may sound like a lot of public finance money, but consider that businessman Ned Lamont of Greenwich, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, spent $17 million of his own money when running unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2006. And the Republican now leading the GOP pack of candidates for governor in the polls, Tom Foley, is also a successful Greenwich businessman prepared to spend lavishly.

Some are philosophically opposed to government providing campaign funds. We see it as the only way to break the grip of special-interest money on the election process. True, multimillionaires don't need special-interest money either, but do Connecticut citizens want the political field narrowed to special-interest backed or super-rich candidates?

Mr. Malloy's decision to stick with the public finance system is somewhat a leap of faith. A federal judge last summer found elements of the public-financing law unconstitutional, including having a different standard for minor-party candidates to qualify. The state appealed and a decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals is pending.

Should the appellate court also find portions of the law unconstitutional, it will need quick repair. Mr. Malloy is betting the legislature will take the time to do so, as it certainly should.

With Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell playing an important leadership role, the legislature approved public financing in 2005 as part of a reform package following the corruption scandal that drove Gov. John G. Rowland from office in 2004.

The new system is beginning to work. In 2008 the majority of candidates for legislature utilized it. Connecticut shouldn't turn back now.