What a surprise! New Haven Mayor John DeStefano is the big winner in the "Who Gets $15,000 of Taxpayer Dollars for His Campaign" sweepstakes. DeStefano was running against James Newton in the Democratic Primary until Newton failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.The $15,000 that DeStefano received under New Haven's public campaign finance system, and as the New Haven Register editorializes today, there is no mechanism for the city's Democracy Fund to get the money back. In fact DeStefano can apply for another grant later during the general election. And just how viable will that candidate be that he faces in the general?
In other words, DeStefano will take $30,000 of taxpayer dollars in an economically depressed city which could use those funds for school books, education, infrastructure improvements etc, and will be using it to by bumper stickers, campaign signs, and maybe little sponges that showcase photos of his enormous gargantuan head.
If DeStefano has any decency, he will give the money back, and not take any more.
6 comments:
"If DeStefano has any decency, he will give the money back, and not take any more."
Yeah - but he won't.. because he's John DeStefano..
What better way to celebrate his Communistic side .. use taxpayer money to fund his campaign.. heck wasn't tax payer money used to fund his illegal alien cards?
Meh. It's not very much money and in the long run makes very little difference to a campaign of a city like New Haven or to an economy of a city like New Haven.
It's easy to point it out and say it is a character issue for him not to return the money; and maybe it is. But frankly I don't know of any politician that returns money given them legally through apolitical means.
It's kind of hard to fault the guy for following the rules. The money is his. That's what the rules say.
It's like faulting a baseball team for using the pinch hitter.... it's cheap and sleazy and oughtta be against the rules... Until your team does it too.
Maybe so and maybe so.
But the Democracy Fund Board voted to ask DeStefano to give the money back at a meeting last night.
Even if the rules say he can keep it, it is an abuse of the spirit of the public campaign finance system to keep money intended for a race that didn't take place.
We'll see what he does.
I had no idea that city had any such thing as public financing. What a wonderful new way for sleazy politicians to grab taxpayer money and at the same time saying its *reform*.
I find the whole concept of MY money being taken out of MY paycheck and given to candidates I passionately oppose reprehensible, loathsome and down right UN-AMERICAN.
How dare they. The colossal nerve of these jerks is mind blowing. What will their next idea be now they have encroached this far?
If we give them this inch they will most surely take a mile.
I'm sure if it becomes a liability for him politically he will give the money back.
That said I would argue that if this is an instance (and I know this is a pilot program) where the folks who organized this missed a loophole than rather than blame the politician who found the loophole, fix the loophole so next time it isn't an issue. I'd rather see them vote on that than worry about a paltry sum like $15,000. Making a big deal out of it just further politicises what is supposed to be an apolitical program. Before you know it people will start checking into the members of the board and looking to see if maybe their political leanings are affecting their decision to ask for the money back. And over such a small sum. Seems like nonsense.
McCommas, you should calm down and take a breath before you post. You are too reactionary. Passion is one thing but I'm beginnning to wonder if you have anything constructive to offer besides spleen and bile and venom. It's hard to take you seriously when you are absolutely flipping out over everything without offering a whole lot of substance in your criticisms.
And your problem “Robert” is that you think everything is OK.
You always have an excuse handy for the corrupt.
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