Child care would be eligible campaign expense under bill spurred by Fairfield mom’s run for legislature

After state election officials rejected a candidate for the state House of Representatives’ request to use her publicly financed election grant to pay for child care, Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed legislation that would allow candidates to be reimbursed for such costs.

Under Lamont’s bill, candidates in the Citizens’ Election Program would be reimbursed for child care services for any child under age 13 for whom the candidate is the parent or legal guardian. The services must be necessary as a direct result of campaign activity.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission’s 2019 decision came after Caitlin Clarkson Pereira, a Fairfield Democrat who ran for a House seat in 2018, brought the issue to the commission when a lawyer advised her not to use her public campaign funds to hire a babysitter for her young daughter.

Clarkson Pereira, who lost that race, became part of a national debate on the issue, receiving support from many women in politics, including Hillary Clinton. She said Thursday she never expected an issue to arise when she first posed the question to the commission, let alone that it would receive so much attention.

“Knowing that other states allow for reimbursement, I didn’t expect the SEEC to say no at all," Clarkson Pereira said. "Every day that went by, we lost qualified candidates who did not know whether they would be financially able to run,” she said. “I sent that first email in July 2018, and now it’s February 2020.”

When the all-male commission unanimously decided that the public funds should not be used for child care, classifying it as a personal expense, she filed an appeal.

"The choice between making a difference by being there for bedtime or making a difference by way of the ballot box is one of the thorniest choices a loving parent considering a run for office can make,” the appeal said. “The expression ‘it takes a village’ stems from the reality that even the most devoted parents have a crucial and ongoing need for a robust and thriving support network. Allowing campaigns to cover reasonable childcare expenses is therefore necessary for political campaigns to be a viable form of civic participation for parents with young children.”

“This bill has the ability to change the landscape of who can run, who can be elected, and who can make future legislative decisions in our state,” Clarkson Pereira said Thursday.

The SEEC did not immediately reply to request for comment Thursday.

Michael Brandi, the commission’s executive director and general counsel said at the time of Clarkson Pereira’s appeal that "the commission is receptive to the policy concerns expressed by Ms. Pereira, and the laudable goal of increasing the opportunities for parents of young children to more easily participate in state elections.”

“Elections Enforcement advised us last year that they would like a change in state statute to make it very clear that under the public financing program that this was allowed,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Thursday.

Bysiewicz recalled caring for her own young children during her time in the state legislature during the 1990s, before public funds were available to support candidates. In her office, Bysiewicz keeps a photograph of herself at a judiciary committee hearing on assault rifles, her then-infant daughter perched on her lap.

“If we want to encourage more young people and more women to run for office, then we need to change the SEEC rules," she said. “This is not a piece of legislation that only effects women ... [it] affects candidates who used public financing."

Bysiewicz said about 90% of candidates who run for the state House and state Senate make use of public financing.

State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, has twins who will turn two in mid-February. He said the current campaign funding system makes it very difficult for parents to run for office, particularly for women of childbearing age.

“Child care constantly weighs on the mind, especially when you may not be home for longer periods of time,” he said. “By changing this, we’re expanding the pool of people who can run for office. ... Childbearing is not a partisan issue.”

Patricia Russo, Executive Director of The Campaign School at Yale, said affordable child care remains a top concern for women who run for office, regardless of party affiliation.

“No one ever asks a male candidate who is caring for his children while he is running for office, yet it remains a common question to ask women,” she said. “This bill will substantially level the playing field and increase the number of women who can run. We need brilliant minds from all walks of life."

Under the Citizens’ Election Program, candidates raise a certain amount of money in small-dollar donations ($5,300 in contributions of between $5 and $270 for a House race) and are then awarded a taxpayer-funded campaign grant ($30,575 for a contested House race).

The program was created in 2006 as part of a package of election reforms after a spate of public corruption cases in Connecticut, including the resignation and imprisonment of Gov. John G. Rowland for accepting bribes from state contractors.

Amanda Blanco can be reached at ablanco@courant.com.

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