The Big Wave – Caruso-Led Campaign Finance Program Celebrates 20 Years

More than 20 years ago, then-Governor John Rowland was embroiled in a corruption scandal that forced him from public office, led to a federal conviction and time served.

Then-Bridgeport State Rep. Chris Caruso chaired the State House committee that regulates elections. What emerged was Connecticut’s Citizens Election Program (CEP) of publicly funded races, a voluntary program to place a check on election fundraising and lobbying influence in Connecticut elections.

The legislation that passed in 2005 took a few years to implement. Caruso’s effort was no easy task jawboning his peers in the legislature. We don’t call him The Big Wave for nothing.

Essentially, the program requires participating candidates for state office (not federal or municipal) to raise low-dollar donations to receive a pot of public money. The program is financed by the Citizens Election Fund, funds primarily from the proceeds of the sale of abandoned property in the State of Connecticut’s custody, and supervised by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

News release from SEEC:

The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC), along with the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, Common Cause of Connecticut and the Connecticut Citizen Research Group, will celebrate its 50^th anniversary and the 20^th anniversary of the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP). A celebratory event will take place at the State Capitol in the Old Appropriations Room (310) on Tuesday, May 27^th, 2025, at 11 a.m.

“In these challenging times, the people of Connecticut can be proud that their unique program of citizen-funded state elections, and scrupulous investigation and enforcement of the laws, continue to provide them with free, fair, and clean elections,” said Stephen T. Penny, Chair of the Commission.

SEEC was created in the wake of the Watergate scandal though the passage of Public Act 74-213 to ensure the integrity of the state’s electoral process. The independent watchdog agency has grown in the scope of its responsibilities over the years. In 2005, in the wake of the Rowland scandal, via the passage of Public Act 05-5, SEEC became home to the CEP, a groundbreaking public financing program for General Assembly and statewide candidates. Twenty years on, the program boasts high participation rates and serves as a national model for keeping special interest monies out of elections.

The celebration will have a program of speakers including legislative leaders (past and present), former Commissioners and Directors, statewide elected officials and the advocates who helped create and who support the CEP.

The bipartisan and independent State Elections Enforcement Commission operates to ensure the integrity of the state’s electoral process. The Commission has the authority to investigate possible violations of the election laws, inspect campaign finance records and reports, refer evidence of violations to the Chief State’s Attorney or to the Attorney General, issue advisory opinions and make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning revisions to the state’s election laws. SEEC also operates the state’s landmark public financing program, the CEP.