No need for Big Bucks to Run for Office

On Tuesday, April 4, Elona Vaisnys visited Eastern Connecticut State University to present “No Need for Big Bucks, Run for a State Office”. Vaisnys spoke about CEP, which is the Citizens Election Program. CEP provides public funding to run election campaigns for seats in the state legislature and for state offices. CEP is important because those who can campaign through CEP funding will have no special interests once elected into office. As residents of a state that was once known as “Corrupt-icut” this is a program we should pay attention to.

Vaisnys visited Eastern to encourage students to consider running for state offices. All one needs to do to qualify for a CEP grant is to prove that they are a serious candidate. Elona explains this as going out into the community and raising funds as small as $5 per donor to prove that the potential candidate has support from the community. One great benefit of CEP grants is that an individual can run for state office without using funds from special interest groups to whom the candidate will owe a favor, contract, etc.

The money from CEP comes from the sale of abandoned property in the state of Connecticut. As a matter of fact, Connecticut is the only state with this type of successful program. CEP grants go towards campaigns to run for state governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller, and general assembly. All current Connecticut State officers ran their election campaigns on CEP grants, and about 89% of the current Representatives and Senators ran for their seat in the Connecticut General Assembly on CEP funding.

Vaisnys enthusiastically endorses the Citizens Election Program. She raises a thought-provoking question; if CEP is available to all and 89% of those in office make use of the program, why don’t the other 11%? What do candidates have to gain from special interest group support that support through CEP cannot provide? CEP provides candidates with money to run a clean, debt-free campaign. This way, while the candidate secures their position with the state, their job will be their top priority, as opposed to repaying campaign debts to special interest groups.

Elona Vaisnys encourages students at Eastern to consider running for state office. With passion, community support, and a CEP funded campaign, running for state office is more attainable than ever. You truly do not need big bucks to run for state office. Be a challenger and give the incumbents a run for their money.