Ex-candidate appeals decision on campaign grants, child care
Caitlin Clarkson Pereira is not backing down.
The Fairfield Democrat and mother appealed a decision by the state elections board blocking candidates for office from using public campaign grants to pay for child care.
Clarkson Pereira filed a complaint in state Superior Court in Bridgeport against the State Elections Enforcement Commission on Friday seeking to overturn its decision.
“When I submitted my written request for an opinion last July, I never imagined that we would end up taking SEEC to court,” Clarkson Pereira said. “Since the Federal Elections Commission and a number of states far less progressive than Connecticut had approved the requests brought in front of them, I couldn’t think of a reason that we wouldn’t do the same. I still can’t.”
Clarkson Pereira’s complaint argues the allmale board’s decision is “unconstitutionally discriminatory against women in effect.” It asks the court to reverse the commission’s decision and render a decision to permit public campaign grants to be used to pay for child care while a candidate is campaigning. Michael Brandi, general counsel and executive director of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, said SEEC’s decision follows state laws established to protect the public campaign financing program.
“The Commission and its staff are committed to working with the legislature, if it should choose, to craft the best possible solution for the people of Connecticut,” Brandi said. “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.”
Gov. Ned Lamont spoke out against the SEEC decision in April and urged the legislature to pass a law permitting parents to use their campaign grants to pay the babysitter. The General Assembly has yet to act on that request.
Clarkson Pereira case has drawn the attention of some national media and political figures like former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub, who urged Connecticut’s election board to rule in Clarkson Pereira’s favor.
A first-time candidate, Clarkson Pereira ran against Rep. Brenda Kupchick, R-Fairfield, in November and lost. She regularly brought her fouryear-old daughter Parker on the campaign trail with her because she struggled to afford child care while she knocked doors and attended events.
The Federal Election Commission has ruled that child care is a permissible campaign expense, as have at least five other states.
In Connecticut, the issue is muddied by strict rules governing the Citizens’ Election Program, which gives qualified candidates public money to run for office. Candidates who are not receiving public campaign monies can use their campaign funds to pay a babysitter as long as the child care need is a direct result of campaign activities, the cost is reasonable and the payment is properly documented.
Clarkson Pereira is represented in the appeal by David Rosen and Alex Taubes of David Rosen & Associates in New Haven.
“Caitlin is calling on the law to make elections more fair and more equal,” Rosen said.