The Danbury News Times covers Connecticut's first cycle of Clean Elections public financing, including record-breaking participation numbers for a first year, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from candidates and the administrators of the program about the effect public financing is having on running for office in the state.Here's a sampling of what Connecticut candidates are saying:Newtown resident Chris Lyddy, a Democrat running for the 106th District seat in the Connecticut House of Representatives, is one of the people already helped by the program. His opponent, Republican Will Rodgers, also received a grant.Lyddy, a 25-year-old social worker, said the program was one of the reasons he decided to run for office."The new laws are great because they allow people to run for office who might not otherwise," he said. "We will start to see candidates from all walks of life and socioeconomic levels. You no longer have to be a lawyer to run for office. It's going to be great for the legislature and the democratic process."[ . . .]John Hartwell, a Democrat running for the 26th District Senate seat, lobbied in support of the public campaign financing laws before they were created in 2005. Hartwell also recently received a state grant. "It's a way to get special interests out of state government," he said. "Nothing will ever remove special interests altogether, but it will sharply reduce their influence."