Connecticut held a ceremony yesterday to officially launch its new Clean Elections program. With 145 candidates looking to qualify to receive funding under the new law, and with some already qualified, it promises to be a strong first year for the full public financing system, signed into law in 2005.

Participation levels will likely dwarf those seen in Maine and Arizona during the first year of their respective Clean Elections program. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell (R), a supporter of Clean Elections who plans to use it in her upcoming race in 2010 spoke at the ceremony in support of the new system:

[She] said Tuesday that “funding does not come from taxpayer money. It comes from other sources, such as the sale of abandoned property, voluntary contributions and the Election Program’s investment earnings.”

“What do the people of Connecticut get in return? They get election campaigns free from the influence of special interests,” Rell said.