Karen DuBois-Walton will cash her check.

Maritza Bond has one more chance to get hers.

That’s the result of a Wednesday meeting of the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC).

The commission met to consider candidates’ applications for public funding for their campaigns under the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP).

Candidates who meet a threshold increase in state voter contributions are eligible to receive grants under the program to publicize their campaigns. Qualifying for the money is often decisive for applicants; it’s hard to win without it. Several campaigns this year have had their candidacies put on hold because SEEC reviews online contributions to see if they count towards meeting the requirements. (Click here to an article on this subject, by the CT Mark Pazniokas of the mirror.)

Time is running out for primary candidates.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the SEEC voted to approve DuBois-Walton’s grant application. She is now in line to receive $484,125 from the agency for her campaign for state treasurer.

DuBois-Walton, who heads the New Haven housing authority and chairs the board of the State Board of Education, faces two fellow Democrats in the Aug. 9 Democratic primary: New Haven attorney Erick Russell and and Dita Bhargavaa former Wall Street trader from Greenwich who sought the job in 2018. Russeel and Bhargava had previously secured approval for their CEP subsidies. State Representative Harry Arora, a Republican seeking the job, has already been approved to receive the state grant. First-time state treasurer Shawn Wooden is not running for election.

“Our team has worked so hard to get here,” DuBois-Walton said afterwards. ​“In talking to constituents, it became so clear that my career in public service and how my work has helped hard-working families resonates with them and makes me their obvious choice for the position of State Treasurer. . We need to get our message across to every voter and the public funding we receive allows us to do just that!

The news was not so good on Wednesday for Martiza Bond, the city of New Haven’s health director, who issued a Democratic primary challenge for secretary of state. For the second time, the SEEC chose not to vote on his grant application, while staff continue to review the eligibility of some of his donations. Bond’s campaign scrambled last weekend to collect new donations and address SEEC concerns about those that exist in hopes of gaining approval at Wednesday’s meeting.

It’s not over, however. The SEEC is holding another meeting on Friday to consider approving the grants before the primary, at which time Bond will find out if she will get her $484,125. Bond challenges convention-endorsed candidate Stephanie Thomas in the primary for Secretary of State, Connecticut’s top election official. Thomas has been approved for public funding.

SEEC Spokesman Joshua Foley said Friday was the last chance for candidates to secure grant approvals before the primaries.

Bond’s campaign manager Russ Morin said he was convinced the ​“I will be crossed and ​“T” is dotted.

“They asked for papers. We provide them with the papers. They have a job to do. We get them the information they’ve requested. I’m hopeful,” said Morin.

Dominic Rapini, the first secretary of state candidate to qualify the CEP Grant faces Terri Wood in a Republican primary for the job.

Meanwhile, Erick Russell posted a TV announcement Wednesday highlighting her story growing up in New Haven. Click on the video above to watch it.

UAW backs Bond, Russell

Region 9A of the United Auto Workers union, meanwhile, weighed in on both races, endorsing Russell and Bond’s main quests.

This was Bond’s third work endorsement; the previous was from the state AFL-CIO and Connecticut Employees Union Independent (CEUI).

“I started this campaign to be for the people and by the people, and I am happy that these unions, and the workers they represent, support my candidacy,” Bond said in a statement.

Russell tied the UAW vote on the decisions he would make as treasurer to invest state funds.

“This is who I will fight for in the Treasurer’s Office – the working families who desperately need a champion of values ​​from Main Street to Wall Street and who deserve a stronger, fairer economy in Connecticut,” said Russell in a statement. ​“As Treasurer, I will continue to fight for those who deserve better wages, quality health care, and a secure retirement in a financially strong state.

UAW Region 9A represents 15,000 active and retired members in Connecticut, including workers at Electric Boat Corporation and General Dynamics in southeast Connecticut, and computer operators and planners at Computer Science Corporation in Norwich.