May 21, 2007
CAMPAIGN FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS
Watchdog has been very interested in open records and transparency in government since I started asking for open records information in November 2004. One of the most important open records source is housed at the Shelby County Election Commission. It is the CAMPAIGN FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.
At the present time it is necessary to go to their office downtown and ask to see the file of a particular candidate. You are then required to fill out a form giving your name and address and it was stated on the form that your name would be reported to the candidate whose file you were asking for. (Now, at the Watchdog’s insistence, that statement has been deleted and hopefully the name is not reported to the candidate as this notification requirement has been deleted by state law).
At a recent meeting I was told by a representative of the League of Women Voters that the Shelby County Election Commission is in the process of planning a new web site capable of including all required local election commission reports. the new web page project is projected to be ready to go by January 2008. I called and the lady that I talked to did not know anything about this. It is available at the state level for statewide candidates, but not at the local county and city level. Hopefully it will be in a data base similar to the state election commission website that allows voters to determine how much an individual donor has given to a particular candidate and to all candidates.
Recently I went down to the office and asked for he files on Herenton, Morris and Chumney. Only Chumney’s file contained a report for the first quarter of 2007. Herman Morris did not have a file as he had not filed for Mayor before the end of the first quarter. (He has since filed and his second quarter report will be due early in July 2007.)
Herenton’s report for the first quarter was not available and I asked where it was. The clerk did not know so apparently he has not filed it. I am assuming that he has filed for Mayor for the October 2007 election. I called the state election finance office and asked about penalties for not filing a required report. I was told that the Shelby County Election Commission would have to send a registered letter telling the candidate that the report was due and not filed and after 5 days, if the report was not sent, then there was a fine of $25 per day for up to 30 days and then a $10,000 fine.
Watchdog believes that only full disclosure and completely transparent government is that only really important thing that can help to restore honest government. Most politicians hate open records because they like to spend your tax money in the dark where no one is looking. I believe that the creditable candidate who promises and eventually delivers open and transparent government where every important document and piece of information is put on the internet will win the election. We need to start with the Shelby County Election Commission and require that all candidates put their reports in a proper electronic format (an electronic spreadsheet) and then the data could be incorporated into a data base which would show who contributed to whom and how much and when and how the money was spent. Money buys influence and the public needs to know who is buying and from whom.
I have attached Chumney’s recent report and the last Herenton report that I have available. The last time I checked, Herenton had around $570,000 in his campaign chest plus whatever he has collected since then.
Click here to see how much Carol Chumney has collected in the first quarter of 2007 and how she has spent some of the money
Click here to see who contributed to Herenton from 2003 to 2005 and how much they contributed
CAMPAIGN FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS
Watchdog has been very interested in open records and transparency in government since I started asking for open records information in November 2004. One of the most important open records source is housed at the Shelby County Election Commission. It is the CAMPAIGN FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.
At the present time it is necessary to go to their office downtown and ask to see the file of a particular candidate. You are then required to fill out a form giving your name and address and it was stated on the form that your name would be reported to the candidate whose file you were asking for. (Now, at the Watchdog’s insistence, that statement has been deleted and hopefully the name is not reported to the candidate as this notification requirement has been deleted by state law).
At a recent meeting I was told by a representative of the League of Women Voters that the Shelby County Election Commission is in the process of planning a new web site capable of including all required local election commission reports. the new web page project is projected to be ready to go by January 2008. I called and the lady that I talked to did not know anything about this. It is available at the state level for statewide candidates, but not at the local county and city level. Hopefully it will be in a data base similar to the state election commission website that allows voters to determine how much an individual donor has given to a particular candidate and to all candidates.
Recently I went down to the office and asked for he files on Herenton, Morris and Chumney. Only Chumney’s file contained a report for the first quarter of 2007. Herman Morris did not have a file as he had not filed for Mayor before the end of the first quarter. (He has since filed and his second quarter report will be due early in July 2007.)
Herenton’s report for the first quarter was not available and I asked where it was. The clerk did not know so apparently he has not filed it. I am assuming that he has filed for Mayor for the October 2007 election. I called the state election finance office and asked about penalties for not filing a required report. I was told that the Shelby County Election Commission would have to send a registered letter telling the candidate that the report was due and not filed and after 5 days, if the report was not sent, then there was a fine of $25 per day for up to 30 days and then a $10,000 fine.
Watchdog believes that only full disclosure and completely transparent government is that only really important thing that can help to restore honest government. Most politicians hate open records because they like to spend your tax money in the dark where no one is looking. I believe that the creditable candidate who promises and eventually delivers open and transparent government where every important document and piece of information is put on the internet will win the election. We need to start with the Shelby County Election Commission and require that all candidates put their reports in a proper electronic format (an electronic spreadsheet) and then the data could be incorporated into a data base which would show who contributed to whom and how much and when and how the money was spent. Money buys influence and the public needs to know who is buying and from whom.
I have attached Chumney’s recent report and the last Herenton report that I have available. The last time I checked, Herenton had around $570,000 in his campaign chest plus whatever he has collected since then.
Click here to see how much Carol Chumney has collected in the first quarter of 2007 and how she has spent some of the money
Click here to see who contributed to Herenton from 2003 to 2005 and how much they contributed
posted by watchdog at
10:30 AM
1 Comments:
Interesting to see all those City appointees on that list of contributors. Wonder why they ponied up? Hmmm...???
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Anonymous, at 6:09 AM
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