It's still an open question whether the allegations brought against Scott Walker will end his career, but they could signal the beginning of the end to loopholes that wealthy donors use to keep their names out the public eye.
Continue readingCampaign intelligence: Nearly $110 million in independent expenditures this primary season
The vast majority of this spending is aimed at Republicans.
Continue readingFebruary filings: Following the political money trail
The February financial reports are in for political committees filing on a monthly schedule. Some of the highlights? The DNC outraises Republicans, labor unions play state politics and Club for Growth scores another million dollar donation.
Continue readingStealthy Wealthy: A Texas donor plays state PACs
W.E. "Ed" Bosarge Jr. isn't a household name, but the $2 million he gave in federal contributions and the $1.2 million more he chipped in to state level political action committees--much of it in his home state of Texas--in the 2011-2012 election cycle have made him well known to politicians. So well known, in fact, that a pair of bills pending in the Texas House or Representatives would commend him and his wife Marie Taylor Bosarge on their accomplishments.
A financial wizard who got his start working flight control systems for Saturn rockets, Bosarge has interests beyond ...
Continue readingStealthy Wealthy: Donald Sussman, Rep. Pingree make strange bedfellows
In the five or so years since hedge fund manager Donald Sussman and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, have known each other, the investment tycoon has made his mark in her state, becoming its top political donor in 2012 and a major backer to Democratic super PACs. He's also found ways to bankroll her campaign, while buying a controlling interest in the local papers that cover her district.
Sussman, the billionaire manager of boutique hedge funds which manage about $8 billion in assets, married Pingree in 2011. She's the former president of campaign finance watchdog Common Cause. In his ...
Continue readingSunlight Weekly Roundup: “Information is the currency of democracy”
The Salt Lake Tribune covered a University of Utah honors class project: developing a set of five guiding principles to help... View Article
Continue readingSunlight Weekly Roundup: Bernie Sanders calls Citizens United “a complete undermining of democracy”
In our continued effort to highlight the anniversary of January 2010’s Citizens United decision, all of this month’s weekly roundups... View Article
Continue readingSunlight Weekly round-up: Maine activists join transparency movement
Earlier we wrote about how Maine was moving towards listening to calls for transparency. Now, we are happy that other... View Article
Continue readingU.S. PIRG’s State Spending Transparency Scorecard
Last week the U.S. Public Interest Research Group published a transparency scorecard for every state in the country that assessed their ability to publish their spending online.
Continue readingLocal Sunlight
Every week I climb into the depths of the local political blogosphere to find the Sunlight. I use this series... View Article
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