Please Help Us Decide

Dear Readers:>

I am trying to decide something and you can help me. As you know, we have the campaign finance reports for all of the city candidates. There is no online repository for such public information; people need to physically go to City Hall and order copies made at $.10 per page. With three mayoral and eleven city council candidates, that gets pricey and time-consuming.

So, I am considering posting PDF files of the candidate finance reports here at Rockville Central. However, I am not sure about whether I should or not. I would like to hear arguments pro and con.

First of all, according to the City, it would not violate any city election laws. These are public records, required by law to be submitted by each candidate on a set schedule. They include details on candidates’ finances as well as the names and addresses of their contributors.

That’s the thing. While surely everyone who gives money to a candidate knows it is a public record, they may not necessarily be comfortable that their neighbors can find out with a couple of mouseclicks who they are giving to and how much. There is a strong argument on both sides. On the one hand, this is useful information that should be out there. On the other, how easily accessible ought it to be, in an age when privacy is less and less available to anyone? There is something to be said for a few simple barriers.

My own bias is towards transparency when at all possible, so I lean towards posting the information. But I may not do so. I really want to hear from others. Please post comments or send me emails if you have opinions. I am happy to keep your thoughts confidential, but I would prefer this debate be out in public. I am especially interested in hearing from candidates and donors on this.

What do you think?

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