I begin with the short and sweet of it.
County Commissioner Daniella Levine-Cava's proposed ordinance to increase campaign fundraising transparency is a step in the right direction. There is little burden in a simple disclosure in campaign finance reports accounting for when candidates and officials raise funds on behalf of political organizations. Any notion that politicians should spend their time raising money, but that it's a burden to do so in the light of public view calls in to question the purpose of public service. What's more, I question the integrity of any politician who opposes this legislation because they think it would burden them. Here's looking at Barbara Jordan, and others on the commission.
I previously criticized the proposal in hopes that it could promote public discourse about what transparency really means in our times, but unfortunately none of the county commissioners I reached out to took my words to heart, and instead hide behind ennui. Laziness. In that regards I will clarify my criticisms so that people understand I do not oppose this ordinance, as I find nothing egregious about it.
While I still hope for more discussion on the topic, I don't see a need to continue criticizing this particular effort, as my criticisms receive no actual conscious attention. I prefer a move in the right direction, than to stifle progress over knit-picking. I still think find critique valid and important to the over-all issue of transparency in government, but future ordinances can address this--the proposal in no way limits possible increases of transparency in the future, which is precisely what establishment fears. Don't buy the disingenuous suggestion this ordinance would burden politicians. Even if it does, they accept that burden as servants of the public. They serve special interests, or their own, when they oppose transparency.
