A frugal ostrich named Gilbert
The Secretary’s job is to receive the fillings and post the information for public use. He does. But the filings are frequently incomplete, late, inaccurate, and essentially unusable as posted. The Secretary could require more detailed, accurate, and timely filings and post them in a searchable digital format. They could be informative.
Reports of failures to comply could also be informative. Why not highlight filing failures during elections? For example in the last election, the Attorney General did not detail credit card expenses, and reporting periods were not consistent (contributions re-reported on multiple reports). This made it confusing and difficult to follow the sources and uses of his $1.8 million in contributions including $1.4 million from out of state. In contrast, his opponent says he submitted detailed reports, but the Secretary’s office wouldn’t post them.
Bigger Pie
2/29/16
Magnolia Tribune
