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| Small portion of Sarasota campaign flows |
Cathy Antunes had to do some brilliant sleuthing to follow campaign revenue and expenditures in some of Sarasota's elections. Her November 7th presentation,
Dark Money in Sarasota Politics, started with a handful of political groups and their donors. By the end of her presentation, the audience had seen a lot more of the far-reaching and byzantine network of donors and pass-through organizations. These are individuals and political groups that are both inside and outside of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, with some located in other states as well. This simple diagram gives a glimpse into the money shuffling that Cathy uncovered. If you want to know more, Cathy is planning a book on the topic.
One of the takeaways from this lecture is that we need to watch our elections closely. There are three School Board seats and two County Commission seats opening up in 2018. And there are hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting in one of the political action committees (PAC) that Cathy detailed. Only those running the PAC know what that money might be used for.
At the federal level, the
We-The-People Amendment would help provide broader constitutional protections, so that local and state governments could regulate campaign spending as they see fit. You can follow Cathy Antunes on her
blog and on her
radio show podcasts.
