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at http://www.campaignfinance.org/stories/ divert.html.) According to The Dispatch, the biggest beneficiary so far of this loophole is Cleveland area state Senator Robert A. Gardner. State Republicans funneled more than $900,000 into Gardner's last campaign, or more than 90 percent of Gardner's total reciepts. A sudden, last-minute $384,000 advertising campaign paid for by the state party and "loaned" to Gardner may have been the deciding factor in Gardner's narrow victory. The loan was especially generous since there is no time line for Gardner to repay it, no state law that prohibits the party from simply forgiving it, and no requirement to report who repays it if it is in fact repaid. Rowland also reports that a new headquarters for the Ohio Republican Party was "custom-designed around the state's campaign finance laws." The building was financed by a party trust fund that allowed corporations to exceed normal contribution limits. Rowland calls the new Republican headquarters veritable factory for in-kind contributions" since the TV and radio ads, computer services, and direct mailings that originate in the new headquarters count as in-kind contributions to party candidates. Rowland's series also details how the Democratic and Republican national parties used Ohio's less restrictive campaign finance laws to their benefit. In 1996, the Democratic National Committee directed out-of-state contributors to send unsolicited contributions to the Ohio Democratic Party. The money is then transferred, or even sold back, to the national party. The biggest single contributor to the Ohio Democratic party in 1992 was Indonesian businessman James T. Riady, who gave $75,000 to the state party six days before President Clinton's election. The latest Ohio campaign finance data can be searched online at the Ohio Open Elections Project on the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.crp.org/ooepl).
When the bureaucrats in charge of computerizing state campaign finance records settle into their customary glacial rhythm, reporters have two choices: cover well-rehearsed sound bytes and photo opportunities while waiting for an information thaw, or start a fire by building their own campaign finance database. A consortium of 29 newspapers and two TV stations in New York lit their own fire under local politicians this year when they set aside traditional rivalries to join forces and turn over 10,000 paper records into the most comprehensive campaign finance database in New York history. The result, according to Newsday's Ford Fessenden, was blizzard of stories" putting state politicians on notice that the public is interested in their campaign finances. A telling example of the impact: A couple of years ago, a Newsday reporter noticed that the paper contribution reports from Governor Pataki's office came sorted alphabetically by the contributor's first name. Suspecting a computer was used to generate that order, the reporter called Gov. Pataki's press secretary, Zenia Mucha, to ask for the governor's campaign contributions in electronic form rather than on paper. Mucha laughed at the reporter. Today, after hundreds of stories on state campaign finances generated by consortium members, Pataki files contribution reports electronically.
CFIC offerings
The CFIC library, located online at www.campaignfinance.org/stories/index.html, is an archive of local, state and federal articles that use campaign contribution reports to "follow the money." The library also serves as a complement to the CFIC's online databases of state campaign finance contributions. The three investigative series described above are just a few of the excellent examples of how campaign finance data can enhance state and local political reporting. If you have a relevant article or series to submit to the CFIC's growing repository of stories, or if you know of an article or series that should be submitted, contact Jack Dolan at jack@nicar.org or Noemi Ramirez at noemi@nicar.org, or call (573) 884-1802. Jack Dolan can be reached by email at jack@nicar.org. Aaron Rothenburger can be reached by email at aaron@nicar.org
SEE PAGE 15 FOR TIPS ON CREATING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION DATABASES FROM PAPER RECORDS. THE TIPS ARE WRITTEN BY DIANE RENZULLI OF THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY.
THE WEB SITE FOR THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE INFORMATION CENTER IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR ANYONE INVESTIGATING CAMPAIGN FINANCES.