Wanted: web-enabled database to fight political corruption

I’m on the board of Campaigns for People, an organization dedicated to reducing the influence of money in Texas politics.
A major ethics reform package passed this last legislative session, thanks in part to pressure from thousands of citizens on the CFP activist list, and tireless lobbying by CFP and a coalition of over 60 groups representing 3 million Texans. The ethics bill, HB1606, tightens loopholes that candidates used to avoid disclosing contributions electronically, and strengthens processes to investigate ethics complaints against office-holders.
CFP is seeking a coder for a pro-bono project that is helping to nab corrupt lawmakers.
CFP has compiled a database of campaign contributors in the Houston and San Antonio area. The data can be used by citizen groups to research the influence of money on legislation. The Sierra Club — to give one example — is using the data to identify politicians who took large campaign contributions from road contractors, and then allocated plum construction contracts to their campaign donor buddies.
CFP would like to make this database viewable and searchable on the web, to make it easier for citizen groups to research campaign contributions. The organization is running on a very slim budget, so the work would need to be done pro-bono.
If you are interested, please contact Fred Lewis, CFP President, at flewis@onr.com.

4 thoughts on “Wanted: web-enabled database to fight political corruption”

  1. The prison system is a national scam. The prison system has expanded ten fold from 1980 to 1999. Each inmate can cost taxpayers $73 or more per day. Telephone calls placed by inmates are a billion dollar annual business, bilking the families and friends of inmates.
    Follow the money on this scandal and there will be many politicians on the take.
    Steven G. Erickson
    http://www.freespeech.com/archives/001095.html

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *