The Vegas Voice - Why People Don't Trust Politicians

Op-Ed

The Vegas Voice - Why People Don't Trust Politicians

With all of the controversy surrounding the political climate on "K Street," it's no wonder that people on Main Street don't trust politicians anymore. The culture of corruption that pervades Washington, D.C. has put the whole political process under a cloud.

The question as to whether super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff owned politicians in Washington because of the corporate money he helped put in their campaign war chests causes everyone to look beyond our nation's capital and scrutinize their local and state elected officials.

One important thing that makes people suspicious of the political process is the Nevada law that allows a person to contribute to a political campaign without the public really knowing who the money is coming from. The loophole involves Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs).

These LLCs seem to keep Oz behind the curtain, and nobody knows who is really behind these companies. Therefore, no one knows who is really financing our political candidates.

There is no getting around the fact that campaigns need money to run. However, politicians must take the ultimate responsibility for restoring pubic trust by fully disclosing where their finances are coming from.

Last session, I supported an amendment to Senate Bill 338 that would have required an LLC making a contribution to a
candidate to disclose the name of each person who holds an ownership interest of 1% or more in that business entity. This is the same standard of disclosure required of LLCs that buy or lease land from local governments.

While LLCs have a legitimate purpose, more and more, they are being used to hide ownership - and in doing so are subverting the democratic process.

When I filed my campaign finance report in January, I provided the names of LLC owners who contributed. My staff and I made painstaking efforts to find the source of each contribution and identify it on our report.
I called for other candidates for office to do the same, but there was no response. This includes all my opponents in the Governor's race.

My financial report stands apart from the others in another way too. While some other candidates relied on huge corporate donors and other special interests, I'm proud that my report shows that I am truly running a grass roots campaign.
A whopping 62 percent of my contributors donated $100 or less. I received financial support from over 30 Nevada communities and from 13 of Nevada's 17 counties.

These contributions, combined with larger ones, allowed me to raise $1.15 million and build a strong financial base for my campaign. Thanks very much to any of readers of "Dialogue with Dina" who contributed.

In this political climate we can no longer ignore the call to be more open and forthright. We need to convince the people that the person they are electing is going to represent them - not some special interest group that opens its checkbook wide.
My disclosure is one way of pledging ethics in government. I want a government that all Nevadans can be proud of.

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