Letters: In defense of ‘dark money’

Re “‘Dark’ campaign money donors need a little light,” Column, March 24

What George Skelton and others in Sacramento who oppose “dark” campaign money seem to overlook is that political contributions are, in effect, an extension of the secret ballot.

Those who share Skelton’s views would never dare suggest that voters must reveal their election picks. Yet it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how political contributors plan to cast their ballots in California.

Campaign committees must report all individual contributions of just $100 or more. The report must include the donor’s full name, address, occupation and employer. This information is then available to anyone online.

Requiring and making all this personal information public over such small donations strikes me as extreme big-brother overreach.

Pure donor transparency might work in a perfect world. But in today’s environment, special-interest groups use campaign donor lists to get even. What happened after Proposition 8 passed in 2008 is a good example.

So instead of more donor reporting, I suggest we need much less or even none. I feel that my contributions, and votes, are no one’s business but mine.

Gary Watkins

Sun Valley

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