From time to time, I ask for suggestions on what government reforms you'd like to see. One of the biggest suggestions is to make campaign finance reports available online so that all voters can follow the money before deciding who deserves their vote. Lehigh County posts campaign finance reports for county candidates. Allentown and Bethlehem post the finance reports for candidates for city office. Northampton County tried to post finance reports online under former Executive John Stoffa, but stopped doing so because of scanning problems in an office with lots of other things to do.
I am happy to report that the Northampton County elections office is posting the finance reports by all local candidates or political committees.
According to a news release,
"The Northampton County Elections Office announces that starting with the current 2nd Friday Pre-Election (Cycle 5) reporting period, the campaign finance reports for the period ending on October 23, 2023, are now available.
"Reports filed by local candidates or political committees can be viewed by visiting the Northampton County Elections Office Website and selecting the Campaign Finance tab on the left-hand side of the page.
"Future reports will be made available, as well, after each subsequent filing deadline.
"Please refer to the PA Department of State Campaign Finance website for additional information on Campaign Finance."
This is an important demonstration of transparency by Lamont McClure's administration, and I very much appreciate making these reports available for everyone. In the primary, I uploaded the finance reports for several of the more controversial races and asked for your input. Many of you came up with insights that I missed. Over the next week, I will review several of the reports and ask you if you notice anything odd.
