NYT to Readers: Help Us Discover a Secret (SuperPAC) Donor.(Crowdsourcing for campaign transparency)
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/a-crowdsourcing-experiment-help-us-discover-a-secret-donor/?emc=eta1
In theory, super PACs are supposed to be transparent, because the groups must periodically file reports on their donors with the election commission, but some of the contributions have been made through limited liability companies and other entities that seem to exist only on paper.
The Caucus has been going through corporate records, working its way down a list of mystery donors, solving them one by one. A $50,000 donation to the pro-Romney super PAC, Restore our Future, from “Sareli Investments” last September? Tied to Mark S. Siegel, chairman of the board of Patterson-UTI, an oil and natural gas drilling firm.
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But at least one major donor remains unidentified: “Glenbrook LLC,” which made a $250,000 donation to the pro-Romney super PAC last August. There are others for whom we just have a few sketchy details.
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This is where readers can help. Checking different kinds of business records – like certificates of incorporation, articles of organization, or annual reports — filed with secretary of state’s offices in different states has been key in resolving other donors’ identities. Searching campaign finance records by employers, which can be done with the Center for Responsive Politics’ donor lookup tool, has been helpful is providing clues as well.
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