From MapLight
With a tip of the hat to Kevin Roderick at LAObserved for noting its launch in Los Angeles, this nonpartisan, nonprofit (501c3) organization has just opened a new window into Los Angeles City Hall, offering online reporting on the "river of money" that flows through local politics and posting the campaign contributions reports of the city Ethics Commission. The site, for example, shows the pricey participation of real estate developers and lawyers in the city attorney race, which, to watch news coverage and numerous slam TV ads, seems only to have devolved into thin arguments about skimpy attendance and a resolved contribution imbroligo or the clientele of a candidate's partner. Support for the site, from which data can be downloaded for further analysis, comes from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation. MapLight partners with the nonpartisan, nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.
An Online Spot to Follow the Money in LA Politics
Center Seeks to Empower Voters
