If Loudoun County Virginia can pass Campaign Finance Reform, so can Greensboro, North Carolina.

Loudoun supervisors OK transparency bill

David Sherfinski, July 2, 2008

 

Loudoun County supervisors Tuesday overwhelmingly approved legislation designed to increase the transparency of local government.

 

The provisions limit campaign contributions from groups involved in applications or appeals to the board and also require board meeting documents to be made readily available to the public.

 

Board members said that the first provision would help prevent conflicts of interest with respect to their responsibilities to their constituencies and their responsibilities to the county as a whole.

 

…Under the approved Prudence in Political Contributions policy, no board member can receive campaign contributions from any party with a standing application or appeal before the board from the time they submit the application until six months after the board comes to a final action on the matter.

 

…"This is about individuals writing land use applications at the same time they were writing checks," said Chairman Scott York, independent-at large. "We need to assure the public that we are doing the business we were sent here to do on the public’s behalf."

 

The second transparency provision stipulated that meeting documents be made public ­— both in paper form and online — no later than the day after board members receive them.

 

…The two items passed Tuesday are part of an ongoing "transparency in government" package initiated by Supervisor Jim Burton, independent-Blue Ridge, in January.